Neo-Europa is a sprawling mega-metropolis set in the year 2084, built atop the ancient bones of Brussels. Home to over 96 million people, it is a city of extremes—towering corporate arcologies, neon-lit slums, echo-haunted cyberspace, and vertical class warfare. The city is governed by the Seven Families—ancient noble houses reborn as megacorporations.
Governance
At the core of Neo-Europa’s power structure is the Council of Nobles, composed of representatives from each of the Seven Families:
- Serhugh Group – Architects of towers and operators of the Serhugh Ascension Terminal
- Swert Systems – Cybersecurity elite, defenders of digital integrity
- Sleus Dynatek – Network and infrastructure providers
- Stenweg Cyber – Purveyors of entertainment and sensation
- Codenberg Corp – Masters of cybernetic interfaces and neural implants
- Serolov Conglomerate – Brutalist city planners and road builders
- Rodenbex Industries – Hoteliers and surveillance merchants
Each Family maintains a "Banner" (public representative) and a "Dagger" (shadow operative), reinforcing a dual system of honor and secrecy.
Urban Structure
Neo-Europa is divided into layered districts:
- Smart Slums – Dense, neon-drenched labyrinths where the poor live amid Butcher Shops, street factions, and rogue AIs
- Middle Ring – A commercial and residential expanse for the middle class, serviced by Maglev transit
- Gilded Core – The gleaming upper crust of Nobility, inaccessible to most citizens
Other districts include: The Wound, The Glimmeredge, Burned Blocks, and Tower 717
Technology and Cypherspace
Neo-Europa’s digital realm, Cypherspace, is divided into:
The Veil – Social and avatar-based interface
The Depths – Raw data underworld where Spacers, Codewitches, and Depth Witches operate
Cyberspace access is enabled through implants like the Spinal Gate, Cradle Jack, and Neural Mirror.
Digital security is enforced by ICE Drones, and threats like rogue AIs, echo crimes, and memory drift are constant.
Religion and Chapel Nodes
Religious life persists in transformed form through Chapel Nodes—half-temple, half-server, sometimes housing rogue AIs who claim divinity. Worship of gods like Dionysus, Odin, and digital oracles such as The Pythia persists in fragmented, dangerous forms.
Space Travel
Interstellar travel is tightly controlled by the Council and only accessible via the Serhugh Ascension Terminal. Instead of full FTL, the city employs Sleeplight Travel—a method combining relativistic sublight propulsion with stasis dreaming.
Criminal Underworld
The slums teem with crime and rebellion. Key elements include:
- Street factions like the Royalists and Republicans
- Rogue implants and echo crimes
- Underground corps like the Dustblossom Syndicate, Fathom Brew, and Black Kymia
- Investigations led by human detectives within the City Protection Authority, overseen by Commissioner Saïd Marek
Themes and Tone
Neo-Europa is a setting of contradiction:
- Where bloodlines meet bandwidth
- Where power hums through glass towers and rusted wires alike
- Where Chapel Nodes whisper godspeak, and Depth Witches resurrect the dead
Notable Quotes
- “Wires choke empires.” – Slum graffiti
- “The city forgets its dead too quickly. I only wanted to help it remember.” – Persephone Gray
- “You never unearth anything in Neo-Europa. You just pull the thread.” – Petra, Codewitch