Editing Rivers in the Barrens:Ashbarrow (section)

===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.