Editing Rivers in the Barrens:Ashbarrow (section)

==Notable Groups==
===Icarus===
Icarus are a faction of green neoanarchists who are largely endemic to Ashbarrow, though city travelers report they also have bases in the Everett barrens and have been seen moving goods through Tarislar and the Underground. Going hypothesis for these sightings is that Icarus smuggles plants, seeds, and farming supplies in from Salish-Sidhe. Following the ideological theory and praxis of their founder, Alarota, Icarus seeks to encourage sustainable living in the Seattle barrens. This mission is centered around developing farming techniques and communes both in the urbanized zones and, without much success, in Hell’s Kitchen. The organization mostly focuses on hydroponic farming, to preserve water, but has also been experimenting with the volcanic ash enriched soil.

In addition to organizing farming communes, Icarus also: runs food drives; teaches water conservation, green magical praxes, and ideological seminars; assists unions while lobbying them to promote sustainable manufacturing; and attempts to co-organize with other local leftist groups. The latter efforts are hindered by the suspicion among many residents that Icarus is a cult, owing to the reverence members express towards Alarota. There are also concerns about where Icarus gets its resources from, or the funds to obtain them.

When they want to be, Icarus can be identified by their armbands depicting a horizontal red band over a horizontal green one, with a black wing in the foreground. The group is spread out over the ashbarrow, where members have turned their homes into farms, greenhouses, and meeting centers. However, Icarus also has a large enclave situated in the ruins of Orting Middle School, which has been converted to communal apartments, greenhouses, and hydroponic farms. This enclave is rigorously patrolled and defended by militarized security; non-members are not allowed inside without invitation, and even then are closely supervised during their visit.

Icarus occasionally stirs up trouble with Petrowski Farms, on the basis that the Petrowski family is hoarding and commodifying their crops. Petrowski Farms largely ignores Icarus in return, given that the anarchists just make noise (or hire precise shadowrunners) instead of assaulting their fences like the more violent barrens gangs. Despite this strained relationship, there are rumors the two factions have secretly assisted each other in the past.

===The Reality Hackers===
This gang of runaway corp kids and barrens techno-geeks is largely responsible for much of Ashbarrow having wireless Matrix connectivity at all. Spread over Ashbarrow, Loveland, Puyallup City, and even parts of Tarislar, they consider the AR and VR net of Puyallup district their territory more than any piece of tangible real estate. The Reality Hackers are perhaps best known for dropping cheap wireless relays around the Puyallup barrens. Though the devices are often snatched up by scrappers or whatever passes for local security, the Reality Hackers routinely make it "rain toasters" throughout Puyallup to replace losses. They also search for, refurbish, and maintain the remnants of the 30s - 60s wired Matrix network wound through the city. This is not an act of charity: the Reality Hackers largely fund themselves via piracy and other cybercrime, and most rely on the Matrix in one way or another to defend themselves.

The Reality Hackers began as a small time collective of small time hackers, but their ability to punch above their weight class against corpro cybersecurity (often owing to members being runaways from said corps) drew Yakuza attention. The Reality Hackers were captured and groomed as a weapon by the Watada-''rengo'' for a time, until Hanzo Shotozumi usurped control from the Watada family - at which point the presumed disloyal Reality Hackers were repeatedly sent on suicide missions. In a self-fulfilling prophecy, the surviving Hackers escaped deeper into the barrens, rebuilt, and never forgot. The Reality Hackers ''hate'' the Yaks, and readily team up with anyone looking to take a bite out of the Shotozumi-''rengo''. The gang is also a haven for Japanese and Japanese-corporate exiles.

The Reality Hackers' colors are gold and chrome. Most are as cybered as the individual member can afford, electing for sleek and "electronic" aesthetics prominently displayed. Those who cannot adopt the gang's "fashion" in reality apply it in the Matrix instead.