The Flag War
2092: Anastas Oracle V1
A transcription from the recollections of the Mater Machine Lieben, in conversation with Demyan Anastas.
The Flag War was brewing before I was born. A rise in privatization began in the 2030's, when folk lost faith in their elected officials. Too many scandals, too many national secrets. When trust died, the corporations moved in.
Most would rather know the true identity of their overlords, than vote for corporate-held shills with hidden secrets. What was the point of voting, when the corporations held the algorithms? Grassroots systems came to play. Candidates unapproved by the corporations did sneak through, but not enough. Countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East called their diaspora home and promised job placement, housing, education in international Schools. My mother moved back to the Ukraine as a child in the late 2030's, her family called from Canada to rebuild.
Those who repatriated found familiarity in the corporations, foods and spices left behind. It amazed me as a child, how nostalgia was weaponized by all sides. Corporate culture versus national histories, versus the hope of investments. A dying planet begged for more sustainable power systems. It seemed beneficial, promises kept in less time than the governments bloated by wage hikes when their citizens were starving, restrictions based on widespread infections not released when the infections ebbed. The defunding of major police forces across North America.
By the time the The Conglomerate of Gaia began issuing Corporation-Specific block-chain currency and IDent cards, two Canadian teenagers used a homemade bomb to destroy an IDent facility. Fighting surged across the planet, some nations taking advantage of the heat to 'repatriate' privately held facilities for public use. Security teams were replaced with ex-military mercenary units within days.
The horror of the Flag War was in its' pervasive expansion. Factions arose in the same city, some for their Nations supplied by the UN, others for corporate interest. One street might have been safe, another a danger zone of trigger happy mercenaries. No continent was immune. Crops were missed in fields, food shortages caused riots to pitch into frenzies after supplies ran low too many seasons in a row.
My father and uncle died a week apart, in 2073. One, to stray drone fire. The other, shot in the back of the head for breaking into a Conglomerate warehouse for food.
I hacked my way into the Ukrainian military, angry at 15. As old as the boys who started the war. A mixture of patriotism and grief, I used my studies in computing to weaponize the technology we captured. Changed drone algorithms from chasing down demographics, avoid habited areas where my mother and family gathered people in need of protection. These people, all who believed in a country instead of a corporate identity, they knew I was not old enough to wear my uniform. They knew my squad were outgunned by the mercenaries and their budgets. They hid us in an ancient Orthodox Church, its' 4th Century crypt intact. From the cavern where faded icons clung to acrid rock walls, I conducted a personal war. One drone at a time, taken in and reprogrammed. Sent back as sleepers with different operational parameters. The months spent in a cloistered, dank pit, surrounded by the graves of saints, with bombs setting rock fragments into the crypt... Вибач, моя зірочка...
Fingers entwine, Demyan's head lowers, eyes shut. A stutter to his breath. I lean over, foreheads touch. Lips. Although I do not, we breathe. In, hold, out. In. Out...
The world was on fire for its nature. Who would lead humanity? Popular opinion poles, paid-off politicians, or the corporations who made economic, environmental impacts? Corporate culture and bottom lines instead of votes. Don't like it? Remove your IDent chip, fulfill the contract, be gone. The Corporations had no reason to pander to those who did not want to or need to sign a contract. Eight years slogged with the charnel of war. The drones never tired. Eight years of war, for identities and flags. Bastions to national identity exist even now, twenty years after the Flag War's final toll. Few will know how the United Nations folded between generations of corporate interest and old national lines. Bullets flew, bombs exploded. Those of us fighting for our countries got desperate. I lost squad-mates, fought in trenches made of sewage networks. Got promoted as people unravelled. Countries feared the weapons manufacturers, who took back their products and signed on Conglomerate or Syndicate lines. The Conglomerate was close to the only hold-out left: the data of hundreds of countries, their GDP's, proprietary technology, national secrets. When the final bomb fell over Europe, I hit the switch. I fragmented the data and with the help from the crumbling governments, hid the encryptions through my contacts. And while the associated leaders of the Security Council worked to stall the Conglomerate's info-digging, I and my squad dove into Conglom-held Switzerland simultaneous to our partner squads in Macau, Accra and Santiago. When the time came, and the other sections of the code released, I set a limited AI loose with one function: hide the secrets. Hide. Crypt.AI worked. It stole data integral to the Conglom's expansion, and hid that data in separate bundles of intelligent superimposed encryption. The Conglom had no choice but to stop its' insurgence. Nothing more to be gained. Fulfill the promises made to people who signed contracts. The United Nations acquiesced to the repeated demands, and disbanded. Some nations continued to hold varied levels of autonomy, most faded. By 2100, not a single person will be left without a contract binding their souls and futures to a cause. This is why I speak. Idless. All who believe in a non-corporate method of humanity's progress. Come to Haven. My wife and I found another way.Read more in...
