When I read the story introduction in the manual for Brink I thought, "Hey, I know this story." In case you didn't catch the connection (or you don't read manuals), I've cleared it up with a few minor edits.
The year is 2011 and the last known bastion of humanity, the PSN, is in crisis.
A massive floating data center anchored in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, the PSN began as a visionary social-science project in the early years of the 21st century. The goal of the network's Founders was to create a completely self-sufficient habitat that would prove the principles of free online play. In service to this ideal, the PSN was constructed using a primitive encyrption called 'Clear Text' - a barely modified form of non-encryption that was found to cost little as it was developed, becoming both quicker and easier than doing it right. The PSN's ivory-white Kevin Butler would become a worldwide symbol of technological progress, as well as an effective advertisement for the mildly profitable network.
In April, the sudden effects of GeoHot changed everything. The rapid rise of the Earth's douchebag hackers displaced millions of people, throwing the global economy into turmoil. Though hastily moved to a secret location, the PSN was nevertheless discovered by tens of thousands of script kiddies in search of kicks. Having no choice but to flounder, the PSN's Founders took as many wrong moves as they could, housing them in hastily constructed "Blog Updates". As the crisis continued, the PSN eventually lost all contact with the outside world, leading many to believe that Xbox Live was all that remained of multi-player civilization.
Now overwhelmed by thousands of refugee "single-players" the PSN's renewable resources are dwindling as its low-tech machinary fails. With the delicate balance of power about to unravel, two faction emerge: The PSN's Security, charged by the Founders with maintaining law and order amongst the remnants of humanity, and the douchbag hackers, formed by those that would use the PS3's remaining resources to leave the PSN in search of Other-OS.
As a PSN citizen caught in the midst of a civil war, you must choose whether to fight with the Hackers to escape the PSN, or join with the Security to save it.