Lifestyle

Lifestyle is the standard at which one lives: what they eat; where they live; their entertainment; what service are available, etc.

The catastrophe that brought the economy to its knees and gave corporations absolute control killed off the middle class and turned suburban communities into ghost towns. Most people live in cities, and in deplorable conditions. For those who work for a mega-corporation, life is good, but strictly limited. The company keeps their employees safe in a gated community (this also cuts down on commute), but their communications are tracked, even in their own homes, and the company monitors their comings and goings. For those who did not want to be limited to living on the streets have taken to becoming Nomads on the open road. They are homeless motorists who drive from place to place, finding work wherever they can find it.

Fashion
The clothing styles of 2020 break into five basic fashion statements:

Generic Chic: This is the standard Streetwear, made up of colorful modular components in many colors. Belts, coats, sashes, boots predominate. Generic chic make up the cheapest type of clothing short of raged secondhand Bag Lady Chic.

Leisurewear: This is the equivalent of 21st century athletic wear. Padded fleece, corporate and athletic logos. Leisurewear typically costs twice as much as generic chic.

Businesswear: This is the equivalent of the standard business suit; understated colors, pinstripes, real leather shoes etc. Wool and other natural fabrics are considered the proper outfitting for the up and coming Corp. Businesswear typically costs three as much as generic chic.

High Fashion: Sophisticated and expensive dressing for the upper class. Designer labels like Miyake, Si-fui Yan, and Anne Calvin. High fashion typically costs twice as much as generic chic.

Urban Flash: Video jackets, colorshift fabrics, cammo, leathers, metal spikes, Logowear, jeans, leatherskirts, boots. The wildest and most utterly chilled in cyberfashion. Urban flash typically costs twice as much as generic chic.

Other, less common, styles include:

Edgerunner: Practical and militant in design. This is the style of Edgerunners and hardcore War Zoners. There are no outlets you can buy Edgerunner fashion; they are highly personal attire made of military surplus with assorted bits of this and that, and it one of the hardest styles to pull-off. In general, they typically costs three as much as generic chic and requires a successful Cool test.

Bag Lady Chic: This is an assortment of old, secondhand clothing form other styles, usually on the low-end. This is the cheapish style of clothing short of being a nudist, usually being less than halt that of generic chic. Speaking of which...

Minimalist Fashion: This is the fashion of nudists and exhibitionists. This can be the cheapest fashion statement — if outright nude — or it can be one of the most expensive when in falls into high fashion territory.

(see Fashion for more details)

Housing
Coffin: One step up from a sleeping bag on the street. A stacked accommodation which resembles its namesake, these sleeping boxes are found in airports and flophouses worldwide. Usually coin-operated with a time limit, the coffin gives you just enough room to turn around or read in bed; restroom accommodations to be found elsewhere. More expensive models will have a phone or mini-TV inside. Cost: 20eb per night, or more in better zones.

Hotel Room: A studio-size room with bed, bathroom and kitchenette/minibar. Cost: 100eb per night, or more in better zones.

Apartment/Condo: Cost: 200eb per room/per month in a Combat Zone; 400eb room/month for Moderate Zones; 800eb room/month for Corporate Zones; and 1,200eb room/month for Executive Zones.

House: Cost 150eb per room/per month. Cost: 150eb per room/per month in a Combat Zone; 300eb room/month for Moderate Zones; 600eb room/month for Corporate Zones; and 900eb room/month for Executive Zones.

Cities make-up the following zones:

Combat Zones are decrepit, squalid suburbs and burned out ghettos are teeming with booster gangs and other violent sociopaths. This area surrounds the inner Corporate Zone.

Moderate Zones are rough neighborhoods, but are not as bad as Combat Zones. Like Combat Zones, this area surrounds the inner Corporate Zone and usually border them or is an island within a Combat Zone.

Corporate Zone are business areas are clean, neat, well lit showcases, free of crime and poverty, controlled by powerful corporations. This make-up the center of a city.

