From Introduction:
Technology
It wasn’t much of a leap for the Minnesota to go from the forefront of medical devices — heartvalves, pacemakers, stents—to become the leading pioneer of cybertechnology in the United States. The twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul are now the primary destinations for those who want to get spliced into some new hardware. Daedalus Innovation was the new megacorporate entity that emerged from the explosion.
Environment
The upper midwest has seen some of the harshest winters over the past several years. It all but killed the independent and organic farms in the state. Daedalus built an arcology to keep their employees and facilities protected from the elements in one massive, self-contained monolith in Minneapolis. Those left outside have become tougher, harder.
Society
Last year, Daedalus Innovation laid off 80% of its workforce. It’s completely robotic manufacturing facility and proprietary software do the work now. The sparsly populated arcology is being rennovated as a giant pleasure palace for the obscenely rich. Meanwhile the jobless masses out in the streets are growing fearful and getting desperate.
