In the future of Shadows Over Sol society has fractured into numerous subcultures, each fed its own spin on the world around it, and possessed of its own values, distinct from others. These subcultures have their own trends in dress and speech, allowing members to easily identify those that share the same subculture, and single out those who do not belong.
Subcultures act as something like an extra extended family. They provide social support when the corps don't see profit in it. They're a way that people meet. They reaffirm their members' beliefs. They have their own celebrities, AR tag clouds, net nodes and styles of interaction. In many ways subcultures are the new neighborhoods in a world infatuated with telepresence.
Subcultures tend to run in families, but this is not to say that subcultures don't change. Indeed, long-lasting subcultures—like any human institution—tend to morph and evolve with time. The subcultural views of one's grandparents will be subtly different than the views of the youth in that subculture. Sometimes these views diverge by large amounts, and when this happens, subcultures tend to break apart or merge with other subcultures that have grown in a similar direction. Despite dramatic long-term changes, however, long-lasting subcultures have a continuity of identity.
Subcultures tend to have their own virtual spaces on the net, as well as their own blogs, news streams, shops and real-world hangouts. Even in places that aren't subculturally-aligned, the experience between members of different subcultures may be quite divergent. Due to the ubiquity of AR technology a member of one subculture may encounter a businessman and see him tagged with AR notes indicating significant upward mobility, a soundness of investment and note that he is wearing a top-shelf cologne. A member of another subculture viewing the same man may see AR tags indicating his involvement in releasing industrial pollutants into the atmosphere and note the names of three homeless men he's assaulted. These differences in experience paint a different picture of the world around them, and tend to reinforce the confirmation biases different subcultures already have.
Shadows Over Sol is our upcoming science fiction horror RPG. Its Kickstarter is scheduled to begin September 1st. In the meantime, you can download the free Quick-Start, or sign up to be notified when the Kickstarter is ready.
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