> Okay, chummers, it was pointed out to me by several people that
a lot of stuff was left out of the file on San Francisco. In our haste to
compile the California Free State file, a lot of stuff got left out simply
because we didn't have enough time or space. Of course, all of the files
here on Shadowland are works in progress that we update on a regular basis,
so here's a supplement to the San Francisco file by a local who goes by
the name Kilroy.
> Capt. Chaos
> Oh, and no gay-bashing flames unless you want your deck cooked.
Keep your comments useful, chummers, or you answer to me.
> Capt. Chaos
Okay, if you're someone who doesn't care to hear about a bunch of queers and what they think about the world, you should probably skip on to one of the other files on the system. If not, then read on.
First off, by "queer" I mean gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and even transvestite, all of the various gender-bending sexual minority groups that tend to get lumped together as one big category by Japanese Occupation Force. They call us "deviants" and that's when they're being polite about it.
Before I fill you in on the gay underground in SanFran, a little background on how things got the way they did.
Back in the end of the 20th Century there was a lot of squawk about gay rights and the gay liberation movement. Things were making progress in some places where gay rights laws were being enacted, and sliding in others where the radical right was working to "protect America's children" from the conspiracy of the evil predatory homosexuals.
> I'm old enough to remember those days and let me tell you we
were more hopeful than ever about seeing some things change. Words can't
explain the disappointment that followed for us.
> Gray
Gay people were recognized as an important demographic group by both Washington and Wall Street, and politicians and peddlers alike began trying to use those demographics to their advantage. More advertising and political campaigns tried to speak to a gay audience, or at least not exclude them.
A major breakthrough came for the gay community when Seretech Medical Products announced in 2008 that they had perfected a vaccine that prevented HIV infection in humans. The terrible AIDS plague of the 20th Century was over, and the gay community emerged from the shadow of death with new life and vigor.
The first cases of Virally Induced Toxic Allergy Syndrome (VITAS) appeared in India, but within a few weeks there were cases reported worldwide. VITAS struck mercilessly all over the world, especially in the impoverished and overcrowded Third World. Within days of infection, the victim's immune system became so sensitive that common allergies could cause deadly toxic shocks that would kill the victim.
Rumors ran rampant that VITAS was a mutation of the AIDS virus and that it had been caused by efforts by Asian scientists to study the virus. Others suggested that Seretech's vaccine had caused the HIV virus to mutate into a more deadly and virulent form. The World Health Organization issued statements that both rumors were utterly false.
Riots and civil unrest came in the aftermath of the terrible plague. Much blame again fell on the gay community and fears of a "homosexual conspiracy" to infect the world with VITAS spread, even though gay people suffered from the disease as much as the rest of the world.
With the Chaos of the Awakening in 2011 and the guerrilla war between the U.S. Government and the Ghost Dancers, the world took little notice when the Jarman Administration began to make efforts to restrict citizen's civil rights. Obstensively to deal with the problem of the SAIM and the Ghost Dancers, the Ordell Court upheld several new laws that restricted "cultural deviancy."
These new laws were often also used by local jurisdictions to crush gay and lesbian rights movements, homoerotic art and other "expressions which might offend the values of the community." Angered by these restrictions, many gay people joined with the growing number of people who secretly offered aid and assistance to the Indian guerrillas (another example of war making strange bedfellows).
In the wake of the Treaty of Denver and the formation of the Native American Nations, many of the NAN's gay allies were angered by the Sovereign Tribal Council's somewhat cool reception of them. Although many of the NAN member nations had traditions that were accepting of homosexuality others, such as Aztlan, did not and the Council became caught in a deadlock on the issue.
Homophobia soon became the world's least concern when goblinization struck, transforming ten-percent of the world's population into Orks and Trolls. Much of the public's prejudice began to turn towards these new species of "metahumans." While gay people were hardly given acceptance, they were generally left to themselves so long as they kept out of sight.
San Francisco, considered by most to be the "queer mecca" of the world, was beset by its own problems during this time of change. Shortly after California became an independent nation in 2036, the governor called upon Japanese aid against incursions from Tir Tairngire and Aztlan. The Japanese responded by sending an Imperial Occupation Force to San Francisco that arrived on October 25, 2036. Within weeks, the entire city was under martial law and the control of the Japanese.
