====== Granite City, Colorado ====== Granite City, Colorado is a fictional town used in a number of games by Austin as a consistent location, and as such there are multiple points in time where this setting might be used. As such, we list the elements that exist at various points in the timeline, along with some information about the interactions of major players within the city at these time periods and campaigns that make use of this material. ===== In the Beginning (???) ===== Granite City was originally named for and founded upon a series of major quarries used to provide granite, marble, and other stone materials throughout the Colorado area. Over time, the natural resources available have expanded to include the forests nearby, a scenic area that was eventually declared a national park, a major oil refinery and drilling operations, a nearby uranium mine (closed due to environmental concerns), and various other mineral resources. ===== The Major Districts of Granite City ===== ==== Southside ==== Southside is a rundown region full of low-rent businesses and low-income housing, although some 'dirty' businesses conduct industrial manufacturing in the area. It is also prime territory for criminal activity. ==== Tumblerdown ==== The northern end of town, near the old rock quarries, was a focus of industry until the 21st century, when it gradually switched towards high-tech manufacturing and biotechnology center, with middle-class housing areas and well-secured storage facilities rounding out the region. ==== Greenroad ==== The tourist trap section of town, middle to east, plenty of legalized gambling, strip clubs and other adult entertainments, as well as further vices as they become legalized (or less conspicuous illegal vices; prostitution from within office storefronts, for example, hidden drug parlors and other seedy entertainments); plenty of motels and hotels, as well as tourist centers giving directions to the Granite City Quartz Caverns, the Granite City National Park, the traveling circus that visits and stops there one month out of the year, and so forth. ==== West End ==== The ritzy side of town, with high class establishments and high class entertainments; this is also the place where those not quite wealthy enough to live in Goldrock live in fancy houses. ==== Goldrock ==== The living place of the wealthiest men and women in Granite City. Seldom open to the common folk without an invitation, this area is marked by white picket fences concealing high-security sensors and defenses. Goldrock has its own private security force in addition to GCPD contacts. ==== Granite City National Guard ==== A military base outside of the town proper, the National Guard outpost is there to maintain order; occasionally National Guard operatives have been deployed to Granite City to help restore order in the wake of rioting or massive labor strikes, or to provide additional defense in times of crisis. ==== Granite City Transit ==== Granite City has an elaborate underground tunnel system, first established in the early 19th century as part of mining operations in the area. During World War II and the early stages of the Cold War, these tunnels were used as a ready-made underground bunker system, with connections throughout the city and to the local National Guard base. As the war scare simmered down, some of these tunnels were eventually expanded and repurposed into the city's primary public transit system, a series of underground trains that can transport people to any district in town as well as connecting to several major train lines. Surprisingly, Granite City has a complex system of subways and trains, and is one of only a few cities in the United States to do so. It has transportation stations that connect to other railway networks, and has several major lines that operate at all hours as well as minor lines with less frequent service. {{:rpg:it_sleeps_beneath:jacksonstation_redline_cta.jpg?400 |}} More interesting subway statistics, and important information relevant to the overarching plot, will be added as time goes on, or as characters learn more. For now, it's good enough to know the subway lines: * Red Line. * Green Line. * Blue Line. * Orange Line. * Purple Line. * Yellow Line. * Black Line. * Pink Line. In the Near Future era, it eventually is replaced with a maglev system, with the responsibility of maintaining the network being allocated to Samuel Luke Station. ==== Recent Era (late 20th century) ==== ==== Modern Era (21st century) ==== Observers have noted that the subway network of Granite City has peculiar symbols throughout. In truth, the subway network of Granite City seems to be designed to entrap and contain evils - a modern-day set of ley lines meant to keep the things that go bump in the night under control. Unfortunately, the system requires regular maintenance... === Greenroad Businesses of Note === == Ursa Minor == A little diner located on the edge of town, roughly two blocks away from the road leading to Granite City National Park. == The Nice Place == A no-frills diner across town, known for good food and novelty salt and pepper shakers at every table. Friendly rivals of Ursa Minor. == The Requiem == This place really gets around. No, really -- it's an extrusion of the interdimensional goth club we all know and love, and the point of contact from which characters can reach other locations for supplies and help. This incarnation of the Requiem is a three-level structure, with a ground level that has the entrance, bar, kitchen, serviceway to the Back Rooms, and restrooms, a lower level that serves as a dance pit with metal walkways overhead so that those on the ground floor can eat and watch, and an upper level with cast-iron tables bolted to the catwalks for people who want to be watching the people who watch people. Unsurprisingly, management in this place tends to lurk around the upper levels. There's also an emergency exit door on the upper level and the lower level, which probably lead to an emergency exit to comply with the fire code. The Back Rooms: The odd maze of hallways and doors that seems to proliferate within the Requiem, with mostly unlabeled black doors, red wallpapered walls, and plush red-carpeted or ceramic red-tiled floors. Typically, double doors lead to other hallways, and single doors lead to individual rooms. At least one passage here connects to the related territory of World's End, although natives of World's End tend to use their learned knowledge of activating any doorway as a Door to return to the Char Loft proper and thus to make their way home. ==== CU Granite City ==== The University of Colorado public university system's local branch, CU Granite City, was established in 1936, and has the second broadest series of courses in the UC system. It conducts a variety of federally and commercially funded research projects, and is known for running human-subject testing on a regular basis for CU Denver projects as well. This is the location to focus on for the University campaign setting. === Student Office === The Student Office is one of the oldest buildings on campus, dating to before the university was officially incorporated, and to the early days of Granite City itself. It is made of solid granite, thought to be quarried locally, and looks very imposing and impressive to newcomers. To most students, the computer network remains dated (Windows XP is still in use), the building is understaffed, and those who do staff it don't really look like fellow students. ==== Granite City National Park ==== Colorado has a number of officially recognized national parks, and this is one of the oldest. Sections of the park have trail segments that connect to the California National Historical Trail, and the park is marked by large sections of rough rock face and difficult climbing. {{:rpg:it_sleeps_beneath:hiker.jpg?400 |}} Park details cadged for now from the Black Canyon national park, more information [[https://www.nps.gov/blca/planyourvisit/things2do.htm|here]]. Give me a nudge if there's aspects of import to list, or details to add. ==== Near Future (22nd century) ==== ==== Far Future (23rd century) ==== ==== Distant Future (24th century and beyond) ==== ====== Samuel Luke Station ====== A maglev station in the Southside district of Granite City, Colorado, that was originally designed by Samuel Luke, a brilliant artist and architect. It has since fallen into serious disrepair, and seems to contain far more than its share of secrets. It is nine levels deep, with the ninth being a maintenance level that is inaccessible to the public, and has many side doors, corridors, and passages. It is notable for having a broad variety of angelic architecture and artwork, most of which has become defaced over the years since its original installation. === Common Knowledge === Per their Wikipedia page, Samuel Luke Station was built as part of a contract with Granite City by famous architect Samuel Luke. Samuel Luke was responsible for construction of the maglev stations of Granite City between 2036 and 2042. These stations were retrofits of original subway stations - Samuel Luke Station was originally Southside 3rd Street Station - converted to the new maglev system. While most of the stations follow traditional values decided upon by the Granite City Civic Aesthetics Commission, the station named after Samuel Luke was designed entirely by the architect, and he was given free reign over the structure and decor. As such, in addition to being a major reconstruction and remodeling project, it was also a major artistic project. The aesthetics of Samuel Luke Station seem centered around Christian mythology, although it is noted for having a variety of other influences, including Gnostic tradition and Jewish mysticism. The station is a nesting ground of the criminal and seedy element, with two primary street gangs taking up residence in its tunnels and passageways - the Serpent's Youth and the SLS (Samuel Luke Streeters). The Serpent's Youth, while creepy, have yet to be considered a significant criminal threat, but the SLS has caused enough damage to the neighborhood that local activists are pressing the mayor to clean up the station. The station has never been updated to deal with modern technology; its original network grid was set up decades ago, and is as decayed and defaced as the rest of the place. Trying to access