Virtual Wars

The Virtual Wars was a galaxy spanning conflict that threatened both the physical and virtual worlds. The end of the conflict resulted in the Federation of Stellar Systems becoming a puppet state under corporate control of Virtuoso. This left much of the galaxy in a lawless state as planetary governors struggled to maintain order.

Premise

The events leading up to the war were in the works for at least a century. The Federation reached a peak number of worlds settled but had struggled to maintain order as it became stretched thin. Many colonies began to secede in an attempt to form their own independent states, citing excessive taxes and corrupt government as the reason. However, these secessions severed major supply lines that were key to supporting the economy of major worlds such as Yeddo. As such, the Federation moved to regain control of these worlds. What started off as a series of attempts to control riots and localized violence soon escalated into a full-scale war.

The war was fought on multiple fronts. In the physical world, main targets included deep space servers to control the flow communication. A common space-based weapon was a simple tungsten rod that was launched at high velocities to destroy these server nodes and to bomb a location from orbit. However, the virtual world was just as dangerous if not more deadly. Virtual weapons could kill by causing avatars sensory overload and stopping the heart. Some of these battles could easily be mistaken as simulations or as games, but the consequences of losing were very real. On the cyberwarfare side, cryptoanalysts were concentrated on hacking into enemy controlled virtual worlds to gain an advantage. A jailbroken world or one with an exploitable bug could give one side of the war a major advantage.

Role of Virtuoso

The megacorporation Virtuoso was a neutral entity in the war. They would supply both sides with weapons, equipment and consciousness uploading services. Within a space a few years, they became one of the most powerful financial entities in the galaxy due to the conflict. EMany entities became reliant on Virtuoso's services for their core infrastructure. The Federation invested heavily in Virtuoso's stock, and the rogue nation of Taranis entered a secret trade agreement of selling them cybernephrine in exchange for Virtuoso's technology.

This relationship became severely disrupted when Luthen Virtuoso was assassinated by the Free Souls. However, Luthen's son, Lucian, was able to continue his work, leaving Virtuoso in a powerful position after the war.

Events

• Federation One Thousandth Anniversary Massacre
• Destruction of the Star Lift
• Sundew vs. Virtuoso
• Assassination of Luthen Virtuoso
• Battle of Dreaming Kingdoms
• Seizing of Babylon

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