So in this alternate future where we are doing cyborg mods to human body, someone stopped inventing tractors that could pick cotton with no manpower? and weavers/looms that automatically made the clothes? all of that gets lost in the future but advanced cybernetic implants survives. seems odd to me, but alright lol
I mean, we're talking about a world ravaged by industrial disasters, chemical weapons, unimaginable levels of pollution. Night city itself has acid rain like we have summer showers. And not just the regular kind, but like SUPER acid rain. It was supposed to be in the game... it is a major aspect of the lore. It's almost impossible to grow anything or raise livestock anywhere in the world and the whole process of producing and distributing the stuff is controlled by corpos. This is an America that at its absolute weakest moment, essentially handed the majority of the power over to them, because it was do that, or fail completely. So a lot of stuff that we enjoy in our economy is just not a thing for people in that world. Really, plain pure water is like $100 a gallon. Any kind of real meat is a delicacy. Not sure why cotton would be different.
Most of the food is synthetic or derived from insect/worm/petri-dish protein. Famines rocked the whole world, and only let up when the fully engineered food came in. After that, the farming industry no longer needed to produce it and became focused on fuel as per corpo demands - they wiped out the rest and control all of what gets produced by who. Fuel is probably more lucrative than cotton in a world full of machines anyway. Natural fibers are a luxury item, they're made to be that way on purpose. The synthetic stuff is made to be cheap and recyclable. This is why fashion is everything to people in that world. It's not just a symbol, it IS your status. Only the people really on the top can be decently dressed. Everyone else gets cheap, tacky synthetic stuff that's made to fall apart.
So like now, but exaggerated x100.
So nah, doesn't mean they can't produce fabric, but this whole world is build on the idea of corporations devouring everything to the point where everyone is literally either rich or poor. The rich can still afford clothes no matter how much the materials cost because they control everything. Everybody else lives among actual piles of garbage, just laying down mattresses wherever. And it's not like it's very different in most of the megabuilding apartments you see inside of.
Cybernetic implants are a whole nother deal. I wish the game got more into the whole transhumanist aspect that's already there in the lore. But you do have the cyberpsycho phenomenon to give hints. Or you could look right at Arasaka. Employees are granted cybernetics as part of employment, which are taken back upon either leaving or being terminated. Same thing happens to vets. That stuff ain't cheap. It gets around through smuggling, or by these sort of societal contracts and opportunities used by corperations as a way of holding people's very bodily autonomy over them. And even if you can afford them, you could always go insane and get gunned down by Militech. The price is steep, no matter how it goes.
That stuff is made widely available as another way of owning you. People often can't survive without them and to even get that stuff you gotta pay. Most people can't afford to go legit so go to shady rippers, or basically sell off another piece of their humanity. That leg, it's not YOUR leg. It belongs to Dynalar, Arasaka, or whoever you work for. And you need it to even work a lot of the time. Physical jobs are stupid dangerous and demanding. Organic bodies don't last in construction. And you think Kiroshi can't see what you see with those eyes if they want to? Shit, they have the power to make you blind, or see whatever they want you to. A central focus of the story is on technology that literally commodifies the human soul. In Cyberpunk's world, YOU are the product, mind, body, and spirit.
Cyberpunk, as a genre is always described as "High tech, low life." As in, all of the best technology in the world is primarily used to take advantage of as many people as possible, for the sakes of the few who manage to stay on top without being killed off. You don't get to have all of that. 99% of people live on scraps and fund the other 1% with their entire existence, if they can get away with that level of exploitation under the neon illusion and false notions of individuality.
I have the curse of knowing some of the lore from the books. So I see it and I'm just like "Why do they... agh damnit, it makes sense."