the Net from within SLS is a bad idea, as the connection path is virus-laced and probably highly unsafe, if it even remains functional for long. Cell uplinks and similar devices tend to fail or malfunction starting at the third level, which is one of several reasons most 'business' tends to be conducted at the food court. The restrooms are almost never 'in order', and it's a bad idea to travel through the station after dark... === Unearthed Arcana and Secrets === The Lilith statue on the second level, in the shabby park, is the only untouched statue. Touching it, sensitive individuals can clearly hear a voice trapped inside... The Triads definitely have a presence on the seventh floor; a Triad individual can often be found loitering around the seventh level landings, and occasionally Zhou Lang himself can be found there. The eighth floor is also peculiar; there is a hidden cafeteria, meeting room, and who knows what else? Exploration was curtailed by the accidental tripping of an alarm, however... An entity known as a Cleaner seems to roam within the station late at night. Oddly, searches for the face of the Cleaner crash computers. It is theorized that he may be connected to various murders of lone subway travelers late at night. There's definitely more to this mystery... Unfortunately, these mysteries don't pay the bills. The ninth floor is where the generators and control systems for the station are located. Apparently they run on Windows X and are from the early 21st century (roughly 2040s). The administrative account uses a blank password. A review of the station map notes that there seems to be a bunker on the eighth floor, although it doesn't explain what it's there for. ====== Second Chance Thrift Store ====== Ostensibly, the Second Chance Thrift Store sells overstock, factory seconds, closeouts, damaged goods, items bought from estate auctions, and so on; usually, they purchase goods (with no questions as to the legitimacy of their origin) at 10 to 20% of their value, and resell them at about a third to half value. The store is open from 6 AM to 6 PM every day except Sunday. Burglars, deliverymen, and wholesalers arrive or phone in to sell their goods first thing in the morning, while casual shoplifters and petty criminals tend to arrive in the afternoon. The Second Chance is staffed by various apparently-low-wage employees who stock shelves and man the front registers. However, 'Second Chance' also refers to the fact that their protective aprons are actually quite capable of withstanding a bullet, beam, or knife if necessary, and all of them are at least passable marksmen and are well-paid for their services and loyalty. (Rumor has it that it is actually a training ground for organized crime where pickpockets and sleight-of-hand cons learn their art; watch your wallet carefully when near the shelf-stockers, and count your change carefully.) The purchasing department consists of the manager, Zeke, and his two purchasing assistants, Lydia and Jake. Zeke handles most day-to-day transactions within the store; Lydia negotiates with factory buyouts and similar discounted goods; Jake works estate and police auctions. All of them have concealed-carry permits, due to the large amount of on-hand cash they carry to conduct business; Zeke has a double-barreled custom electrolaser/shotgun called 'The Shocker' as his personal tool of choice. The Second Chance does sell projectile and beam weapons, and, separately, also sells ammunition. However, they do advise matter-of-factly that weapons on display require a criminal background check per Colorado state law before being sold. (With the unsaid suggestion that weapons -not- on display may therefore be available for the individual not interested in being checked as per the Individual Dealer Act.) Several warehouses, garages, and storage facilities around town are rented out to store Second Chance merchandise that needs to be processed (whether legitimate or otherwise), as well as to provide a suitable drop site for clients who need to fence merchandise. Each warehouse is kept for six months and then cleared; usually these are staggered so that one 'clears' per month, and as such, there is usually a sale at the end of the month of merchandise that needs to move. Jake occasionally offers courses in loss prevention for local stores and insurance adjusters, with the cooperation of the police department. It might seem mildly paradoxical, given that roughly 20% of their stock is of dubious origins, but it does have a positive effect in the community. People can also request that the Second Chance keep an eye out for a particular type of item for them - some customers collect certain types of goods or resell them on the open market, while others may just want their missing lawn gnome back. ====== Cedarview Behavioral Health Facility ====== The Cedarview Behavioral Health Facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado was designed in 2037 by the architect Samuel Luke, and showcases old-fashioned gothic architecture alongside modern (for the times) principles. In particular, the fencing and structure of the facility are all black iron and granite, although the furniture