Editing Paradise City:Urban Geography (section)

==The Jungles==

===Eastside Jungles:  “The Asylum”===

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When most citizens of Paradise think of the Asylum, they think of drug-crazed lunatics hacking at each other with medieval weapons.  That doesn’t truly represent the average citizen of this area, but it isn’t a bad caricature of the gangs who the police allow to rule the streets.  The police manage to keep most weapons of LR 3 and below out of the community, but have failed to prevent an ongoing explosion in drug use, despite desperate attempts to contain it, and the Asylum sees far more use and addiction than is found elsewhere in the Corpzone.  Many of the citizens seem to have only a tenuous connection to reality, and the locals are known for being strange and unpredictable.

Transport:  The subway system serves these communities.  The system is more extensive than in most lockdowns, but the gangs have taken over a lot of the less important stations, often rendering them effectively unusable.  There will almost always be at least one useable station in each gated community, however.  The corporations pay for a minimal bus system so that the residents can get to work and to shopping.  Buses are often late and in poor repair.  Corporate taxi services are usually restricted to corporate employees.  Private taxi services are usually allowed and service ranges from excellent to horrific, largely depending on price.

Police:  The police here are not hired by the city, but the corporations who house unskilled workers in the area.  The local inhabitants are not considered particularly valuable by the corporations they work for, and the corporate police do not go to great trouble to protect them, nor their environment.  Still, they work hard to keep the community clear of drugs, firearms, and anything else that they think will be trouble.  They fail miserably to keep the drug trade under control and drugs are extremely easy to find here.  They have had more luck keeping the area free of unacceptable weapons.  The corporate police themselves are typically issued a gyroc pistol and an auto-pistol.

Gangs:  The gangs do a good trade in drugs and are relatively prosperous.  They wear their colors in the open and often dress flamboyantly.  In the street, they will always be armed with melee weapons of some kind, and some gangs all use similar or identical weapons.  Combat against other gangs for territory or prestige is common and spectacular, but the gangers don’t dare take on the corporate police.

Organized Crime:  Organized Crime organizations effectively do what they like here, provided that they don’t tread too heavily on the toes of the corporations.  Groups are often large and their control is often so complete that they form the closest thing to a government that the locals have.  Structure is usually feudal, with the most powerful bosses ruling over numerous semi-autonomous local barons.  Obedience within the organizations is given under the open expectation of being rewarded – a boss who does not reward sufficiently may be accused of being “unfair” and betrayed on those grounds.

Entertainment:  The locals have effective access to the entire internet, so watch mindless television to their hearts’ content.

Sports:  Sports are extremely popular in the Asylum, particularly baseball, American Football and Soccer.  Combat sports events are frequently held.  Corporate police will usually tolerate anything that doesn’t involve illegal items like firearms and turn a blind eye to deaths.  The most popular events are matches between gladiators armed with melee weapons.

Points of Interest:  

“Paris” is a neighborhood on the boundary of the Habitats.  The Yosho-Noshi corporation has invested in real estate in the area and is working to transform the neighborhood from an anarchic jungle to profitable lockdown.  Housing prices have correspondingly risen and unskilled workers are being displaced by semi-skilled workers.  The “Parisites”, as they call themselves, resent the invasion of what they think of as their land and the constant introduction of new laws and regulations.  While there have been some attacks on new residents, most of the rage has been directed at the Yosho-Noshi corporation itself.  The violence and destruction is escalating.
          
“The Larp” is the name given to a ring of apartment blocks in the south-east corner of the Asylum.  People gather here to role-play and/or kill each other, much to the residents’ horror.  Originally, the Larp involved innocent medieval and fantasy role-playing, with occasional slightly-dangerous mock-combat.  Inevitably, new players were attracted to the game and transformed it into something much deadlier.  People come here to fight now.  Combat is in earnest, and is frequently lethal.  Most do choose a character of some kind, but others don’t bother, and some come just to mock and kill the role-players.

Weapons:  In theory, all weapons are illegal.  In practice, the police aren’t going to get upset about melee weapons of LR 4 or above and such weapons are openly worn in the street.  Most citizens will at least carry a knife on their hip.  Carrying a larger weapon may lead to challenges from local toughs if they don’t think the character knows how to use the weapon properly.  Just like everywhere else, a weapon carried in the hand is a sign of violent intentions.

