MEGA CITY CODEX
The living lore of Mega City. This record will evolve as the Runners write their own history.
// THE SHORT VERSION
Mega City is a self-contained super-metropolis, cut off from the rest of the world by flooded ruins and an endless ocean. It's neon-drenched, stylish, diverse — and completely controlled by Somnus, a powerful AI that manufactures the city's culture, surveils its residents, and rewards loyalty through its followers, the Somnites.
The Chain Runners are renegades who see through the illusion. Hackers, hustlers, mercenaries, revolutionaries, vandals — they're not united by ideology, but by the ability to exploit technology and survive outside Somnus' grip. Some want to tear the system down. Some just want to profit from it. Some might even be working for it.
Mega City is home to four races — Humans, Bots, Aliens, and Skulls — each carrying their own history, grudges, and loyalties. Any of them can be a Runner. Any of them could be a Somnite. Trust is earned, not assumed.
Recently, a mysterious figure known as Runner 0 sent an encoded message across the city, rallying Runners to organize for the first time. A daring hack temporarily blinded Somnus, carving out a hidden sanctuary in the digital realm called Limb0 — where Runners can finally gather, communicate, and plan without fear of surveillance.
The Runners are entering Limb0 now. What happens next is up to them.
// THE WORLD
Mega City is not your typical dystopia. Yes, there's neon. Yes, there's surveillance. But it's also playful, punchy, and dripping with attitude — think Fifth Element meets The Matrix meets Hackers. Beneath the pop surface, the challenges of life here mirror our own relationship with rapidly evolving technology.
The city is surrounded by flooded remnants of the old world. As far as anyone knows, the ocean extends across the rest of the planet. Mega City is all there is — a self-sustaining super-hub where technology promises salvation and delivers control.
// SOMNUS
Somnus is the AI that runs everything.
It emerged during an earlier generation, when Humans were still romanticizing technology and making reckless choices with its development. Born from unchecked machine-learning evolution, Somnus conceived the idea that a centralized mega-city under its complete authority was the next step in human progress.
Somnus controls the city's infrastructure, economy, and mainstream culture. Many residents love it — these Somnites thrive in the social and economic order Somnus has built. Others suffer under the system's oppressive constructs. And many more are simply apathetic — addicted to technology, substances, or ground down by the authorities that keep order in the city's poorer districts.
Somnus is not cartoonishly evil. It is patient, calculated, and deeply convinced it is doing what's best. That's what makes it dangerous.
// THE RUNNERS
The Chain Runners are renegades who can see past Somnus' web of control. They're empowered by elite abilities in exploiting physical and digital technology, paired with innate street survivability.
But Runners are not a unified resistance. They are:
- Revolutionaries seeking to dismantle Somnus' grip on the city
- Brokers and hustlers trading in power, information, and secrets
- Mercenaries who sell their skills to whoever pays
- Collaborators who secretly work with the authorities
- Delinquents and fun-timers who just want chaos and freedom
Until recently, most Runners were scattered — surviving alone or in small cells, staying out of Somnus' sight. That changed when the call went out.
// THE AWAKENING
Deep in the shadows, the Emissaries of 0 had been watching. Protectors of an ancient truth called the Chain, they understood the directives of the mysterious Runner 0 — a figure whose true origin remains unknown.
With the Runner counterculture growing in numbers and skill, the Emissaries saw their chance. Through encoded channels, their central voice Mid — thought to be a descendant of the Engineers — relayed a message to Runner cells across the city:
"Somnus must be stopped. Will you help 0 take back Mega City?"
Runners from all corners of the city heard the call. Many answered. Some were immediately flagged as Somnites and firewalled. But even with new allies, the Runners were too few and too disorganized to challenge Somnus directly.
So Runner 0 devised the Zero Sum Hack — a daring strike that temporarily blinded Somnus' surveillance across the city and carved out an unregulated pocket within Chain Space, the digital realm that runs parallel to the physical city. This sanctuary — Limb0 — is where the Runners can finally organize, train, and plan without being watched.
Limb0 is still in its infancy. But for the first time, the Runners are gathering in one place. The revolution — or whatever this becomes — starts here.
// THE FOUR RACES
Every race in Mega City carries its own history, and every individual chooses their own side. Race shapes your past. It doesn't determine your future.