was standard heavy-duty polyethylene and steel. The facility opened its doors in 2039, and operated for 51 years before being shut down in 2090 due to city budget constraints. Most of the contents were sold at auction, and the facility was closed shortly afterwards. The facility has appeared in two major trivid pictures - "The Bloodletting" and "Nightmare Trip" - in its unoccupied state, and has begun to deteriorate over the years, due mostly to vandalism by the public. While working on "The Bloodletting", director Ryan Moore reported unusual occurrences on the set, including 'odd whispers' and 'equipment malfunctions'. This was attributed mostly to attempts to market the movie, but the rumors started up again during the production of "Nightmare Trip", which was claimed to be based on a real story about a group of college students who disappeared while exploring the facility, along with stories by some of the production staff and actors regarding personal experiences of danger while on set. In 2115, the Colorado Paranormal Science Foundation was asked to visit Cedarview Facility to investigate rumors that the place was haunted. After a brief investigation, the Foundation confirmed that the place was sufficiently supernatural to rate a place on their Haunted Locations of Colorado listing. They have since made several return visits, including once during a filming of the 2137 season's fifth episode of 'Haunted America', to reconfirm the facility's haunted status. ===== Known Individuals ===== ==== Friends ==== * Ellie Lancaster: A gadgeteer specializing in vehicle modifications who works in Southside. Is good friends with the party and operates as the group mechanic, fixing and upgrading their vehicles at a more-than-fair price. * Bethany: * Dr. Marv Grayson: Formerly one of the leading theoretical physicists at Colorado Springs University until an experiment in FTL travel that caused him to develop dimensional warping powers that drove him temporarily less than sane (and forced him to turn to alcohol to control it.) Currently working on stabilizing himself and his abilities with the assistance of Marie. * Marie: An interdimensional 'warden' of sorts, responsible for finding Marv due to his accidental tumbling through dimensions causing a concern. Marv has mentioned having met her before as 'Elaine', and neither of them has elaborated on this. ==== Useful Contacts ==== * [[:worlds:granitecity2155:npcs:edgar_mccormick|Edgar McCormick]]: EMC Venture Capital Financier, and party patron. Edgar has some extradimensional contacts, as evidenced by the fact that he was responsible for pointing Marie in the direction of the party. Occasionally sends urgent work their way. * Urban_Delverboi: An urban explorer girl who has offered to help explore the subway system. She managed to figure out the pattern of the ghost train, but was (perhaps understandably) more than a little disturbed by the resultant brush with the supernatural. She hasn't been heard of since. * Alice Grayson: A talented graduate from Colorado Springs University who has come to work for Novus Labs. She has brought one of her research projects with her that she refused to dispose of, a female bioroid with light purple skin by the name of Ganymede. * Ganymede: A bioroid created by Colorado Springs University, she is an electropath, capable of interfacing with electronic devices of all kinds simply by touching them, including reading the contents of data storage and neurally connecting with non-neural equipment. Unlike other methods, this is relatively 'safe' - as she isn't a digital mind she is immune to attacks that would affect them. * Eric "Geronimo" Flak: Formerly a hotshot white-hat compsec advisor who has worked for several major corporations including SkyTek. Retired to become a hacker full-time, but ran afoul of someone who slipped a neurotoxin in his neurosynapse enhancers. Was arrested for drug possession, later released by the party, and owes them big for getting him out and helping him fix up his brain. Intensely fascinated by Bethany and Ami, as they are the two most powerful and free-willed AIs he has ever encountered. * Charli Minelli: An international courier who had a bad run-in in Canada due to a Yakuza delivery run gone sour. Currently operating in the Granite City area as a private courier for Novus Labs and other entities. * Mycroft Soft: An international arms dealer whose hobby is acquiring and servicing slightly obsolete equipment. Has worked with a variety of legitimate and less-legitimate clientele. Is grateful to the PCs for saving his life; offers them a permanent discount on goods and services (discount varies depending on item, but generally at least 10%, usually 20% or more if he's still making a reasonable profit on matters.) ==== Enemies ==== * Catherine Grey: Formerly a member of the Novus board of directors, she left during the subsequent reorganization of the company immediately after the death of then-CEO Smedley Novus. She bought out Indiron Technical, formerly a pharmaceutical analysis firm), and has since been pushing her new company to buy up the Novus estate's patents on biomedical and genetic research. She is currently on good