Nathan Never's world
  
  
  

  
he setting for Nathan Never's adventures is a metropolis, a
built-up area simply called " the City", built on several levels. The lowest level, which has been abandoned for years, has become a sort of "no-man's land". Here all sorts of down-and-outs take refuge, criminals fleeing the law for example, but it is mainly the so-called Mutated who have lived here for years. Created artificially to


replace men in the heaviest jobs, the Mutated have been made redundant, having been substituted by more and more efficient and sophisticated robots. Marginalized by society, the Mutated tried to create their own independent state only to end up once again trapped on the island known as Hell's Island, which is under an evil curse. They share this island with other mutants, the result of a terrible scientific experiment. In the Twenty-first century there are countless different types of robot, from the simplest for factory use, to "domestic" ones used to clean the house: there are robot waiters, robots employed in ticket offices, robots that operate betting
shops. The most sophisticated robots of all are the C-0 models,
practically cybernetic, even made out of organic materials. They are used as consultants in the programming of other robots or for sending into space. The greenhouse effect has changed the face of the planet, making most of the southern hemisphere into desert and forcing man to build huge space stations which will produce all the food needed on Earth. Food is one of the biggest businesses in this period and the economic interests at stake often make relationships between the orbital stations and our planet
difficult. Over the centuries, scientific research has advanced without any legal or moral restraint and society in the twenty-second century is suffering the consequences. Stupid experiments have caused severe environmental damage that has made vast areas of land uninhabitable. Millions of lives have been
ruined by the illegal dumping of toxic waste and by the testing of chemical weapon. In some areas, one person out of every hundred is deformed, recalling the case of Hell's Island, where the entire population has become deformed following pollution of the water supply. In a world craving for strong feelings, traditional sports survive but are looked upon as being
obsolete. The most popular sport is fightball, a sort of cross between ice-hockey and basketball. It's an extremely rough game and the rules of the game change periodically to make the matches even more difficult and unpredictable. In the rougher areas of the city there are many illegal sports areas where matches are held secretly. Here the players don't wear helmets
and protective clothing and players can hit each other to get rid of their opponent. Obviously betting on these matches flourishes. But even crueler games than fightball take place in these sports areas. If you are desperate and looking for easy money you can try a sort of gladiatorial fight with a combat droid. Or, if you haven't got the physique for fighting, you can bet on fights between genetically engineered animals.
     

THE AGENZIA ALFA

The most up-to-date of the city's Private Security and
Detective Agencies, an organization active
against future crime!