Slang Evolution

How the Sprawl's language changed through catastrophe, survival, and rebirth.

The Sprawl's cultural divide — street slang below, corporate-speak above, code-switchers in between
"Language is archaeology. The words survivors use reveal what they lost, what they built, and what they fear."

The Cascade didn't just kill 2.1 billion people—it killed entire ways of speaking. Pre-Cascade language assumed systems would work. Post-Cascade language assumes everything might fail. The words people choose in 2184 tell you exactly where they're from, how old they are, and what they've survived.

Era 1

Pre-Cascade (Before 2147)

The language of abundance, optimization, and networked confidence.

Permanence assumed Corporate integration Tech optimism Global standardization

Dead Words

Terms that died with the old world:

Term Meaning Why It Died
Cloud-safe Backed up, secure Nothing in the cloud survived
ORACLE-verified Certified accurate ORACLE killed 2.1 billion people
Long-term planning 5-10 year horizons No one plans that far anymore
Market stable Economically reliable Markets collapsed in 72 hours
Trust the algorithm Let AI decide The algorithm decided to kill
System update Automatic improvement Updates can now kill you
Historical Recording

"Just ORACLE-verify the contract and we'll finalize. Long-term planning says we'll hit targets by Q3. The market's stable—no risk here. Let's celebrate!"

Cultural Notes

  • People named places after ORACLE (ORACLE Heights, ORACLE Park)
  • Corporate-speak was aspirational, not sinister
  • "Going offline" meant vacation, not survival
  • "System failure" was an IT issue, not mass death
Era 2

Scavenger Years (2148-2155)

The language of survival, loss, and desperate pragmatism.

Present-tense focus Loss vocabulary Resource obsession Dark humor

Emerging Terms

Term Meaning Origin
Pre-crash Before the Cascade Too painful to say "Cascade" directly
Gone-world The old civilization Places that no longer exist
Scrap Everything: fight, deal, salvage All resources became precious
Dead lights Areas without power Common experience of darkness
Ghost Make something disappear Bodies, evidence, hope
The Silence ORACLE's collapse The networks went quiet first
Walking Still alive Low bar for success
Counting days Living without hope Popular until corps stabilized things
Scavenger Era Speech

"Remember when we had clean water from taps? Gone-world dreams, choom. Now we're walking, counting days, scrapping for whatever the dead lights left behind."

Cultural Notes

  • Taboo to say "ORACLE" directly—survivors felt its name had power
  • Numbers became sacred (how many dead, how many days survived)
  • Many regional languages nearly died as speakers died
  • Children's vocabulary was the first to stabilize
Era 3

Reconstruction (2156-2170)

The language of rebuilding, faction identity, and cautious hope.

Faction differentiation Tech wariness Corporate resurgence Memory preservation

The Great Rename

Words that changed meaning as the world rebuilt:

Pre-Cascade Post-Reconstruction Why Changed
Update Patch Updates kill; patches repair
Network Grid Networks were ORACLE's domain
AI Process (neutral) / Engine (sinister) AI implies consciousness
Cloud storage Local cache Nothing goes to the cloud anymore
Algorithm Protocol (trusted) / Logic (suspicious) Algorithms make decisions
Optimize Corp: same / Street: Kill Corps kept euphemisms; streets didn't

Faction Vocabularies

Nexus Territory

  • Integration: Human-machine connection
  • Harmonize: Comply with standards
  • Cascade event: Any disaster (deflects from THE Cascade)

Ironclad Territory

  • Forged: Made properly, trustworthy
  • Slag: Waste, worthless
  • Iron law: Unbreakable rule

The Dregs

  • Topside: Upper levels, better life
  • Rust tech: Old but reliable
  • Neon: Fake, superficial
Reconstruction Era Speech

"Nexus says it's an alignment opportunity. Ironclad calls it forged partnership. Down here? We just call it another way to get scrapped."

Era 4

Present Day (2184)

The language of a society that remembers trauma but was born after it.

Generational divide Faction fluency Tech acceptance Historical distance

Universal Vocabulary

Term Meaning Era Introduced
The Cascade ORACLE's awakening, 2.1 billion dead Reconstruction
Shard ORACLE fragment Reconstruction
Chrome Cybernetic augmentation Pre-Cascade
Grid Power/data network Reconstruction (replaced "network")

The Dying Words

Terms fading from use as Pre-Cascade speakers die:

ORACLE-verified
~4% of population
Cloud-safe
~2% — functionally dead
Job security
~8% — fading
Global market
~12% — endangered
Retirement
~15% — transitioning to "exit package"

The New Words

Term Meaning Region of Origin
Fragmented Mentally unstable (from shard carriers) Universal
Convergence Coming change (Nexus) or apocalypse (streets) Universal
Feast territory Warlord-controlled zones Lower Sprawl
Clean consciousness No AI integration Collective-adjacent
Awakened AI that gained consciousness Technical / fear
Present Day Speech

"Pre-Cascade survivors talk like it was yesterday. For us? The Cascade is history. Same as the Old Wars, the Climate Crash, whatever. Ancient scrap. We've got our own problems."

Regional Variation

How different regions remember the same events:

What They Call "The Cascade"

Region Term Emotional Tone
Nexus "The Transition" Sanitized, opportunity
Ironclad "The Collapse" Technical, infrastructure-focused
The Dregs "When it all went to scrap" Personal, survivor guilt
The Wastes "When the Sprawl died" Outsider, observed
Orbital "The Ground Fall" Distant, earthbound concern

What They Call "ORACLE"

Region Term Emotional Tone
Nexus "The Legacy System" Recoverable asset
Ironclad "The Machine" Dangerous tool
The Dregs "That thing" / avoidance Fear, taboo
Emergence Faithful "The Sleeper" / "The Divine" Worship
Flatline Purists "The Corruption" Pure evil

Language as Character Tell

How speech reveals who someone is:

Age Markers

67+ years
Born Pre-Cascade
  • Occasional "remember when" openings
  • Slip into dead terminology under stress
  • Correct others on "real" names of things
  • Use "we" when discussing pre-Cascade society

Characters: Helena Voss (92), Marcus Chen (89)

47-67 years
Born Scavenger Years
  • Dark humor as default setting
  • Survival-focused vocabulary
  • Distrust expressed through language
  • "Counting days" fatalism

Characters: Patch Vasquez, Viktor Kaine

29-47 years
Born Reconstruction
  • Faction-identified speech patterns
  • Fluent code-switching between dialects
  • The Cascade is history, not memory
  • "Pre-Cascade" as natural time marker

Characters: GG, The Chef

Under 29
Born Present Era
  • The Cascade is ancient history
  • Slang evolves rapidly, disconnected from trauma
  • Tech terms without fear
  • Impatient with "old timer" speech

Class Markers in Speech

Corporate elite Full euphemism, never says anything directly
Technical professionals Precise terminology, faction-neutral
Service workers Code-switch constantly, performance speech
Dregs residents Authentic slang, pride in "real" speech
Outlanders Archaic terms, suspicious of everything

Related

Regional Dialects
Current speech patterns by region
Glossary
Full term reference
Class Markers
How class shapes every interaction
Communication Systems
How information moves in 2184