In a world where consciousness can be copied, attention can be measured, and processing power is the ultimate resource, currency has evolved beyond simple credit accounts. The Sprawl runs on multiple overlapping currency systems, each serving different communities, corporate territories, and underground economies.
Understanding money in 2184 means understanding that "value" itself has been fragmented. What you can spend in Nexus Central won't work in Zephyria. What The Wastes accept, corporations refuse to recognize. And everywhere, alternative systems compete to capture human activity in measurable, tradeable form.
The Token Standard
What Tokens Are
Tokens (T) are the universal currency of the Sprawlโone Token equals one standardized computational unit. This dual nature is crucial: Tokens are simultaneously money and processing power.
The Treaty of Shared Currency (2148): After the Cascade's economic collapse, the surviving megacorporations needed a unified medium of exchange. They couldn't agree on whose credit system would dominate. The solution: peg currency to something all corporations valued equallyโcomputational capacity.
One Token represents:
1 ร 10^15 FLOPS of processing time (one petaflop-second)
Stored in quantum-secured ledgers maintained by all three megacorporations
Convertible to processing capacity or traditional purchasing power
Subject to transaction fees varying by jurisdiction (0.1% - 2%)
Redeemable at Ironclad housing, cafeterias, and stores
Cannot be legally transferred outside Ironclad territory
Helix Points (HP):
Proprietary wellness currency
Redeemable for healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and "enhancement packages"
Employees earn HP for "healthy behaviors" tracked by company monitoring
Conversion to Tokens requires medical justification
Creates dependency: healthcare tied to company loyalty
The Scrip Trap
Corporate scrip creates economic dependency:
The Cycle:
Corporation pays portion of wages in internal currency
Internal currency only usable at company facilities
Company facilities price goods to absorb all scrip
Worker left with minimal Tokens for outside expenses
Worker cannot afford to leave without losing scrip value
Effective compensation drops 15-30% versus pure Token salary
Legal Status: Corporate scrip is technically legal under the Treaty of Shared Currency, provided workers receive at least 40% compensation in convertible Tokens. Enforcement is minimal.
Holographic currency exchange with floating Token symbols and exchange rates
The Seven Rothwell Currencies
The seven Rothwell corporations have pioneered "lifestyle currencies" that tie spending to their products:
The Seven Currency Principle: Each Rothwell currency is designed to capture a specific life domain, making customers dependent on that corporation for needs within that domain. Cross-conversion between Rothwell currencies is intentionally difficult, forcing customers to maintain multiple accounts.
Consciousness-Based Currencies
Attention Credits
From the attention economy, attention itself functions as currency:
Verified Attention Units (VAU):
Measured by neural interface; authenticated focus
Exchange rate: ~60 VAU = 1 Token (average person can generate 50-100 VAU/hour selling attention)
Corporations buy VAU to ensure advertising reaches conscious minds
Poor individuals subsist by selling attention constantly