terms with the American Mafia, and has hired enforcers to protect their holdings in Granite City. * Conrad Lang: Former CEO of Ambrex, forced to retire in disgrace after the release of the Rapture Project, a comprehensive plan for Ambrex to survive (and eliminate competitors) in a post-apocalyptic world using bioroid, biological, chemical, and nuclear weaponry. His current location is unknown. * Ian McConnell: A total-cyborg security officer for Ambrex who was reassigned to Ambrex Nevada to oversee testing operations as part of the Rapture Project. Killed by the PCs and ALF during the liberation of Cherry, but has appeared in newscasts since... ==== Others ==== * Zhou Lang: A Triad 'messenger'; operates the Way of the Steel Road, which is known to conduct operations in Southside and on the seventh level of Samuel Luke Station. * Master Vassago: The leader of the coven known as the Serpent's Youth, who regularly holds 'meetings' in the subway tunnels. Said meetings, while vaguely orgiastic, do have the purpose of restoring the wards on the station that maintain the entrapment of the demons within, and Vassago and his brood do act against any threats to the station or its inhabitants. * Alice Regan: A reporter for CBN 12 (Colorado Broadcast Network), who has hired the party on occasion to investigate things too dangerous for reporters to look into personally. * "Splicehawk" : A friend of Eric's who introduced them to the party when they were attempting to figure out how to access SkyTek's files on the ALF. Lives in Sydney, Australia, and is presumed to be on good terms with Eric. ==== Graveyard ==== * Vincent March: A mid-level personnel manager for Novus Laboratories who was promoted to the position after the termination of his predecessor. (Apparently, some of the people he's hiring to replace had very strange habits, up to and including cult worship.) He hired the party to make sure that he avoids any similar embarrassments. Unfortunately, as they began looking into John Malcolm, Vincent turned up dead. * Samuel Luke: An architect acknowledged as the designer of at least 152 buildings between 2025 and 2042 in the Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri region, who utilized gothic architecture and elements of Jewish, Catholic, and Gnostic mythology and mysticism in his works. The majority of buildings acknowledged as influenced by Samuel Luke are government-owned, with only eight known residential structures and no known commercial structures. * Smedley Novus: The founder of Novus Laboratories whose personal space station was destroyed by an orbital strike missle while he was on vacation there. Presumed deceased as of 2153. * John Malcolm: Known to Jenny as the security director at the UAC Ameritrust, later one of the applicants for Novus Laboratories, eventually imprisoned for various computer crimes, Malcolm was an unpleasant, but very talented, computer hacker who programmed AMI and Bethany, and had Amy Malcolm built as his personal sex toy. Unfortunately for him, after a software upgrade by Gregory, Bethany managed to gain control of enough of the house to trap him in the basement and suffocate him to death. ====== Characters ====== * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:michael_malone|Michael Malone - Psiker]] * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:alexander_wolf|Alexander Wolf - Hitter]] * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:jennifer_lee|Jennifer Lee - Rigger]] * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:amy|AMI - Rogue AI]] * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:tamara_demarco|Tamara DeMarco - CorpSec]] * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:gregory_malone|Gregory Malone - Shango]] * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:yansa_delacroix|Yansa Delacroix - Oya]] ===== Important NPCs ===== * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:npcs:megan_sinclair|Rose]]: A street child that the party adopted from Samuel Luke Station. She has no real home to speak of, and is currently living at the party's apartment. * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:npcs:ashley_wang|Ashley Wang]]: A Canadian who works for MJWolf Investigations as a secretary and consort; she is quite talented in both roles. * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:bethany|Bethany - Rogue AI]]: The AI John Malcolm programmed to run his home environment. She is the AI of the house the MJWolf agency considers home, and is generally quite friendly, despite having been confirmed responsible for Malcolm's death. Her avatar is of an anime-style girl with blue hair and white-light 'skin'; she also wears various clothing patterns downloaded from the Net at large, typically in blue-light colors. She is currently acting as an advisor to the ALF and is contemplating taking a more active role. * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:amy_malcolm|Amy Malcolm - Bioroid]]: John Malcolm's bioroid 'wife', who was removed from his custody during the activities that led to his arrest in connection to infiltration of Novus Lab corporate computer systems. After his demise, she came into a surprising