I/R/I/S/ - FOR DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY

The Twin Snakes is a project created by Doom and Co-created by Oatman. It is a cyberpunk story set in the year 2060 in the Southwest United States, after harsh civil war and division.

This straw.page serves as an introduction and blog spot for the project, where I (Doom) will try to explain the complete dribble of ideas and story beats stolen from Kojima that is the main story, and give updates to its status (BECAUSE IT'S NOT FINISHED YET, HA!)

THE AREA BELOW IS CURRENTLY UNFINISHED!

"I'm working on it!" - Chris-Chan, 2009

"I'm working on it!" - Chris-Chan, 2009

Hot take: I don’t like synthwave and think it doesn’t mix well with the cyberpunk genre. I think a more accurate genre of music to me is like electropunk or industrial music because it has that "low tech, low life" feel, while synthwave is nothing but clean and aestheticized slop.

Background - The Civil War, the rise of I.R.I.S, and the NCAS

In the latter half of the 2020s, out of political unrest the and assassinations of countless politicians, the United States of America is divided by civil war.

Many states secede from the union and claim independence in a complete free-for-all, the first state to declare independence being Texas (or the New Confederate State of America). Political groups take up arms and become violent militias. Citizens are drafted en masse, or outright killed in the line of fire. The war tears through the Southwest U.S, and where it has already been the victim of pollution and wildfire, it's ravaged even heavier by fighting, creating the Southwest Wastes. The Civil War, of course, is not just to the detriment of people; as it leads the way for profit among large corporations.

In the wake of the Civil War and various breakthroughs in the spaces of cybernetics and weapons development, various corporations, both well-established and growing, enter a war market to arm these independent states and militias to indulge in the all-time classic opportunity: money, cash, moolah. A specific company, the I.R.I.S Corporation, headed by Dr. Samuel Harlow and Dr. Johan Henderson, was put at the front of the stage in 2028, when they revealed artificial spines they dubbed the "I.R.I.S Neuraspinal Units", which made it easier for the brain to control the rapidly advancing cyberware that constantly released. Due to their newfound fame, they allied with the popular German armament company, Heckler & Koch to import and sell their weapons to militias under the Henderson-led weapons wing of I.R.I.S.

In the Southwest, a terrorist cell-turned militia called WASP overthrows the Government of California. They quickly after secede from the U.S, and become the New California Autonomous State (NCAS), its army keeping the WASP name. Under the NCAS, Los Angeles, which had been in a process of heavy rebuilding after the 2025 wildfires, was rebirthed as Nova City along with most of the Southern California coastal area, becoming a sprawling megalopolis. I.R.I.S notices the NCAS early-on, as they originated in L.A, so they built a pact with the New Californian Government and WASP. The I.R.I.S Corporation became the primary supplier to WASP, outfitting their soldiers with their armor and cyberware, as well as weapons through H&K, bringing back the legendary XM-29 OICW, after it was abandoned in 2004. In 2030, the NCAS acquired parts of Arizona and most of Southern Nevada, rebuilding a rubble-laden Las Vegas and renaming it Neo Las Vegas. WASP forces were deployed across the Wastes as far as the Confederate border, with a full scale occupation coming into shape in 2034.

As of 2034, the war is still being fought, albeit through nothing but militia groups funded by corporations. The war economy has become a ludicrous market, and war has turned into nothing but a game of monopoly for the rich.

The current NCAS map. California Über Alles!

The Main Players

Johan Henderson

Co-CEO of the I.R.I.S Corporation. College graduate. Arms dealer. After marrying and having a child, he saw his wrongdoings and now works from behind the scenes to take down the I.R.I.S Corporation and let the twins have a normal life.

Maverik

Clone. First twin. Child soldier. Super-soldier experiment. Rebel. Fueled by the lust for revenge, Maverik is going to tear down the I.R.I.S Corporation and the NCAS, even if it means he loses his identity in pursuit of becoming the emotionless killer he was made to be.

Epsilon

Clone. The other twin. Child soldier. Super-soldier. Extremely dedicated to the ideals of the people he was made to kill for and also doesn't quite know what he is, while being addicted to an enhancement drug. Epsilon slowly discovers an identity for himself and starts to question his higher-ups.

THE MUSIC OF THE WASTES

PLAYLISTS

The NCAS / WASP

The nefarious, ultra-militarist force that controls the Southwest. Originally a terrorist cell, after it overthrew the government of California, it installed a near-fascist and militarist system and became the state's ruling force. President Francisco Caballero is a puppet, controlled by a council of businessmen and military leaders. WASP, their military wing, is made up of I.R.I.S-augmented, tough armor plated beasts with bug-eyed helmets, those of which resemble the head of a wasp.

The I.R.I.S Corporation

I.R.I.S stands for "Integrated Research and Innovation in Science". If only that innovation was for the so-called "betterment of humanity". The I.R.I.S Corporation is a megacorporation founded by Dr. Samuel Harlow and Dr. Johan Henderson, specifically working in the fields of weapons development and cybernetics. They gained massive success in 2028 with the introduction of their neuraspinal units, and soon came to be one of the richest corporations in the post-2020s war economy, thanks to their technology and partnership with German armament company, Heckler & Koch. They're mainly located in Nova City, with their headquarters being the menacing Autumn Tower.

Guy Vanzetti

WASP corporal. All-around good guy. Gay lover. Guy was a WASP corporal who led a squad tasked with assisting Special Task Force: Snake Eater. He eventually meets Epsilon, who he somewhat quickly forms a strong friendship with, of which turns into a relationship, built on a general appreciation of each other, a love for music, and Guy teaching Epsilon how to read and write.

The Biker Gang

Formed by former WASP corporal Connie Okami, the gang were known as raiders to most people. They dealt around Nevada and Arizona, usually picking fights with minor WASP convoys. Around the time Maverik joined them, he found himself being manipulated and used for his abilities, with the interactions with WASP becoming more frequent and over-the-top. Eventually, they entered the Wasteland drug trade up until their disbandment after the death of Connie Okami on the night of January 1st, 2060.

War veteran. Mercenary. Najavo. Widower. After settling down with a wife and child, WASP came and burned it to ash over apparent fugitives. He lost his family, half his sight, and the will to back down, becoming a mercenary to get revenge on the people who took his life away.

Keane

CEO of the I.R.I.S Corporation. College Dropout. Egomaniac. Father of the twins. After gaining massive success, he slowly grows into a cash-obsessed tyrant.

Samuel Harlow

WASP General. Rampaging reactionary. Militarist. Harold was put in the position of raising the twins as young children, and bled his hateful ideologies into the children, creating the divide that proved absolutely crucial to their story.

Harold Runner

Jessica Yang

CLF Rookie. Orphan. Valuable hacker. Jessica's family was taken from the very same fire that took Keane's. She was shortly taken in by WASP and trained in hacking as a part of the IRIS cyber-defense program. Soon enough, the CLF liberated the site her and the rest of the program was being held, and she was put in their hands. Jessica never lost her knack for hacking, though, and is now a rookie netrunner for the CLF.