> I can recall how the Japanese were hailed by the city as saviors
from the Tir and the Azzies and how they turned out to be as bad as either
of them. Or worse.
> Blake
> Governor Treacle didn't actually think that the Japanese would
respond as quickly as they did. He was hoping to bluff the UCAS government
into backing down. But before they could, the Japs had moved in and made
it clear they were there to stay, so there was nothing to do but make the
best of a bad situation.
> PeopleWatcher
One of the many laws enacted by the Japanese occupation force was the idea of "cultural enclaves." It said that each unique "culture" should be kept separate, in order to preserve their "uniqueness." In truth, the Japanese used this law to force anyone they didn't like out of San Francisco or force them to live in almost prison-camp conditions within the city.
This meant that thousands of metahumans, counter-culture types and gays were evicted from the city and resettled in the surrounding Oakland/Berkeley area.
> The occupation forces were oh-so-polite about their new laws
in the beginning, but they made it abundantly clear in the following months
that remaining in "their" city was not an option for "undesirable
elements." Raids and abuse from the Imperial Marines quickly shut down
businesses and gathering places and forced them to relocate.
> Kino
> The Imperials still unofficially sanction bashings and abuse
to keep the city unfriendly to people they don't want there. I know a woman
who thought to be defiant and openly affectionate with her girlfriend in
San Fran and the marines beat her to within an inch of her life while her
lover screamed for help and everyone on the street just kept walking and
didn't bat an eye.
> Acting-UP
> That's the fragged-up burg that is San Francisco. On the surface
it seems like the ideal corptown: clean, orderly, nice weather and just
a touch funky and avant-garde - but not enough to offend or bother anyone.
But underneath it's a fraggin dictatorship run by a racist and oppressive
government. Great place to live... if you're straight, male, human, and
Japanese.
> Stick
The Berkeley area is where much of San Francisco's gay population resettled after the occupation. It is also home to numerous metahumans and anti-Japanese resistance groups. The two major groups are the Metahuman People's Army and the October 25 Alliance. The Alliance has a large number of gay and lesbian members, while the MPA tends to disdain working with humans.
> That doesn't mean that there aren't some queer metas among the
MPA. Straights aren't the only ones who goblinized, you know.
> Old Troll
> It also doesn't mean that all the queers in the Oct Alliance
are all sweetness and light, either. Some of us want to see our home free,
whatever it takes.
> Acting-UP
Berkeley is also home to the People's University, a kind of "guerrilla college" based around much of the former faculty of UC Berkeley. The University teaches a variety of classes and secretly networks with the people of the area to spread the kind of education that the Japanese Occupation forces want kept under wraps.
> The People's University teaches more than just home-brew terrorism.
It also gives legal, social and medical information, language classes (if
you're going to fight the Japanese, it helps to know the lingo) and economics.
> Teach
> The University also tries to make the people of Berkeley more
self-sufficient in ways that show the Japanacorps that we can do it on our
own. We're building up Mom-and-Pop businesses and an economy of our own
here, keeping our nuyen at home and hurting the corps where they feel it:
in their cred sticks.
> BakerMom
In the present, gay people are much in the same boat that they were in sixty years ago. Some segments of the gay community have found acceptance in a few places, while other areas hold onto old homophobic beliefs. While the struggle for equal rights and acceptance goes on, gay people live much as they always have... in the shadows.
In and around San Francisco, the former gay mecca of the world has gone underground. The Netherlands have become the new "mecca" for the openly gay and free-thinking, while San Francisco has become a battleground for civil rights: gay and straight, metahuman and human, East and West.
> Underground is right. Gay life in SanFran never went away, it
just went back into hiding. We're good at that, and as much as the Japs
would like to deny it, they've got as many gays as any culture. I know plenty
of good, honest "company people," men and women, who frequent
some of the underground gay establishments in the city and out in Berkeley.
Fearful for their jobs and the honor of their families should their activities
be exposed. The underground has been known to blackmail some of them to
get things done in SF. It's a sad state of affairs when we have to turn
against our own to accomplish our goals.
> Boytoy
> If they aren't with us, they're against us. Anyone who works
for the people who stole and oppress our home deserve from their fellow
queers only the loyalty they gave us. Nothing.