Executive Zone are also corporate controlled zones; safe, well-guarded tracts where executives raise their families in relative security. This makes-up the outer suburbs of a city.

Furnishings
(Note: Nylon Carrybag Sleeping Bag and Inflatable Bed comes standard with one's "outfit.")

Nylon Carrybag: The athletic bag/kitbag of the 2000's, with a variety of logos to choose from. Sizes vary. Cost: 5eb

Sleeping Bag: They're lighter weight, and can now take temperatures down to -100F. Compresses to a l2"x6"x4" wad. Cost: 25eb

Inflatable Bed: A self-inflating, highly-compressed mattress package. About 6"x2"x4" folded. Cost: 25eb

Furniture: Basic household furniture that comes in all shapes, sizes and colors. Cost: 200eb per piece, for real wood; 100eb per piece, for synthetic.

Futon: A portable folding bed and pad; of Japanese origin. Cost: 90eb

Apartment Cube: A l0'xl0'x8' living module in which all major furnishings and appliances are hidden in flush wall recesses and are extended only for use. Contains bed, closet, small stove, refrigerator, N a n d digital entertainment center, two chairs, fold down desk, removable table. Rolls into place and can be easily transported. Cubes are usually so small that if you had all your furnishings extended at once, there'd be no room for you to stand! Cost: 5,000eb

Lamp: It gives light. Comes in an infinity of shapes and colors. Cost: 20eb

Cleaning Bot: A small pre-programmed robotic cleaning device. Usually about the size of a portabl'e cannister vacuum. Not too smart. Cost: 1,000eb

Vocal Switching System: A voice-activated controls for lights and appliances. Cost: 100eb

Groceries
Kibble: A mass-produced nutrient that satisfies most requirements for sustenance, but tends to look, smell, and taste like the dry pet food it takes its name from.

Generic Prepack: A step up from the common N dinner, these meal packs can be microwaved or refrigerated depending on what's inside. Many come with their own chemtabs for heating or cooling. The cuisine isn't inspired, but it beats kibble.

Good Prepack: A good restaurant meals in a package. The best quality pre-made meals you're going to find. For anything better, eat out, or prep it yourself (and who really knows how to do that anymore?).

Fresh: you know what that is. Well, a t least you've met someone who's eaten it.

Services
Cell Phone Service: Full coverage in all cities, plus 20 miles outside city limits. Cost: 100eb month, plus extra charges.

Standard Phone Service: A basic land-line telephone service. Cost: 30eb month, plus extra charges.

Pay Phone Call: Yes, in the future payphones are still common. Cost: 50¢ per minute.

Data Term": This is a curbside computer terminal, with access to news, weather, city maps, events schedules and other useful stuff. A DataTerm can also be used as a plug-in point to the Net. Terms are mounted in concrete pillars and are nearly indestructible... Theoretically. Cost: 1eb a minute.

CredChip Account: a "debit card" that you use to carry your cash around in instead of a wallet. Cost: 20eb a mouth.

Health Plan: Standard medical insurance. Cost: l,000eb per month.

Trauma Team Account: AN emergency lift to an ER, even in the roughest parts in town. Cost: 500eb per month.

Air: Just what it says. In the U.S., Britain, and some parts of Eastern Europe, the daily pollution gets so bad that you need to go to a miscellany of 'air bars', vendors, or street corner machines to buy a decent breath. Cost: 5eb a minute.

MagLev Chit: Basically a transit ticket. Cost 25¢ per station.

Taxi: Cost: 3eb per mile; 3eb per mile for an AV-Taxi.

Cable TV: Over a thousand channels of uncensored TV programing and pro-corporate propaganda, and still nothing good to watch! Cost: 40eb per month. (Damn, still cheaper than what we have now!)

Utilities: Water, gas, electricity, sanitation, etc. Required for any apartment, condo or house (not required for coffins or hotels). Cost: 100eb month.