Smuggling:  All citizens wishing to enter the territory must pass through checkpoints where they are scanned for illegal items and cyberwear.  In practice, low-tech melee weapons, even cybernetic versions, may be bribed through at around $5 a weapon.  Inside the territory, the police frequently scan citizens for weapons of LR 3 or less.  Discovery will lead to immediate arrest (and if the weapon is LR 2 or less, prison time).  On the other hand, melee weapons (excluding high-tech toys like vibro-blades and mono-whips) are tolerated to the point that even large and exotic weapons are worn openly in the street.

===Southside Jungles:  “The Southside Jungles”===

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Like all jungles, the Southside Jungles are economically depressed and the corporations who own these residential areas care little for the welfare of the average inhabitant, who individually is of almost no value to them.  Because of the loose enforcement of traffic laws, the Southside Jungles are known as a particularly dangerous area to go driving.  The streets attract go-gangers and everyone else who doesn’t feel like obeying traffic rules.

Transport:  The roads are filled with cars and motorcycles driving too fast.  For whatever reason, the gangs here seem to hate public transport and have a particular love of targeting subway stations and buses.  It is possible to get in and out of the Southside Jungles on the subway, but the subway system has been damaged to the point where it isn’t much use for getting around internally.  There are few buses left and those that the corporations can be bothered to provide are armored and come with security personnel.  Private taxi companies flourish, since many people, particularly outsiders, are simply too afraid to take to the roads.

Police:  The police here are not hired by the city, but the corporations who house unskilled workers in the area.  The local inhabitants are not considered particularly valuable by the corporations they work for, and the corporate police do not go to great trouble to protect them, nor their environment.  Taking a page from the South CityPol cops in the neighboring government projects, they do not even bother to enforce traffic laws unless property is actually damaged.  The officers are usually issued a submachine gun, an auto-pistol and a stun baton.

Gangs:  The lack of traffic rules has lead to a proliferation of go-gangs in these neighborhoods, much as it has elsewhere on the Southside.  Firearms are generally unavailable in the enclave and the gangers use melee weapons instead – especially weapons that can be cheaply improvised or can be used while riding a motorcycle.  Bats, chains, pipes and even swords are commonly used.

Organized Crime:  Organized Crime organizations effectively do what they like here, provided that they don’t tread too heavily on the toes of the corporations.  Groups are often large and their control is often so complete that they form the closest thing to a government that the locals have.  Structure is usually feudal, with the most powerful bosses ruling over numerous semi-autonomous local barons.  In theory, strict obedience is always owed from inferior to superior.  Duty is owed upwards to the boss, never downwards to the subordinate.  In theory, the entire Southside Jungle is ruled over by the Chou family, but the Chou are figureheads and have not had real political power in generations.

Entertainment:  The locals have access to the entire internet and generally spend their time passively sucking in mindless entertainment and commercials.

Sports:  The locals enjoy all major sports, but have a particular love of racing and unarmed combat.  The Southside Jungles houses the most prestigious race tracks in the city and hosts national and international competitions.  The locals avidly watch boxing and kick-boxing events from all over the world.  When they hold unarmed combat events of their own, they rarely restrict what fighting style may be used.  Each event will have its own rules regarding what constitutes “dirty fighting” – some forbid nothing at all.

Points of Interest:  

The Children of Michael are a large Christian religious cult who have sworn not to use technology invented after the year 2000 AD.  Their cars and apartments must be specially made and are purchased by them from the cult.  Over the years, the cult has eased its attitude regarding some technology - modern computers are now allowed as is the use of modern medicine, recreational drugs and weapons.  The Children believe that only cult members will be saved on the day of judgment and are not shy about saying so, which has earned them many enemies.  While no major denomination has told its adherents to attack the Children, numerous individuals have done so, leading in some cases to escalating reprisals against rival churches.

Weapons:  The police care enough about public order to arrest anyone found in possession of a ranged weapon, or any weapon of LR 3 or less.  Melee weapons, while technically illegal, are semi-tolerated - they are quite likely to be confiscated, but it is not likely that charges will be pressed simply for possession.  Most citizens carry no weapons at all and weapons that are carried tend to be easily concealed weapons of LR 4 or above.