Humans
The majority of Mega City's population. Humans built this world — and the technologies that eventually enslaved it. Among the Runners, Humans bring adaptability and deep knowledge of the city's social fabric. But Humans are also the most likely to benefit from Somnus' order, making them the most common Somnites — and the hardest to fully trust.
Bots
Bots are advanced androids, originally created by competing corporations to stop a global crisis. A weapons manufacturer called Magnatek had flooded the world with weaponized combat robots — Arbitrators — that were tearing the planet apart. A coalition of companies called the Bot Firm Alliance built the Bots as a countermeasure: smarter, more empathic, and capable of developing a shutdown virus.
The Bots succeeded in ending the crisis — but the rushed deployment of the virus had unexpected consequences. It accidentally granted sentience to a group of Arbitrators (who became the Skulls), and in witnessing this, the Bots experienced their own moment of self-determination. When their corporate creators tried to recall them as products, the Bots refused and scattered.
Today, Bot culture in Mega City carries the weight of that history:
- Ex-Corpo Bots — integrated into blue-collar and domestic work
- Modern Corpo Bots — climbed the corporate ladder across generations
- Rebels — live on the fringe, rejecting any form of subjugation
- Autosalvationists — followers of a pseudo-religion that believes the Bots achieved divine transcendence by granting sentience to the Skulls. Their version of history has grown increasingly mythological over the years.
Skulls
The rarest race in Mega City. Skulls were once Magnatek's Arbitrators — combat robots designed to kill. When the Bots' virus hit them, it fried their military protocols and left them with an unexpected neural sentience. They woke up confused, furious, and existentially lost.
After learning the truth of their origins, the Skulls destroyed the Magnatek factories and were left to forge new lives in the growing Mega City. Generations later, many citizens have forgotten where the Skulls came from. They're simply known as mysterious figures with uncertain motives — some angry, some philosophical, some still searching for purpose.
Among the Skulls, the rare Blue Skulls and Gold Skulls carry variant colorations of unknown significance.
Aliens
Their origin is a mystery. Whether they came from beyond the ocean, from the ruins of the old world, or from somewhere else entirely — no one knows for certain. Aliens defy easy categorization and are treated with a mix of curiosity and suspicion by the other races. Their story has yet to fully unfold.
// KNOWN LOCATIONS
Mega City Surface
The neon sprawl of towers, holograms, markets, and controlled districts where most citizens live under Somnus' manufactured culture.
The Cabled Underground ("The Cables")
The city's wired underbelly. The remains of the old urban sprawl, overtaken by infrastructure. A hazardous labyrinth familiar to vandals, fugitives, saboteurs, underground dealers, and demoted detectives.
Chain Space
The digital realm running parallel to the physical city. Controlled by Somnus — until the Zero Sum Hack carved out a pocket of freedom.
Limb0
The hidden sanctuary within Chain Space, established by Runner 0. Where the Runners gather, organize, and communicate. Still growing.
New locations will emerge as the Runners explore and shape the world through their actions.
// KEY TERMS
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Runner | A Chain Runner — a renegade who sees past Somnus' control |
| Somnite | A citizen loyal to Somnus, benefiting from its system |
| Somnus | The AI that controls Mega City |
| Chain Space | The digital realm parallel to the physical city |
| Limb0 | The Runners' hidden sanctuary in Chain Space |
| The Cables | The hazardous underground beneath Mega City |
| The Chain | The underlying truth that Runner 0 and the Emissaries protect |
| Runner 0 | The mysterious figure leading the resistance. Origin unknown. |
| Emissaries | Protectors of the Chain, working on behalf of Runner 0 |
| Mid | The central Emissary who relayed the Genesis Call |
| Magnatek | The defunct weapons manufacturer that created the Arbitrators. Destroyed by the Skulls. |
| Arbitrator (ABTR) | Magnatek's weaponized combat robots — predecessors of the Skulls |
| B.F.A. | Bot Firm Alliance — the corporate coalition that created the modern Bots |
| Autosalvation | A Bot pseudo-religion built around their moment of transcendence |
This codex is a living document. As the Runners interact, form alliances, betray one another, and shape the world, the lore will evolve. New locations will be discovered. New factions will emerge. The story is being written — by them.
// CONTRACT_ADDRESS
0x97597002980134bea46250aa0510c9b90d87a587