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VIRUS WRECKAGE DETECTED:
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- The article covers the history of the United Kingdom in the Watch Dogs universe; for the real-life history, see Wikipedia.
The United Kingdom is a country in Europe, and the principal setting of Watch Dogs: Legion.
History[]
The United Kingdom has not weathered the 21st century well, for the most part due to the self-inflicted wound of Brexit. Following the completing of the exit from the European Union in 2016, Scotland voted to secede from the United Kingdom, establishing a new capital of the independent state. The Union Jack was amended to represent the departure of Scotland: The blue field of the St. Andrew's Cross was removed; at the same time, Wales became represented in the Jack by the black field and gold trim of the St. David's Cross. The new design has been mockingly referred to as the Black Jack,[Resistance Report 1] and unfavorably compared to the old one.[1] Northern Ireland remains in the United Kingdom, with impetus for reunification with Ireland hampered by a series of hacks targeting members of the Sinn Fein party - hacks never investigated by SIRS or other parties.[Resistance Report 1]
The United Kingdom enacted an isolationist policy, which has only led to an increasingly dire economic situation, which smoothly transitioned from a downturn, to a recession, to a crisis - so much that denizens of the UK refer to a pre- and post-crisis nation. A key figure in this development was Prime Minister Dev Hassani, an otherwise mediocre centrist politician who rode to prominence on a "London is drowning" speech that targeted immigrants, ushering in a wave of xenophobia.[2] The economic situation failed to improve with the increasingly repressive measures taken by the governmet, but has seen phenomenal developments in the art of surveillance thanks to the use of big data and close cooperation between international megacorporations like Blume and the British government.[3]
Graffiti in Camden, representing the two Union Jacks.
Reams of data coupled with Blume's previous work on Bellwether allowed for the creation of a sophisticated system focused on manipulating human behavior on a mass scale, utilizing big data to prevent radical and disruptive behavior.[3] It has allowed the United Kingdom to carry on despite an ever worsening economic crisis, with shortages of basic foodstuffs, vital medical supplies, and a growing death toll from otherwise preventable diseases. Great Britain sealed itself off for the sake of national pride, and the Hassani government failed to address the shortages: Over fifty percent of Britain's food supply came from abroad for centuries and no policy materialized to address the sudden spike in prices. Many essential medicines, such as radioactive isotopes of technetium with a half-life of 66 hours simply couldn't be delivered in time for cancer screening and treatment, greatly limiting the NHS' ability to address cancer. As a result, the black market has proliferated, while the increasingly unstable domestic situation has led to increasingly repressive policing, SIRS surveillance, and ultimately the rise of Albion following the London bombings.[4]
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has effectively abandoned the country, continuing on endless foreign tours and visits, leaving the UK to tear itself apart under de facto corporate rule.[5]
Society[]
The isolationist policies of post-Brexit governments have strained the fabric of society to the breaking point, then pushed past by the combination of economic crisis and a pervasive culture of fear in the wake of the London bombings. The UK government's austerity measures hurt the former, while the latter empowered SIRS and fomented national paranoia - capitalized on by the SeeSay app, which makes informing on other people trivial.[1]
Economy[]
Stacks of pound banknotes, still bearing the old Union Jack.
- ❝ Pound ain't worth shit, innit?!❞
- ―Random Londoner
The economy of the United Kingdom has been battered severely by a succession of crises, not the least of which was the separation of Scotland. The turning point for the economic downturn becoming a freefall was the sudden drop in the pound's value by 10% in just a single season, leading to the public beginning to look at cryptocurrencies as an alternative to the depreciating currency in a rapidly changing and digitizing economy. This opportunity was seized upon by start-ups that flooded the streets with cashpoints, making the use of cryptocurrencies simple and convenient. Feeble attempts by the government to regulate the market or ban crypto have gone nowhere, despite a last-ditch effort to ban cryptocurrencies after severe lobbying by banks, when a survey revealed that the ETO token was being traded much more widely than the battered pound.[6]
As such, the UK economy deals with a severe gray sector, as citizens turns to crypto to salvage their savings and protect themselves against the ongoing economic hardship that has already pushed 14,000 people onto the streets in London alone.[7] An intense public campaign by SIRS and other government agencies to discourage the use of crypto to avoid weakening the pound fall on deaf ears, as citizens vote with their wallets.[8] Those who retain a job struggle with the ongoing costs of life crisis, unable to afford a full tank of gas, much less a vacation or an electric car that complies with the regulations.[9] Businesses also defy the cryptocurrency ban, with some officially switching to exclusive crypto use.[10]
At the same time, the austerity imposed on the people of the UK merely ensures that millions of pounds are diverted from vital areas like social work, public transport, and healthcare to the ever more intense militarization of the police and privatization of lab enforcement through Albion, in particular after the London Bombings.[11] The one major exception to this thread is the ongoing Optik distribution: The technology is provided free of charge and mandatory to use, raising concerns among some parts of the population.[12]
The result is an incredibly stratified society, with 99% of the population fighting for their survival, while the 1% spend ever more exorbitant amounts of money on cementing their grip on power or lavish lifestyles. One of the notorious examples included a fashion designer from Chelsea selling a million-pound dress, just as a majority of Britons have to look for socks at the pound shops.[13] Government officials have joined in looting the country, with scandals such as 25 000 pound desk and lavish 11 000 pound dinners causing public outcry.[14]
The United Kingdom's economic woes have also failed to translate into opportunities for tourism: The freefalling pound has not encouraged tourists to visit, leading to a ten-year low in the number of visitors to the beleaguered Kingdom.[15]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Bug, See Something, Say Something
- ↑ BuccanEar: Dictators and Democracy
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 BuccanEar: Big Brother Meets Big Data
- ↑ BuccanEar: Politics of Poverty
- ↑ The Bug, New Tech, New Lies
- ↑ The Upload: From Cash to Crypto
- ↑ Protest signs in Legion
- ↑ Dialogue: "I took the plunge. I had to. The pound isn't worth wiping my arse with. So I put most of it into E-Token. Still don't know how I feel about it. I mean, I'm not helping the pound by abandoning it. I don't want to be part of the problem, but I have to look out for myself, don't I? Nobody else will, not in this economy. People go on and on about hackers stealing your money, but I don't know, others say it's super safe as well."
