General Information
Fuchi:
Fuchi's presence in The Twin Cities ties directly into the background of a missing
prototype. Fuchi has never had an effective hold on the magical theory and supply
market, but their subsidiary, Mechalliam Industries, was slowly building a program.
Mechalliam was based in the West Central Cities in a smaller complex, designed
not to attract attention. The main purpose of the program was to work directly
with the metagene, creating the ultimate magical weapon. Three prototypes were
created, and all were accidentally released as a collateral result of a Shadowrun.
Fuchi will do anything to recover these prototypes, including use their most
powerful physical weapon, the Urban Terminator.
The UCAS Government:
The UCAS government has a lot to gain or lose considering the AI.
The government deckers have been watching Charon very intently since it
was installed, and seriously suspects its intelligence. The government
technically owns half of the Charon Device (as they helped pay for the
device to be installed). Because they own half of the AI, they legally
own half of its holdings. Of course the State of Minnesota owns the
other half, but the government has ways of avoiding this unfortunate
obstacle. The government has assigned a four member team known merely as
"The Bird's of Prey" to discover all they can about what the AI is doing
to strengthen its hold on Styx Enterprises. These people have been given
authorization to use whatever means necessary to discover the secrets of
the AI. They will actively pursue anybody that has had contact, or
suspected ties to the AI.
The UCAS Military:
The UCAS Military has been expanding upon an underground military
base beneath the Twin Cities for at least 25 years now. Located another
40 meters beneath the existing subway system, the facility is a maze of
underground passages and complexes. Laboratories involved in research in
direct competition with the corporations comprise a large portion of the
base, but the military maintains other systems such as an underground
nuclear fusion reactor (one of the only of its kind on the planet) to
power its extensive facilities. Personnel are rotated in on a two year
tour of duty, after which their memories are erased by techniques
perfected in their own labs. After their tour of duty, they are returned
to the family, complete with an explanation of those two years, sometimes
designed and implanted by the very person returning to the real world.
Although there have been security breeches in the past, all have been
sufficiently quelled.
The laboratories and other facilities are shut off from the rest of the subway and other underground tunnels except in a few key locations. One of these locations is the subway tunnel know as "The Hardway". This is the tunnel in which the incident involving the missing subway car was cited. An emergency venting procedure by one of the chemical weapons divisions is the true cause of the missing subway car. Normally this tunnel would never have been in danger, but a particularly deadly attack by a group of shadowrunners blew up the primary and secondary venting systems requiring it to be used in an emergency ventilation procedure. The tunnel filled with a highly dangerous chemical warfare substance thought to be a basic component of the newest neutron bomb, killing all in the tunnel instantly.
Rather than reveal the existence of the base, the military attempted to cover up the mistake by removing the entire subway car through an unused maintenance tunnel and cleaning the area. Obviously the rouse worked, and most are completely in the dark about what really happened. To this date the lab still being used, although the venting system has been moved to vent in a portion of the Minneapolis Barrens.
The rumors that The Gophers know the truth is not entirely true, but they have a good idea of the cause of the accident and have already identified abandoned parts of the military complex. The clouds and other mysterious happenings in the tunnel are placed by the government as holograms and gaseous emissions in attempt to maintain an air of mystery around the tunnels. The military will do anything to protect their assets including hire shadowrunners that they eventually will betray in the end.
Geneti-Dome Inc.:
Most of the rumors about the Minnesota Zoo are true. A group of
individuals from a newer corporation named Geneti-Dome Inc., secretly
obtained the zoo's lease to use the creatures on the property in top
secret genetic experiments. They set up large and extensive security
systems to drive away the locals and to prevent the animals from
escaping. While everybody else hates the decrease in quality of life,
Geneti-Dome considers it more incentive for people to stay away.
Geneti-Dome leaves most of the zoo in its native state, allowing open access between all the paddocks. The purpose of this is: one keep snoopers to a minimum, as carnivores roam the zoo openly, two: to create a more realistic population through genetic selection and four: to create an effective ecosystem for their experiments. Most experiments require extensive observation, and thus the corporation keeps a small section of the underground tunnels for their work. Entering the rest of the zoo requires extensive preparation and is not a feat normally taken except by a few experienced professionals.
The zoo has a large population of many common animals, and some animals that were thought to be extinct or are extinct, and several paranormal creatures. The security systems are especially deadly, and those leading from the outside in are particularly difficult to defeat. The designers are still alive though, and are in hiding because of numerous kidnapping attempts.
The truth is only known by the company, a few select members of The Gophers Gang, and Ares, who has been watching intently for the perfect time to strike and claim the property and experimentation for their own. Geneti-Dome has been secretly requesting a corporate memo approving the use of human subjects in their experiments. They propose to use vagrants and Free Zone citizens.