Smuggling:  All citizens wishing to enter the territory must pass through checkpoints where they are scanned for illegal items and cyberwear.  It is very difficult to sneak a weapon of LR 3, (such as auto-pistols) or above into the territory.  Cybernetic weapons that are neither ranged nor of LR 3 or less may generally be bribed in for $40 per weapon.  The system is not effective in detecting drugs.  Within the territory, if corporate police find you with a weapon of LR 3 or above, you are likely to end up in prison, whereas something less lethal will simply be confiscated.

===Westside Jungles:  ”The Firepits”.===

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The Firepits, as the name suggests, have been repeatedly gutted by fires set by destructive residents.  The area, mostly built of a cheap flammable plastic, is riddled with burned-out areas, sometimes stretching for blocks.  There are still plenty of unskilled corporate workers living here, and there has been some effort to rebuild areas that have been destroyed.  However, too many of the locals seem set on destroying anything that they can get their hands on and most of the corporations who own land here find that it isn’t worth their while to try to rebuild.

Transport:  Transport facilities vary widely depending on the area.  In zones where the corporations manage to keep some kind of order, there are workable bus systems and subway stations.  There was once an extensive subway network here, but so many stations have been destroyed that the subways are of little use apart from getting into and out of the Firepits.  In areas where the corporations have failed to keep order, residents have no services at all.

Police:  The police here are not hired by the city, but the corporations who house unskilled workers in the area.  The local inhabitants are not considered particularly valuable by the corporations they work for, and the corporate police do not go to great trouble to protect them, nor their environment.  They do their best to keep the vandalism and destruction in check, but they are badly under-funded and under-staffed.  The corporations do maintain the outer wall very carefully, to ensure that residents may be passed through check points and scanned for weapons (and especially explosives).  There are plenty of streets where police just do not go, if only because the buildings are so trashed that they are not worth trying to protect.  Officers here are typically issued with a submachine gun, an auto-pistol and a stun baton.

Gangs:  There is not much money to be made here, although the gangs do a reasonable trade in drugs.  Still, for many of the residents of the Firepits, there isn’t a lot else to do than fight – most of the legitimate entertainments were driven out of town by arson and vandalism.

Organized Crime:  This is not very valuable territory and local crime-lords often resemble bandit kings more than businesspeople.  Trouble with gangers is frequent and sometimes devolves into open warfare.  Structure is usually feudal, with the most powerful bosses ruling over numerous semi-autonomous local barons.  An over-boss is known as an “archbishop” here and a boss as a “bishop”.  One bishop may owe allegiance and service to a more powerful bishop, but there can only ever be one “archbishop” in an organization.

Entertainment:  The locals have unrestricted access to the internet, so drink in all the mindless entertainment that television has to offer.

Sports:  The lawless streets of the Firepits play host to almost every strange sport that the locals can think of.  It has been established that causing explosions or crashing large numbers of cars tends to bring police helicopters, but other than that, almost anything can be done.  The area is famous for televising a sport called “Killer” involving contestants stalking each other with firearms.

Points of Interest:  

Near to the highway stands the vast hulking gray form of the Paradise City Rehabilitative Penitentiary, known on the street as “Purgatory”.  Conditions inside are famously brutal and death is common.  Executions are held at the prison and often televised by the highest bidder.  The prison is a prime recruiting ground for criminal organizations and major gangs and war between different groups is an ongoing problem.  Recently, some inmates have been offered early parole in return for joining the military and serving in foreign wars.  The prison is run by the city government.  Prisoners captured by corporate security in the lockdowns or jungles are more likely to be sent to a privately-run corporate prison.
          
“The Mars Project” is the name locals have given to a fenced-off area of four ruined blocks purchased and owned anonymously.  Inside the fence, clearing up the area, are what appear to be robots.  Guards with sub-machine guns and bad attitudes refuse to engage in discussion, or even to allow residents anywhere near the area.  Three different local gangs have now tried to assault the compound, presumably just to show that it could be done.  None of them got very far.

Weapons:  Weapons other than melee weapons are forbidden.  In practice, there are large desolate areas of the Firepits that someone could probably walk through carrying an assault rifle without being noticed.  Police will not tolerate non-melee weapons being openly worn, but with a little Streetwise, it is possible to obtain small arms such as handguns and sawn-off shotguns, generally weapons of LR 3 or above.

Smuggling:    All citizens wishing to enter the territory must pass through checkpoints where they are scanned for illegal items and cyberwear.  The system is not effective in detecting drugs and is only semi-effective in detecting weapons – a sizeable trade in small arms (generally LR 3 or above) takes place over the border.