Welcome to My World
My world build is a dystopian, near-future world in which corporations have come from behind the skirts of government to rear their ugly heads in the honest, open market. It starts in 2033 and ranges ahead to the 2050’s.
In this world CommCorp has reign over all communications. That may seem unlikely to some of you who don’t realize all current media outlets are the puppets of 6 major corporate giants now (read Disney, for one). Furthermore, CommCorp has hyped connectivity to the point that almost everyone is “Jacked In” at least to wearables. These are just a hop/skip/jump from Oculus, Meta, Google Glasses and our mobile devices we cannot live without now. Most people are constantly Jacked In, seeing the world in front of them behind retina projections and other AR overlays piped into their field of vision—also not far from heads-up displays and other tech that we tinker with today.
PharmaCorp which has dominion over all health care, drugs, and in general the medical industrial complex. Again, this is not going to take much imagination when readers realize our current state of medicine (at least in the states) being so monopolized by mega giants that put money before the true well-being of those served. Bundle up all health care, mix in all the holistic and physical fitness efforts and you have PharmaCorp.
ChompCorp, is the giant company behind all things edible, and again, this is no big stretch (at least in the prepared foods market. Their power and authority has grown, however, to encompass the food industry from farming and seed management and production to everything we might consume. Again, some readers will feel this is unrealistic, until they explore current and proposed machinations of what we eat. In current times we are sold the products of carefully manufactured and genetically engineered hybrids that are not sustainable without corporate backing (you cannot even buy some strains of high-yield seeds outside of exclusive vendors, exacting conditions, etc…and then those plants cannot reproduce. Some plants, yield, acreage, fertilization, harvesting….a lot more is controlled presently than meets the eye. Extend all that to distribution, sales, etc…all in the name of better health and yield, and shake hands with ChompCorp.
TransCorp has evolved from what was left of the companies that offered petroleum, hydrogen and electric vehicles (including planes, cars, trucks, etc). Their consolidation and monopoly has virtually eliminated individuality in personal transportation and created a dependence on mass/public transportation. Since they own all fashion of getting somewhere, the boundaries of “some where” have changed accordingly. Add to this recent revolutions in teleportation, which they also are just coming to put online in 2050, and you have an interesting mix and a host of controls and problems.
One force for good was predominant in my series, Winston Water Works, which has bought up the majority of the world’s water rights and water ways. When LF Winston was at the helm, 2030-40, WWW created massive airships that created new meteorological patterns and shifts in climate. This company essentially came to own/manage weather. Arid lands were becoming bountiful. Everyone was getting their water managed fairly. Even hurricanes and tornadoes were governed by WWW. In ways, this is the most powerful corporation, for without water, entire regions could be laid to waste. Fortunately, up to the time of this series, WWW has acted for the greater good.
Other, lesser, corporate empires sprinkle the world build. It’s not an environment I would want to live in, and that is just the point…although it’s not the driving message, just the backdrop, in the current series.
Featured Image of retro televisions from: Eric Chan, Flicker
