Shanghai 2053

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

The year is 2053. The world is recovering from a period of conflict that has been dubbed the Third World War although in truth it is better characterised as a period during which several high profile wars overlapped, coupled with a rise in economic and data based conflict.

A number of individuals from across the world have been recruited by the Governor of Shanghai, Wu Wei Min to form an as yet poorly explained task force.

A scruffy young Shanghai local who looked suspiciously like he was shaved thoroughly but against his will began gathering the various mostly ex-military and law enforcement individuals using large chunks of cardboard box with their names written on in permenant marker. Not the most hi-tech of welcomes.

Things got a lot weirder soon enough however, when a dozen or so brightly coloured mascots started a rampage in the middle of the airport lobby. The robotic mascots did not prove overly dangerous, but they did provide enough cover for several Korean looking gentlemen with elaborate tattoos (dressed as jazz-playing bunnies) to rob several expensive shops in the lobby and snatch a lady handcuffed to a secure briefcase. The intervention of the party caused them to panic, leaving the businesswoman behind. In the violence that followed, only one heavily wounded Gangland Bunny made it through the lobby's doors, tumbling into a flashy urban-racer of a car and burning rubber, attempting to abandon the remaining Bunnies to the tender ministrations of international bail-bondsman Rutger Hieronymus and his unconventional new acquaintances.

And if they aren't quick off the mark, he may yet get away with it.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Hello and welcome, I am Chen Ying and this is Shanghai Evening News.



Tonight's headlines are as follows.

Chaos at Shanghai International as several entertainment robots malfunction.
Psychotronic posts a surprising dip in profits for the third year in a row.
Governor Wu Wei Min speaks out on childhood inactivity.
Wonderland announces that their star Jazz playing Android-Band has completed it's repairs and will be back on stage at last.
And finally, Lu Lu Shi, the worlds first cybernetically augmented panda has finally been recaptured after her three month rampage through Shanghai's outskirts.

Shanghai International airport was plunged into chaos today as several entertainment robots, dressed as colourful children's characters experienced a mild malfunction. Details of the event are still unfolding, but Shanghai International's spokesperson has confirmed that Airport Security have resolved the situation and that they believe the issue to be an unfortunate but essentially isolated incident. Eyewitness reports emerging on social media have claimed that the incident was used as cover for a gang of robbers, themselves disguised as children's mascots. There have also been reports of a high speed chase developing on the roads leading away from the airport, leading some to speculate that the robbers were seen off by a rival gang or concerned bystanders. Claims that Shanghai International strongly deny...

Excuse me, we bring you now to some breaking news - a regular internal flight has apparently ended in near-tragedy. A plane has been forced to crash-land at Shanghai International. Casualty numbers have not yet been confirmed, but the Shanghai Police have issued a joint statement with the Aviation Authority describing the incident as appearing to be a terrorist attack perpetrated by a foreign national. Sources indicate that a former member of Canada's mounted-police may have detonated a small explosives device inside the cockpit forcing a passenger to attempt to land the plane. We have no statement from the Canadian Embassy or Governors Office at this time.

Next up on Shanghai Evening News, we have a report on Psychotronics baffling economic woes...

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Last time, on Shanghai 2053;

The roadside interrogation of the surviving members of the Double Dragon gang was dramatically interrupted by high calibre gunfire. The number of surviving members was reduced drastically, but our heroes managed to hang on to their talkative captive and the briefcase they had stolen, whilst escaping through the back yards of the district to the nearest police station.

In the aftermath of the Shanghai International Airport plane-crash, the heroic Android who brought the plane in for landing takes the necessary time to recover the body of the tragic Canadian Mountie and the remains of the Air-Hostess droid who caused the crash. Now entangled in the official rescue efforts, the dutiful android resists pressure from airport security services to publicly blame the dead Mountie for the crash.

In the baggage handling and retrieval area, a Russian gentleman has a quiet and inconsequential conversation with a lady named Madeleine Stampf, concerning the retrieval of the briefcase.

And in the relative quiet of the airport itself, another android tries to get to the bottom of the earlier situation and find the cause of the Mascot-Robot malfunctions. He finds his way to their central maintenance area, only to find an Android in white-tie and tails desperately trying to white all the data the maintenance server holds. He stops it with a single bullet, execution stlye...just as the Plane-Crash-Hero enters the scene.

