Evolution of the Species
Las Vegas, NV. Home to 2 million locals, and mecca for 40 million tourists every year. Unlike any other city in the world, this is the one place where you can truly find everything and anything you want. Sure, lots of other cities have gambling, and alcohol, and drugs, and even prostitution. But that's just the surface of what you'll find in Las Vegas. There's an entire underground network of things you didn't even know you wanted to think about, all run by organizations both shady and legitimate. And thanks to the city's history, all of it is still influenced in some way by the mob.
The mob. Oh, how this city was better off in the 60s and 70s. You had to wear a suit and tie to get into a casino or show, and the pretty lady on your arm had to be a in dress. Everybody knew their place, and as long as you stayed in your place and respected those around you, times were good. You could win a bit of cash, see a good show, have a decent brandy in a smoking room, find the woman of your dreams, and then lose the cash you won - all in a few hours. And nobody bothered you...so long as you respected the city and the people who lived here.
But that was then, and this is now. The city has gone from being controlled by the mob to being controlled by corporations. Large international conglomerates that have turned the neon lights off, erecting nameless, faceless casinos and hotels all designed for one purpose - bringing in the nameless, faceless tourists and separating them from their money in a variety of legal and illegal ways. Cookie-cutter structures of glass and steel have replaced the iconic hotels that once lined the strip, and people are now more concerned about how to get their picture taken with the Las Vegas sign than they are about what table game to hit next. They city looks good on the surface, but it's a mere shadow of its former self.
The most interesting thing about the city is not how it's changed from neon light to flourescent bulb, but in the people that now call it home. Since the start of what the media has called "The Awakening" in 2010 - the singular greatest leap forward in the evolution of mankind - mutants have flocked to the city, hoping to blend in with the other freaks who call the place home. When the genetic markers for mutation somehow decided to spring to life, all sorts of interesting and new branches of the tree of mankind came forth. Homo Sapiens was no longer a single classification of the species. Science had to split mankind into two categories: Homo Sapiens Inferior, for those without mutations, and Homo Sapiens Superior, for those with.
The 6 years that have passed since this global event have been both good and bad. Fields of science previously unknown have grown by leaps and bounds, driven by the need for HSI's to try and match what the HSS's can just do naturally. And while there is a clear divide between the two groups, most people generally try to live in peace with one another. The Awakening showed that we are all small, and the only way to get through whatever it is that is happening is to live together.
