This game is housed in the Granite City setting during the year 2155, and focuses on the exploits of a PI company that has become entangled in the Artificial Rights Movement that is developing to support both biological and digital artificially-created lifeforms.
A game set in the cyberpunk era of 2155, in Granite City, Colorado. Cybernetics and genetic re-engineering are the rage, psionic disciplines are well-understood and can be trained, and there's always problems that need solving and situations that need investigating. The office of MJ Wolf Investigations, with a generous grant from the Enterprise Management Consortium of New York City, is operating in the shady belly of independent contractors and private investigators, to bring some light to the darkness of the streets.
Employees of Novus Laboratories:
The agency was hired by Vincent March of Novus Laboratories to do background investigation on five potential applicants. One turned out to be a murderer…
Applicants to Novus Laboratories:
Mark Chancery, economics major and recent college graduate, working at Able Tax Associates. He has interesting knowledge about Indiron Technical (which he thinks is a shell of Novus that is buying up Novus estate patents to reclaim them), Catherine Grey, and the enigmatic Zhou Lang. He's also infatuated with Jennifer Lee - she's a sexy, intelligent girl who actually treats him nicely. He now works in the accounting department and is a diligent worker.
Fei Singh, Granite City police officer, apparently well thought of by her coworkers and considered honest and law-abiding. She recently made a collar on some street punks who had stolen Novus Labs merchandise in a van and returned it to its owners; this might explain the job offer, among other things. She now works in Novus Labs security as a liaison to the GCPD.
Andrew Morris was a government employee before his hiring - for the Centers for Disease Control, to be specific. He has a PhD in epidemiology and was working at a CDC testing facility in Granite City before his transfer; he is a talented scientist but seems otherwise uninteresting by comparison.
John Malcolm has two degrees in computer science - one in computer security and another in AI refactoring. He also happened to be working at the same facility as Jenny at one point in their mutual careers (the time when the UAC Ameritrust was destroyed, to be exact.) It later turned out that not only was he responsible for creating Ami, Jenny's head-comp AI, but he was planning on housing her in a bioroid to use her as a sexbot and personal chauffeur. The bioroid he received without its intended onboard AI control, Amy Malcolm, was his 'wife' until his death at the hands of another AI of his own creation, Bethany, who had been entrusted with managing his smart home.
Alice Monroe is a mousy, nervous-looking (at least in her photographs) University of Colorado graduate who, according to her thesis, developed three artificial species as part of a 'Realization of Mythological Entities' study. She was accompanied to Granite City by one of her projects, a bioroid electropath named Ganymede which she has been harboring rather than submit it for destruction.
Some of this will be repurposed into other areas, particularly the Granite City setting notes.
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.
The Triads have been aggressively pushing 'protection' contracts recently in the Southside district, and are also strongly involved in smuggling, drugs, and black-market operations, as well as having their hand in certain gambling operations. There are also whispered rumors that they are involved in some sort of occult practices.
They are currently making their base of operations in the Samuel Luke Station subway, somewhere on Level 7 - likely in one of the secret tunnels.
There is a connection between Zhou Lang and Catherine Gray, the CEO of Indiron Technical, according to mental interrogation of Mark Chancery, an employee at Able Tax Associates and a prospective Novus Labs employee. Zhou Lang also sometimes acts as a go-between for other local financial institutions.
Zhou Lang confirmed that he had done business with Catherine Gray, but Ms. Gray had 'decided to take another direction' - specifically, contracting with other criminal organizations instead, and trafficking in hazardous chemicals. In particular, he emphatically denies any responsibility for the death of Vincent March.
These hoodlums operate out of Samuel Luke Station, and are responsible for a variety of petty crimes in and around the vicinity of the station. While they are low-level thugs, they operate with enough coordination that they are a threat to local businesses. Robberies, vandalism, shoplifting, and pickpocketing are their most common crimes, although anyone who interferes is likely to end up hurt.
The Serpent's Youth holds their night-time meetings in one of the secluded tunnels, and openly proclaims their occult interest. Their leader, a 'Master Vassago', a whip-thin man with a forked tongue, seems to preach a brand of Satanism and self-interest that leads to practice of the black arts and other unsavory practices, although thus far no criminal charges have been filed.
Master Vassago has some actual powers, if the agency's experiences are to be believed; he is in fact backed by two powerful entities because his coven has the surprisingly altruistic goal of preserving Samuel Luke Station and maintaining its wards against dark forces. The fact that he seems to combine magic with pleasure by using sexually explicit rites may go some way towards explaining his cult's popularity and level of success, as well as the reason he is not taken more seriously by those not in the know. He operates an occult store, although he believes his true calling is as a 'magus', and has reference tomes that would be useful in interpreting the symbols of the station.
The 15th Street Sinners are a group of street kids who fiercely protect their territory against any semblance of authority - which usually boils down to police or the SLS, although they will fight a Triad member if they don't recognize them or think they can get away with it. Aside from their violent territorialism, their criminal activities usually involve vandalism, shoplifting, burglary, and occasionally charging 'tolls' to pass through their neighborhood; they prefer attacking unguarded targets or defensive confrontations on their own turf where they can control the situation.
The northern end of town, near the old rock quarries, used to be a focus of industry, but is currently a high-tech manufacturing and biotechnology center, with middle-class housing areas and well-secured storage facilities rounding out the region. Travis Apartments and MJ Wolf Investigations are both located in Tumblerdown.
Tourist trap section, middle to east, plenty of legalized gambling, prostitution, and drugs (as well as the usual illegal ones); 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.
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.
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 monowire security grids.
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 to provide additional defense in times of crisis.
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.
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…
Six dead bodies have been discovered within Samuel Luke Station in the past 18 months, most of them prostitutes or street people. Community watchpeople are outraged and demand stronger police and security presence in the Station; although publicly the city has insisted that it can't afford major improvements, it has made a token effort by adding a police presence and additional security cameras.
The Lilith statue on the second level, in the shabby park, is the only untouched statue. Touching it, Michael 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 was encountered chasing down Rose in the tunnels. Is he responsible for the murders? Is he connected to the station, or to something else? Why do searches on his face crash computers? 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.
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.
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.