A lifeless robotic body slumps to the floor.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Last time, on Shanghai 2053;

The Androids fought over the Mascot-bot's central maintenance server, one trying to stop the cleaning-kit left active by the mysterious dead android from wiping the data and the other trying to get to the bottom of what was going on. With the arrival of several other individuals, things got steadily more confused but outright hostilities were avoided and introductions were made.

Assembled in the dark maintenance room were the core members of the new team that the governor of Shanghai was putting together and a single dead android who looked like he was late for some kind of formal event. In his broken head was a flash of dizzying traces of images and sounds and in his pockets were a number of photographs of someone's family and a matchbook with the name Wonderland on it.

The team split up, one remaining behind to mine the server for data and the rest leaving the airport with another of the mysterious Nephews. Their accommodations were not found lacking.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Hello and welcome, I am Chen Ying and this is Shanghai Breakfast News.



The headlines this morning are as follows.

Mysterious stranger saves the lives of his fellow passengers, as reports surface that a droid of Japanese origin was on board and may have subdued the suspected Canadian hijacker and piloted the plane to safety.
Claims emerge on Social Media sites that a mysterious gun-man was seen discharging a high calibur rifle from the top of the Jin Mao tower.
Shanghai police came under fire from concerned citizens groups in the wake of their slow response to chaos at Shanghai International Airport.
Shock developments as Shanghai Ladies Lazerhocky team have been disqualified from the regional play-offs as a consequence of ongoing investigations into the use of illegal Cyberware in the Lazerhocky league.
Shanghai Zoo refuse to comment as reports emerge that Lu Lu Shi, the worlds first cybernetically augmented Panda who was recaptured yesterday may have killed several handlers. Is Lu Lu Shi still on the loose?
And finally tonight, we report on the troubled history of the White Rabbit Jazz Band, Shanghai's premier artificial entertainers and residents of the Wonderland club on the day of their return to the stage.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Jazz Bunny @JazzFan363
Omg - Wonderland White Rabbit Band back on stage in 5. #SoExcited #Wonderland

Jazz Bunny @JazzFan363
@WonderlandShanghai - What gives, man? Since when did White Rabbit not play live? #Fail #Wonderland

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
****, guys. Lady next to me just got shot. I don't want to die. #wannalive #roboterror #Wonderland

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I never should have said those things, Kassie. #perspective #goodbye

...

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
I can't believe I made it! A lot of people didn't. I think some crazy robot is trying to patch people up? #StillAlive #WTF #Whalesong

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
@KassieKun, no, it's just some random android. I've no idea what it's supposed to look like, gonna send you a pic. #goodbyesanity

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
@KassieKun, @DrWoofles, I know, right?

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Hello and welcome, I am He Jia and this is Shanghai Evening News.


We start tonight with breaking news!
For the second night in a row, chaos reigns in the streets of Shanghai, as a violent shootout at one of Shanghai's top night spots spills out onto the streets. Witnesses report scenes involving a van being thrown down the street in an altercation with a Bipedal Advanced-Tank and a high speed chase involving the BAT and a third vehicle, an articulated lorry.

As reports from first responders start to trickle in, Shanghai Police inform us that they are monitoring the situation as it develops and that there is at present no further danger to the people of Shanghai. The Governor's office has released a withering counter-statement however, claiming that not only have the police failed to respond yet again to a major incident on the streets of Shanghai, but that it was due to the intervention of agents working directly for the Governor's office that this was prevented from escalating from a relatively contained tragedy into a full blown bloodbath right at the heart of the city.

Shanghai Police have declined to comment further at this time.
Next up, we have an on-location report from Yu Ying at Shanghai East International Medical Center, where many of the injured are being taken...

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
It's okay folks, it's all quiet here now. #Wonderland

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
Medics turned up a while ago, the wounded are going off to East International. #HealPlz

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
Hold up, I think we've even got Police on the scene! Well, finally! #Fail

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
Yeah, but no, that would be too useful @DrWoofles, they're just sending the rest of us home.

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
I guess it does kind of look like a big old Cat-bot, yeah. @KassieKun

Jazz Bunny @Jazzfan363
You think it might have been the one that landed the plane? #ShanghaiHeroism

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Hello, I am He Jia and this is Shanghai Eveni-