In Democracy and Dogma, everyone has an interest in the Indian Union's heated national elections. Accordingly, there's more than a little room for snooping, blackmail, coercion, and other seedy political dealings. At the heart of it all is the information broker and new Criminal Runner, Nero Severn (Democracy and Dogma, 40), who arrives with his new console, consumer-grade hardware, and network of informants.

Meanwhile, Jinteki struggles to reshape the dialogue surrounding the issue of clone rights, and Haas-Bioroid launches a clone suffrage movement and voting machine initiative to take advantage of their rival's moment of weakness. Nero Severn finds himself in a unique position to exercise his skills for gathering and monetizing everyone's dirty secrets, and there's no shortage of targets. In the heart of Mumbad's political sector, clone rights advocate Akshara Sareen (Democracy and Dogma, 46), local councilmen, Jinteki's PR division, and other players are all hard at work, vying for the population's hearts, minds, and votes.