Early in the 21st Century, the Tyrell Corporation advanced robot evolution into the Nexus phase – a being virtually identical to a human – known as a replicant. After a bloody mutiny by a Nexus 6 combat team in an Off-World colony, Replicants were declared illegal on Earth – under penalty of death. Special police squads – Blade Runner Units – had orders to shoot to kill, upon detection, any trespassing replicant. In 2019, the Blade Runner Aahna “Ash” Ashina rescued Cleo Selwyn, daughter of agribusiness tycoon Alexander Selwyn, from a plot to give the girl to the Tyrell Corporation for genetic experimentation. Ash and Cleo left Los Angeles and disappeared. In 2022, Replicant production was banned altogether. Remaining Nexus 8 units were permitted to live out their lifespans in service to their owners in the colonies. Off World, 2026.
