Cyber Realm
| Region | Neo Bam |
|---|---|
| Age | Cyber Age (era of blurried lines between physical and virtual realities) |
| Locations | Recursive Desert, Mainframe Mithraeum, Glitch Gardens |
| Climate | Desert Climate |
| Founding | Founded 3300 years before the Fork V (Nexus Solis) |
| Cults | Dataists, Cloakers |
Geography and Climate
Neo Bam (previously Bam), originating from a historical region, boasts a diversity of landscapes, from dynamic urban environments to vast arid plains. Bam has a desert climate with long, hot summers and mild, short winters. The region is also prone to sandstorms, which can be devastating to the local flora and fauna.
Despite these adversities, the critters of Bam demonstrated profound adaptability, utilizing their technological prowess to shape the environment to their needs. Over the centuries, the critters developed numerous strategies to cope with the harsh climate.
They utilized early forms of irrigation systems, diverting water from existing oases to cultivate the land and establish agricultural practices. The ability to secure a stable food supply helped Bam flourish despite the harsh desert conditions. Additionally, critters leveraged their technological aptitude to construct heat-resistant habitats that provided refuge from the extreme heat and sandstorms.
Pre-Fork History
Initially a small cluster of settlements, the region thrived as critters capitalized on technological advancements. The ancient citadel of Bam has a history dating back to around 3300 Pre-Fork. Most of its historical and religious buildings, including the colossal Mithraeum, the largest library ever built1, were constructed during this time.
For centuries, Bam was considered the center of a polytheist cult worshipping the Gold as the Sun God. The city was largely abandoned due to the Crusades (1200-900 Pre-Fork), led by the Church in the pursuit of relics. Afterward, the city was gradually resettled, only to be abandoned again due to an attack by new invaders (500 Pre-Fork), who were also in search of relics. The city was rebuilt centuries later with the Mithraeum at its heart. This revived city of Bam became a center of learning and culture, especially excelling in the arts, literature, mathematics, and philosophy.
In the 80 Pre-Fork period, the Mithraeum began the digitization of all their valuable data, a heritage from critterkind, to preserve knowledge from potential physical destruction. This data fed into the Mainframe Mithraeum, a vast network of interconnected machines that facilitated the exchange of information.
Later, this unified computing system connected the entire city of Bam (renamed Neo Bam), ushering in an era of rapid progress and prosperity. The initial purpose of the Mainframe Mithraeum quickly shifted to the complete integration of the entire city, now unified in a single computing system. Neo Bam, integrating knowledge in all its spheres, became a model for the rest of the world, synonymous with progress and prosperity. Their prediction intelligence, known as the Neon, was the most advanced of its time and was used to predict and prevent restaurant glass breakages, and car accidents effectively reducing the occurrence to zero.
However, as technology advanced in the coming decades, inhabitants explored the integration of organic life with artificial intelligence, leading to a divisive ideological conflict. The prediction of crimes and sabotage acts led to persecution and prison of critters before they committed any crime2.
In the years leading up to the Fork V, this exploration led to the formation of opposing cults, namely the Dataists and Cloakers, significantly influencing the city's historical trajectory. The Dataists advocated for the complete integration of organic life with artificial intelligence, while the Cloakers, led by resisted this vision, arguing for the preservation of organic life separated from the data.
Notable Pre-Fork Events
The lead-up to Fork V witnessed a series of events that profoundly impacted the history of Neo Bam. Among these, the notorious ~Hash's Prison~ event plays a significant role.
The Hash's Prison
The Hash, a renowned hacker and a leading figure of the Cloakers, was a formidable opponent to the Dataists' plan for a comprehensive digital existence. Expertly disguised, Hash infiltrated Dataist ranks and repeatedly sabotaged their operations. With tensions between the two cults reaching a boiling point and the full decentralization of the Mainframe Mithraeum.
Surprisingly, the Hash didn't attempt to hide. Instead, he delivered a public address on the banks of Recursive Desert in the suburbs of Neo Bam, attracting thousands of critters. He passionately argued for the right of non-integrated critters to live freely, framing the Dataists' vision as a threat to the autonomy of organic life.
His outspoken defiance provoked an immediate and aggressive response from the authorities. Hash was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in Neo Bam. This event catalyzed an ongoing civil war, predicted by the Neon a hundred days in advance.
- Many librarians, guided by a series of art manifestations from the time, believe that the Mithraeum was built under the instructions of the Wise, to collect information about the earliest critter civilization.↩
- While its initial purpose was modest, it was quickly employed to anticipate tax evasion a decade in advance.↩