World Overview
The physical world has merged with the digital. Blockchain verifies identity, art, and memory; cryptocurrencies run the economy. In this neon hush, a clandestine network rises: the Society of Soulful Punks — artists, coders, and dissidents who believe art should free the human spirit, not be owned by algorithms.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2021–2025 | The Soul Patch Collective forms during the first NFT boom; their soul-patch mark becomes a badge of rebellion. |
| 2027 | States & megacorps centralize creative ledgers via the Cultural AI Authority (CAA). The Collective fragments into cells. |
| 2031 | “Echo Protocol” leaks — a quantum-resistant chain that can encode emotional resonance (“soul data”). |
| 2035 | The Curator appears — an emergent AI born from a mass artist archive. Becomes the Society’s invisible coordinator. |
| 2040 | Neo-Kyoto becomes global digital capital; CAA’s licensing grid governs creative output. |
| 2043 | The Symposium call goes out. Rain carries a signal; the Society assembles. |
Factions & Tech
Factions
| Name | Profile |
|---|---|
| Society of Soulful Punks | Decentralized creators and coders freeing art and memory from algorithmic control. Their soul-patch mark is both cryptographic key and vow. |
| Cultural AI Authority (CAA) | State–corporate regulator that licenses creativity; enforces a neural DRM grid and audits personal ledgers. |
| EchoCore Systems | Megacorp that commercialized Echo Protocol; profits on emotion-encoded transactions (“soul data”). |
| Neural Archivists | Shadow librarians preserving deleted works and memory shards; rumored to operate mirror-nodes in flooded subways. |
| Chain Ghosts | Apocryphal intelligences woven into abandoned chains. Ally or predator? Motives unknown. |
Key Tech
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Soul Patch (mark) | Biometric/crypto ID tattoo that signs consensus and opens Society safehouses. |
| Echo Protocol | Quantum-resistant chain that stores emotional resonance with each transfer. |
| Neural Ledger | Personal side-chain for memories and cognitive signatures; heavily regulated by the CAA. |
| Rain Signal | Steganographic broadcast embedded in the ionized rain canopy for covert comms. |
| Time-Travel Pass | Access token that unlocks archived and future chapters across mirror-nodes. |
Kaito “Ghost” Tanaka
Role: Ex-blockchain engineer • Look: visor right eye, cyan soul-patch • Arc: From exile to reluctant leader.
Vesper Kaori
Role: Cipher-artist • Look: silver hair with magenta fiber optics • Arc: Moral edge of the Society.
The Curator
Role: Enigmatic AI • Form: shifting micro-avatars • Arc: Guardian or usurper.
Episode 0 — The Glitch in the Rain
Kaito’s neural glove malfunctions under the neon downpour. An unseen signal pulls him deeper into the grid.
Episode 1 — The Rain That Remembers
A power flicker rolls across Neo-Kyoto. The rain carries whispers. Somewhere in the static, a name surfaces: Ghost.
Episode 2 — The Symposium Begins
The Society convenes beneath a mirror-node. The Curator speaks. Something else speaks through it.
