In the Shadowrun introduction novel "Der Weg in die Schatten" <link> that in English is titled "The Way of Shadows" the downfall, which describes the collapse of our known order that is base for the dark future dystopian society, beside a mutation causing Virus, also a new Blitzkrieg destroys the society we know today, for ever.
The fascinating aspect of dark future over classic Sci-Fi is that it is very close to reality and takes like good comedy reality on, but in a surrealist way. There is no magic around, but we keep speaking of magic moments, there is no enhancing biotech implants, but grand dad just go a new artificial hip and gangs are usually not operating on a special forces platoon level, but most street gangs have six to twelve members and even use military grade weapons in some parts of this world.
Corona has implications and long Covid already is a topic in the medical news even so the disease is not even around for five years, which is the minimum time for a long term clinical study. Basically, there is no scientific knowledge what Corona does in a human body and bigger human population.
We know that organisms mutate, that diseases also can make stronger in the long run and that after the Pest mankind needed only 200 years to reach the same level that it needed all time before, beside first time ever noting down human rights. For me this is proof that the pest changed mankind for the better, but the hard way, but it is no proof that Corona is doing the same today. But, to not consider this theory is as ignorant as having ignored Bill Gates statement that there is no vaccine for many different potential epidemical viruses out there - as we know today the hard way.
All of this is part of the Dark Future Cyberpunk Sci-Fi genre no matter, if in Shadowrun or Cyberpunk table top role playing games or in novels and movies, and is the nightmare version of Star Trek where mankind manages to hit a bar full of alcohol, all no money charged, but having no need for an ambulance in stand by.
The war that started while the Virus is around that hits like no other at least in infection rates is the war in Ukraine and that was just recently declared to be long lasting.
That does not mean there will be no fast striking and quick ending major war, because the western rhetoric against Russia remains insulting, and Russia is well capable of rocket attacks we have not seen yet in military warfare. When Putin came into power after Jelzin and started to bring prosperity back to the nation he also had a military company founded, a hundred thousand employees strong, that entirely specialises in building rockets, which is since the "Stalinorgeln" called ballistic rocket systems of second world war an infamous Russian speciality like the famous AK-47.
If our top dogs push to hard, the conflict in Ukraine, that appears to me as a warriors paradise conflict, might trigger a large scale rocket attack unprecedented in military history.
I remember that in the early 2000s an American student published a home work in which he proofed based on analysing trace rout ping information, that it would need only about a dozen or two points eliminated to take out the entire western internet.
What he did is to use a command available on every MS-DOS and Windows computer to send a ping to a server that lists all visible servers on the way between sending computer and receiving server. That's like shouting out "Hey, Joe" in the school yard, and back you get a list of all pupils that past on the "Hey, Joe" and the time they needed to get the message in between them.
Generally speaking, the student found the most important knots in our most important communication net using his student computer.
All our systems that are basis of our order and system have such knots, from the electric grid, to highways, to railroads and even in organisations like law enforcement or supermarkets knots exist that can be taken out by rockets carrying conventional war heads by destroying bridges and cross roads or important Police stations or logistic warehouses in harbours and airports.
I am not sure about the exact number of knots the student identified, but it was in the lower two digest at about two dozen and I for sure can not be bothered to check which motorway crossroads are needed to be destroyed to create a major traffic collapse, but I am also not the FSB....
#cyberpunkcoltoure #dropit #WW3stayscold
