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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Impeesa" data-source="post: 1996368" data-attributes="member: 498">Man, I can't believe I didn't mention this the first time around (and I know I saw the thread, because I posted):One of the defining elements of cyberpunk (or really, any of the ***punk genres) is the monolithic corporations that stand on par with governments. But why set it in the future? Ask yourself - what was the first modern corporation to really control a whole country? Zero points for saying Microsoft. No, I'm talking about the Hudson's Bay Company. It's been a few years since high school history, so my fur-trade era knowledge is a little rusty, but as I understand it, in the early 18th century the HBC opened up Canada with its trading posts. Picture this, if you will: the company leverages its power, and by the mid-19th century owns and actively controls most of what would be modern-day Canada. Half a continent is a savage wilderness, populated by voyageurs,  rebels, and beavers bred to the size of a full-grown man - only trading-forts-turned-fortresses provide some semblance of civilization. The rest is little better, having been devastated and parcelled out to the highest bidders following the War of 1812. The 'old country' is no place to run to, as new companies, old estates, and whole empires consolidate holdings to maintain an oppressive grip on what they do still control.I call it... FURPUNK.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />--Impeesa--</blockquote>

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