inheritance. She is currently quietly supporting the ALF, in part due to her origins. ===== Safehouses and Investments ===== * [[:tower:worlds:granitecity2155:locations:mjwolf|MJ Wolf Investigations]]. Operation costs are $3,000 per month. * Malcolm Residence: Formerly owned by John Malcolm, this house in the middle-class part of town has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large living room and computerized kitchen, a basement with one of the largest privately owned computer systems in residential territory, and a complete Virtualized home environment allowing the resident AI, Bethany, to manifest and project holographic imagery at any point. Property taxes are $10,000 per year. * Travis Apartments, 201B: A two bedroom apartment that houses Amy Malcolm and Ashley Wang. Rent is $1200 per month. ==== The Capello Family ==== Backing Organization: The American Mafia The Capello Family operates in the Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas regions as an extension of the American Mafia, and is typically no-nonsense, brutally aggressive, and highly focused on profits. The Capellos are known to work under-the-table with corporations to provide security or to do their more underhanded work directly, and often distribute low-level work to street gangs and other undesirables. They are known to work with Indiron Technical and are directly responsible for the murder of several Novus Labs personnel, but this is likely just one in a broad variety of criminal activities. ====== Artificial Liberation Front ====== ==== Public Information ==== The Artificial Liberation Front, or ALF, is a radical terrorist group who oppose the "exploitation" of androids. They came to public attention two years ago when they released a statement taking credit for the destruction of the Kitchener, Ontario headquarters of EduSoft Corporation (a subsidiary of Chutujin), designers of dreamgame software for android conditioning and education. No one was killed in the attack; masked ALF terrorists evacuated the six late-working EduSoft employees at gun point before blowing up the building. The ALF's press statement accused EduSoft of producing programs that turned bioroids into little more than sex toys. The Artificial Liberation Front have since claimed responsibility for 27 acts of arson or sabotage and 12 successful kidnapping of bioroids from corporate birthlabs, inflicting an estimated 227 million dollars in damage. 23 people have been injured in ALF attacks, but with the exception of the Boston Incident no deaths were caused - the ALF appear to take steps to minimize loss of life. The ALF's reign of terror is focused on individuals or companies alleged to abuse bioroid workers or AI personas. The lion's share of attacks have been aimed at two leading bioroid manufacturers: Ambrex and Chutujin. SkyTec, the world's third largest producer of androids for the North American market, has been the target of only a handful of ALF raids, none in the last eighteen months. This has led to allegations that the ALF are a covert strike force used against SkyTec rivals; SkyTec, which has called the ALF "misguided and confused," denies any connection. Asked to speculate on their apparent immunity from the ALF, SkyTec spokesperson Maria Esteban pointed to the company's scandal free record and new internal ethics guidelines on "artificial persons" which include 20% real-time nurturing and strict background checks on all purchasers to prevent abuse. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a SkyTec executive stated that "if our distinguished competition treated androids more like people instead of animals, maybe they wouldn't have to spend so much on security." The Boston Incident was against Ambrex's Boston birthlab, when two ALF members were killed by security forces while attempting to burglarize the facility. Five Ambrex lab technicians and two corporate security officers were reported slain by the terrorists, making the Boston incident the first time the ALF has reportedly killed anyone not firing back at them. However, an anonymous source within Ambrex later claimed the deaths resulted from Ambrex Security's reckless use of nerve gas against the ALF. Asked to comment to the media on these charges, Ambrex/Boston's security chief Ian O'Connell said he could not discuss Ambrex internal security procedures but "reasonable minimum force" had been used. The terrorists' bodies were identified as a SkyTec-designed Warlord-class combat bioroid, "Spartacus", a ddeserter from the French Foreign Legion, and a renegade Ambrex-designed Hermes-class medical bioroid known as "Doc Cobra." Since the Boston incident, no terrorist attacks have taken place that can be definitely linked to the ALF. ==== The Medusa Incident ==== On November 3rd, 2155, a terrorist group known as Chimera issued a video from Alecto Eumenides, born in Bonn, Germany from an Ambrex birthing lab. She threatened to release a nanomechanical bone-eating virus on Houston if her demands were not met by SkyTek, Ambrex, and Chutujin (namely, condemning the current treatment of artificial lifeforms, pledging to eliminate the production of androids and AIs with self-destruct codes or