Emptiness at the Centre
The Conflict
Prelude
The 21st Century was mired in a pull against the historical tensions of nation-based identities with an increase in corpocracy. Families became more mixed over time, thus watering down ties to any one flag or culture for those with mixed heritage. Many nations slowly began to privatize by signing education, health care, community projects and housing to various multinational corporations. Seats in governments began to be overtly purchased by the 2060's.
A rush of nationalist and anarchic pride began to temper the corporate rise. While groups like the Idless continued to pass below the corporate radar, others banded together to fight for the sovereignty of their flags. The act of wearing a flag, or company logo became an act of derision. It split families and cities, who chose to elect officials based on their corporate ties.
When five of the largest multinational corporations declared a merger into the Conglomerate, and began to issue IDent chips to act as official passports, those who saw value in nations over corporations rose up.
The bombing of an IDent facility in Surrey, British Columbia by two teens seen on CCTV wearing Canadian flag onesies, begat a rash of riots and the destruction of Conglomerate property around the world. Private security & company military squads engaged to protect Conglom assets. Those who considered themselves on the Conglomerate, or in certain areas, the Syndicate's side wore their IDent chips on wrist bands of bright company colours to avoid investigation. Others wore their nation's flags. Several countries rose to toss out the Conglom, The Syndicate of the Human Expanse and repatriate hospitals, education centres, and community hubs.
Conglomerate forces unleashed weaponized drones, based on original designs by Dr. Dieter Karnak and Dr.Robert Dunlevy.
The Flag War began.
Historical Significance
Legacy
The Flag War confronted animosity between those who believed in democratically elected leaders, and society as a for-profit mechanism. An ideal government was one elected or founded on compassion, mercy and restraint. An elected group of volunteers sans ego, people who needed no monetary exchange, nor sought to hold power. One was to serve, aide their community, then leave back to civilian life. The ideal turned into a mask for greed.
At least the industries made their greed a visible icon, corporate culture enshrined in buzz-words and carefully crafted prose.
When the laser fire settled, and our dead were buried or atomized, we had nothing left but our faith. Our identities, and our fatigue. Many took positions at the lowest daily rates, sunk their heads in doorways built to make adult males duck their heads and hunch. Others, depending on their talents, were given higher wage rates, families moved to promotion-reward gated communities, or company housing. I went underground, my contacts required my services and I still did not succumb to the Conglomerate or its rival Syndicate.
Outcome
- United Nations Disbanded
- Sovereignty of Nations crumbles
- Conglomerate gains the right to create tradable currency & IDents
- Syndicate creates tradable currency & IDents
- Corporate lawyers sue world leaders in company courts, many to never be seen again
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Planetary
Start Date
2071
Ending Date
2079
Conflict Result
The UN Dissolved. The Conglomerate became a Sovereign Entity based not on Geography, but corporate interest.
- Demyan Anastas
The Planet
The Engagement
City by City, in piecemeal.
Technology
- Attack Drones
- Laser mounted Fly Drones
- Advanced Facial Recognition Software
- Self Propelled Assassin Darts
Aftermath
- The death of Nations as sovereign states
- The pull for people to purchase Conglomerate / Syndicate IDents or become part of the Companies
- A significant rise in Idless & Idless Sympathizers
- Privatization of medicine, education & infrastructure
Belligerents
Strength
Casualties
98 million
Objectives
To keep sovereignty & return privatized resources to public use.
Strength
Technological Advantage. Troops trained.
Casualties
53 million
Objectives
To become the foremost superpower in control of planet Earth and humanity's interests.
Strength
Information Brokers.
Casualties
3 million
Objectives
Stay out of the way.
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