The Way I See It - Action Zebra
Where does this leave us now? The answer is simple, for we are in a better place. Long-term viewers of my show will already know that I have my issues with the corporate control exerted over our beloved sprawl, but if it's a choice between living in a corporate enclave or enslaved by one of those giant bugs, let me join the corps. You know the saying, "Better the devil you know."
Purpose
The Way I See It is a short, nightly, talk program hosted by anarchist celebrity, Cem Ozturk that is broadcast B1 Trideo through profit sharing arrangements with Ozturk Media. Since the fall of the F-State, Ozturk's rhetoric has become more corporate-friendly to represent the growing influence of the corporations in Berlin.
Historical Details
Background
This issue was broadcast on the third anniversary of the opening of negotiations between the Allied German States and the Corporate Court over intervention in the Flux State.
Public Reaction
Although less influential than he had been in his prime, Cem has a loyal following, and this episode played in 330,000 households live, with an additional 1.9 million on demand views. This episode has generally positive opinions throughout the sprawl, but comments have quickly turned into flame wars over the credibility of his claims.
The Way I See It - Action Zebra
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to The Way I See It. I am your host, Cem Ozturk.
Three years ago tonight, the National Council began meeting to deliberate on the what would come to be known as "Action Zebra", the coordinated corporate takeover of our beloved Flux State. In tonight's show, we will look at the necessity of these meetings and their eventual progression into the state of hostilities in which we currently find ourselves. The images you are about to see may be disturbing to some viewers, but they represent the truth from which so many of us are kept on a regular basis, and as such are important to spread across the sprawl by any means possible.
The reason given to the people for the government's assent to the corporate coup of one of its member states was the Anarcho-Syndicalist group called "Liberty of Body and Soul", which had allied itself with various groups (anarchist and anti-anarchist, alike), to topple the governments of nearby states and expand the influence of the Berlin Flux State. Don't believe this for one moment. My sources have laid it out that LBS was nothing more than a false flag operation run by trained commandos under the payroll of AG Chemie.
If this is true, you might ask, why do I not raise my voice in stronger protest to the corporate occupation of West Berlin? I have it on good authority that there was a darker threat lurking beneath the surface of the Flux State, one whose very nature would shock and incite the German People into a great panic much more than yet another anarchist plot to take over the world. What is this threat? I'm glad you asked.
We begin with the Universal Brotherhood, which looked like any other new-world cult. The Brotherhood opened the doors of a single chapterhouse in 2043 in the California Free State. Seven years later, nearly 40,000 members had joined the group in roughly 400 cities worldwide, Berlin being no exception. The society, based on the discredited teachings of Dr. Caitlin O'Connal, preached communal living and respect of the bond between all humans and metahumans, the so-called "Universal Brotherhood." This is on the surface at least.
I've got my hands on documents leaked directly from Ares Macrotechnology's Firewatch that reveal that the Universal Brotherhood served as a cover organization for a network of shamans, who use the wayward and lost souls that found themselves attracted to the cult to summon forth hives of insect spirits in most of the world's major sprawls. This was the reason that the National Council met in secret to decide the end of Berlin's Flux State, and don't let anyone tell you different.
We don't know exactly what went on in those meetings, or how long they deliberated over these issues, but the effects are known well enough. On 29. September, corporate forces entered Berlin, as they did in other sprawls, and stormed both the Universal Brotherhood's chapterhouse and any location any bit of information, no matter how spurious, connected with LBS. The superior training, armaments, and logistics of the corporate forces were impossible for the Flux State defenders to resist. A few short hours later, the majority of Western Berlin had been 'secured' by its new corporate overlords. And where does Ares Macrotechnology decide to set up shop when the smoke clears? You're right, chummers, right on top of the very hive they cleared out.
Where does this leave us now? The answer is simple, for we are in a better place. Long-term viewers of my show will already know that I have my issues with the corporate control exerted over our beloved sprawl, but if it's a choice between living in a corporate enclave or enslaved by one of those giant bugs, let me join the corps. You know the saying, "Better the devil you know."
I'm Cem Ozturk, and that's The Way I See It.
- Type
- Record, Transcript (Communication)
- Medium
- Digital, Holographic
- Location
- Berlin
- Authors
I like the idea of making a series of these to flesh out events in your version of Shadowrun. The Public Reaction looks almost exactly the same as the other, though. Instead of copying it from the other, I would be much more interested in knowing more about the reaction to the show and how it influenced things on the ground regarding its action. Same thing with the Purpose header. That looks very similar to the last one; why not tell us something new, something unique to this episode and the circumstance surrounding it? You can make a main article about the show itself where you have the generic information once and link to the various episodes.
I hadn't thought to build a main article, and then link to individual broadcasts from there, but that is a genius idea. You're right about the public reaction - I definitely plan to come back and fill out reaction when the time comes, but the date on the wall is currently the morning of the 14th. I rushed these two out to fluff-fill my conspiracy theorist player during our session tonight. As such, they're definitely still WIP.
I look forward to seeing them grow!