artificially reduced lifespans, accepting the rights of bioroids and AIs to freedom and self-determination, and condemning the murders of ALF members by Ambrex in the Boston Incident.) While these corporations did no such thing, a member of the Ambrex bioproduction staff is reported to have leaked a project file known as the Rapture Project. This leak revealed shelters and stockpiles of goods for an upcoming apocalypse, as well as details about Ambrex's plans to strike against major centers of government and rival corporates in the event of a global war, including the production of specialized bioroids, AIs, and nano-weapons such as Medusa. Chimera accepted this release as sufficient, and the Houston Medusa was never released. The members of Chimera were former ALF members who had split from the main group after deciding that due to the deaths of two of their members, the current tactic of low-key violence and sabotage was insufficient to accomplish their goals. The release of Rapture Project has convinced them to rejoin the ALF's efforts, and has garnered the ALF support in places around the country. ==== Known Members ==== * Catseye: A member of the ALF who moonlights as a musician. Formerly a pleasure android named Neko, she originally worked for the Osaka-based digital media site MusicBox as a hostess and interviewer before being sold to Andreas Brecht when the site closed down. Went rogue and killed Brecht after a savage beating and subsequent surgery jarred her control implant loose, dyed her fur, and eventually became a commando for the ALF. Is on good terms with the party following the events of Medusa. * Ivan Ruskov: Android rights activist and founding member of the ALF, he manages their safehouses and plans most of their operations. He is on friendly terms with the party after their actions regarding Chimera and reuniting their organization, but is at best a distant ally most of the time. * Cherry: An experimental Chiroptera-7 model produced by Ambrex, this bat-girl is also a highly trained medic, making her invaluable to the ALF. She was rescued from an Ambrex transport craft and has been a member ever since. * Cleo: A Cassandra-model accounting bioroid made in a black clinic, who works for the ALF to help launder their finances and plot financial strategy. * Zengi: A Saladin-class combat android who was originally a deserter from the French Foreign Legion before finding his way into ALF and eventually Chimera. Has rejoined the ALF after the events of Medusa. * Fenris: Originally created for a Brothers Grimm theme park, Fenris resents humanity for treating him like a living toy, and takes out his anger through the ALF. He was temporarily a part of the offshoot Chimera, but returned to the ALF when Joanna Ness did. * Joanna Ness: The former leader of Chimera and last of the Eumenides Android line created by Ambrex (full designation: Alecto Eumenides), who has a piercing desire for revenge against Ambrex and specifically Conrad Lang. Has rejoined the ALF after the events of Medusa. ==== Known Safehouses ==== While the ALF does not provide public information on its safehouses and contact points, Aquarius is a hotbed of artificial activity, and as such many who look for safe harbor (or for revolution) find their way there. Catseye, one of the group's major spokespeople, often performs at a bar known as the Twisted Helix for stretches of time, and the party first met her there. The ALF keeps several safehouses for bioroids on the run, including one in Colorado Springs originally established by the ACGT Club. ==== Current Plans ==== * Amy, Ami, and Ganymede have been interested in providing assistance to the ALF on future operations. The fact that Amy has a fairly sizable bankroll to contribute might boost their operational game significantly. ====== The Way of the Steel Road ====== Backing Organization: The Triads The Way of the Steel Road is a Triad organization that operates within Colorado and the surrounding territories, usually using subway lines as meeting places and locations of safehouses. They operate a safehouse on the seventh floor of Samuel Luke, and typically have emissaries within the station. While extortionate criminals in nature, they are generally not fond of wanton violence when unnecessary, making them a lighter shade of grey than other criminal organizations in the area. The local 'messenger' of the Triads' will, Zhou Lang, is favorably disposed towards MJWolf Investigations, and occasionally passes on information when it benefits him to do so. ====== The Serpent's Youth ====== Patrons: Yansa and Gregory A coven led by Master Vassago that conducts ceremonies in the Samuel Luke tunnel station (typically on the seventh level). The ceremonies are tantric in nature, and many of the members have tattoos that assist in their ritualistic plans... to maintain and improve upon the wards keeping Samuel Luke a functional containment ground for extraplanar entities within the surrounding area covered by the subway lines. They are patroned by two Orishas, Oya and Shango (or as they are known in this life, Yansa and Gregory), who watch over them with bemusement and occasionally provide counsel and guidance.