The "Neoverse", as it's come to be code-named, is a loosely structured plot I've been working on for the past 5 years or so, all of my current drawings take some place in this plot. Whether they be characters, environments or anything else, they are for this project.
The setting is somewhere far into the future, sometime far enough to where humanity has advanced technology that can manipulate genes and travel through space and all that other crazy stuff. I'll talk more about the technological details later. Basically the idea is that somewhere in the far future humanity has fallen into chaos, the orderly governments that we know of now have dissolved into bloodthirsty dictatorships centered around large, weapon-creating industries. These industries make no ordinary weapons that we know of in modern times, they mass-produce monsters. Loyal till death, infinitely customizable, and undauntingly formidable, these kaiju (a Japanese term used for monster) are the perfect weapon. The industries are split into two warring factions, Neogen & Silica. Neogen originates in what was the United States and focuses on using genetics for their weapon making, mixing DNA and Mutagens to create ungodly monstrosities called "Splicers". Neogen is a very primal corporation, using savage intellect and brute force to win wars. Silica originates in what was Japan and focuses on using synthetic compounds for their weapon making, custom creating advanced forms of robotics; so advanced to the point where the construct is type of living organism, organisms called "Synthetics" (Synths for short). Silica is much more organized and structured than Neogen, but lacks much of the raw power that Neogen has (These two aspects are seen as a war between "Instinct" & "Logic").
The environment that this story takes place is quite different from our own. Nature is all but a faded memory, since the ever growing population of humanity has caused most areas to become urbanized. Although there are some small pockets of forested land and vast deserts in neutral territory, including a large forest teeming with life that seems to be protected by unknown entities. People are crammed into small living quarters all over the world while the upper class lives in luxurious mansions in the private sections of the city. The air, especially closest to the main industries (near the center), is thick with smog and pollution. Breathing in this atmosphere would be harmful to a modern regular human being, that is if anyone was still a regular human being.... In the future humanity has began to adapt, to mold itself into horrific and formidable new forms. These new adaptions have taken place not by natural causes, but by the hands of man. Citizens living in Neogen territory opt for splicing their DNA with that of various animals and extraterrestrials, making them viscous beasts that still have the cunning of a human, or they "perfect" their body through gene manipulation, increasing strength, intelligence, and many other things by customizing the DNA to their specific needs. The flesh of a human has become a canvas and the DNA is the paint. Silica focuses more on what it could replace in the body and less of how they could manipulated. Silica focuses on implanting and augmenting synthetic forms onto the body, so much sometimes that the old body has been completely replaced aside from the most vital of organs.
Obviously these new "additions" to the human body have to be very expensive, which means that mostly the upper class are the ones that have the privileges while the lower class barely scrapes by to get only the necessary augmentations to help them survive in this genetically spliced dog eat synthetically implanted dog world. Many of the lower class have their own basement labs to do the process their own, of course this can be very dangerous and don't always work out. This basement lab technique has also been applied to the monster making business, which has gotten some low life's high ranking jobs as kaiju designers, but many others die after the creature brutally mauls them. Another less illegal option that many low lives have adopted is selling produce and other trinkets at the local markets. While the lower class usually has to suffer in a life a poverty, the higher ranking class is basking in all the benefits the industries have to offer. Some of the richer citizens barely even look human anymore because of how "transformed" they have become. Of course all of the higher class enjoy luxurious meals, roasts of hybrid species that can only be described as "as good as licking the floor of Heaven", luxurious synthetic wines, and high strength drugs (regular drugs would do no effect to their spliced bodies).
So how might one become one of the high class? Well you have to be good at making monsters, obviously. There is only a high class because Neogen and Silica pay big bucks to those who are able to help them gain more territory, ergo those who can design, build, and program new and powerful creatures. There are obvious other ways (creating products for the citizens, all products made that are sold in the territories are owned by the rightful factions) but the monsters are where the real money is. This also means that the upper class is a smaller population of the people, and the majority or them have to be somewhat psychotic to have such jobs. The majority of the higher class are cruel, calculating people that don't mind making money off of the death of others. And once you work for either Neogen or Silica you are stuck there, the leaders of the companies cannot risk letting someone go then going to the other team and telling them all their secrets. So if you're not doing a good job in the corporation, the boss won't necessarily fire you...he'll just devour you, or worse. Yes I said devour, the major officials of the companies are so far from being human, they are now intelligent creatures roaming the facilities, only keeping a small portion of their humanity, and they don't mind getting their claws dirty.
Danger is everywhere in the urbans of the future, in the low ranking side you have to worry about getting mugged by some spliced up thugs and on the high class side you have to worry about the rebels setting off some bomb (rebels being a group of lower class forming a large rebellion against the higher powers and using guerrilla warfare). "Order", as the higher class calls it, is kept in the lower class sides by Neogen and Silicas very own special police. These are special patrolmen that walk the streets of the lower class making sure everyone is behaving. They keep a harsh rule over all who live in the area and punishment can be for even the simplest of this, some citizens have been known to be beaten to death just for spitting in the wrong area. The patrolmen have complete freedom in the low class sides, and can do whatever they want to the citizens. Even with this constant patrol, some low class citizens have been able to make a living selling illegals off the black market. Many citizens keep labs in the basement for drug making, splicing/synthing, and even weapons making. The risk of these labs is incredibly high, anyone found to be making or selling these illegal items are raided in the middle of the night and taken away, never to be seen again.
Between the psychopathic big business officials, the giant monsters roaming all over the land, and the world being in a constant state of war, the earth has become quite a dangerous place. Even the other world sentient beings that we have come in contact throughout the universe won't come to Earth because it's a giant stinking mess. This is what war does to a world, it makes it a disaster.
Soooo yeah, that's that. There will be more on it soon, but for now, nibble on this. ;)