- ↑ Dialogue: "It's just demoralizing, watching the pound go down the shitter. With the value of our currency, I can't afford to take a vacation anymore. I can't even afford the petrol it takes to drive out of the city. And getting an electric car is a pipedream. I'd have to work three jobs AND give hand-jobs on the weekends to buy one of those things. We need some goddamn checks-and-balances here. Where's our bloody government?!"
- ↑ Dialogue: "I'm telling you, convert every fucking pound into crypto right now. It's the only way you're going to have anything to live off of! The pound's value is dropping so fast, my local pub won't even accept it anymore."
- ↑ Dialogue: "Like, just do the math in your head. How many Albion guys are there? How much equipment? How many drones? Even if we're just, like, roughly close we're talking about hundreds of millions of pounds. Think what you could do with an extra hundred million pounds in social work, public transport, healthcare. Fuck man, you wouldn't even need Albion."
- ↑ Recruit conversation: "I can't be the only one who thinks it's weird they're giving away Optiks to everyone for free when the pound's literally worth nothing. There are no jobs and everyone's just getting poorer and poorer. There's gotta be more happening behind the scenes, right? I wonder what's really going on out there."
- ↑ Dialogue: "A fashion designer in Chelsea is literally selling a million pound dress. Like that's where we are. You either buy your socks at the pound shop or you buy a dress for a million quid."
- ↑ GBB: "Recent revelations of ministers purchasing 25,000 pound desks and 11,000 pound dinners have caused a public outcry. Join us on GBB as we examine these and other extravagant expenses administration officials have been charging the public."
- ↑ GBB: "As the pound continues its slide against global currencies, there’s never been a cheaper time to visit London. So why is tourism at a ten-year low? Tonight, GBB looks at London through the eyes of a visitor, and it’s a wakeup call."
- Resistance Report
- Note that due to some contradictions, the Report is a secondary and parts of it may be non-canon
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Some consider this media as non-canon.
Watch Dogs: Legion Resistance Report: "SURVEY OF KEY EVENTS
Before delving further into the current state of affairs, it's important to review how London got to where it is now. Here's a look at a string or select events that led to the city's catastrophic meltdown of civil liberties.
POLITICS
THE SUN SETS ON THE UNITED KINGDOM
It all started with the B word, or Brexit, and the less said about that the better. Let's just say that from 2016 on, when departure was finalized, the tightly woven fabric of the UK started unraveling
SCOTLAND SEPARATES
Holyrood, the Scottish capital, gave Westminster the vicky with a successful referendum vote to leave the United Kingdom. The UK flag was changed to reflect the independence of Scotland and to better represent Wales, removing the blue field for St. Andrew's Cross, and adding the black field and gold trim of the St. David's Cross. The new UK flag is now mockingly referred to as the "Black Jack."
IRISH DISCORD
At present, Northern Ireland maintains its position within the United Kingdom, though some people campaign for unification with the Republic. Multiple members of Ireland's Sinn Féin political party have been brought down by various political and personal scandals exposed by the published hacks of their personal emails. Whispers of sabotage from within were rampant, but the hacks were never formally investigated.
PM HASSANI
Recently, Prime Minister Dev Hassani has been on yet another one of his diplomatic visits across the globe. Local reporters have referred to this extended trip as "Hassani's Holiday, implying that he's actively avoiding time within the UK as a way to distance himself from the volatile state of domestic politics. And can you blame him?
Some Londoners clearly can-Hassani has become a symbol of all the ineffectual, centrist bureaucrats who have risen to power in recent years, Protesters frequently gather outside of an often-vacant 10 Downing street to express their frustration with government officials who seem unwilling or unable to stem the tides of chaos overtaking London,"