> Acting-UP
> If you're looking for some contacts in the gay underground inside
of San Fran, check out a place called the Wall in the Castro. Its supposed
to be a nice little jazz club, but it has a backroom for "special"
patrons. The Japanacops know it's there, and raid it once in a while, but
it continues on and is a good place to meet people for business or pleasure.
> Floyd
> Kilroy's not doing too bad, but he does tend to neglect the
female side of things. There are as many lesbians as gay men involved in
the SF underground, and a lot of us are just as devoted, if not moreso,
to the cause.
> Wanda
by Talon
Hey, chummers, I figured that I was qualified to comment here a bit on the relationship between gay people and magic. Here are some factoids to keep in mind for future reference.
Throughout history, gays and transvestites have held a special place in many tribal societies as shamans, medicine men, etc. The idea is that gay people are "between the worlds" just like they are between the sexes in a way, giving them a special insight into the spirit world.
> The French called the tradition of some Native American shamans
dressing in women's clothing and taking the woman's role berdache.
There is a berdache revival going on in areas of the NAN, and a lot of the
adherents are gay crossdressers, who also happen to be very capable shamans.
> Brave
> Genderbending shamanism is a common enough thing in the Sprawl,
my dears. Plenty of shamans in the drag scene find power in the magic of
dress-up. What is a painted face but a shaman's mask? By becoming a woman,
the shaman enters the otherworld, putting on a new face and body for the
spirits to know her by and getting in touch with their power.
> Lady Z
> The Lady is certainly the authority on the matter, children.
Lady Z is the head witch of a circle of drag magicians who call themselves
the Sisters of Indulgence, and they're very capable magicians in addition
to being fabulously dressed. And they throw the most marvelous parties.
> Mimosa Boy
> Thank you, Mim darling.
> Lady Z
Alchemists and modern hermetics have theorized that homosexuals can represent a kind of divine hermaphrodite or animus/anima being. A kind of polar combination.
> Some Hermetic-style magic can be rather heterosexist and male-dominated.
Most traditions are more enlightened than that and have ditched a lot of
that Fifth World baggage, but I know some mages who still insist that there
is a separate role for male and female who don't know what to do with a
gay person.
> Magister
Some ancient warrior societies (like the Greeks) believed in encouraging love between male warriors to foster loyalty and fierceness in battle. Greek-hero Achilles is famed for avenging the death of his lover Patrocholus on the field of battle in Troy.
Lots of neopagan nature magic societies are almost exclusively made up of "womyn." These Dianic groups, as they are known, tend to attract a fair number of lesbian witches for obvious reasons.
What does all this mean? Beats the drek out of me, but it's part of the unique cultural heritage of gay magic-workers in the Sixth World. Being gay doesn't necessarily make you a better or worse magician, just different. Sometimes it pays to know these things. Your mileage may vary.
The following are some adventure hooks for involving a group of shadowrunners (even peripherally) in the gay subculture of San Francisco. The gamemaster should feel free to modify the details of the adventures to better suit the campaign. The location of most of the adventures can be changed with very little work.
The player characters are asked to meet a potential employer in a small park in the Castro. They are met by a young man wearing native clothing. He shows the PCs that a group of corpkid punks have defaced the Memorial Wall, erected to honor the victims of AIDS. He offers them several small, valuable items in exchange for the characters tracking down the punks and seeing that they are brought to justice. He is quite firm that they are NOT to be killed, as that "would make us no better than they are."
What the PCs don't know is that their employer is a free forest spirit that dwells in the park, which is his personal Domain. Over the years he has felt the love and sadness of the people who have come to honor loved ones at the wall and has come to care for the monument. The spirit attempted to stop the gangers from damaging it, but one of them was a magician who got lucky and disrupted the spirit in astral combat. Since the nature spirit cannot leave the park, it must have the shadowrunners' help to track down the criminals. It will use its Wealth power to pay them.
If the PCs have recently run afoul of a gang, or if they have any gang enemies, this story would be a good one to use them in.
A Japanese corporate couple hires the characters to find their teenage son, who has run away and disappeared into the Berkeley Sprawl. They have no idea why he would want to leave his nice, safe, comfortable corporate-dependent home to go out into that big, dirty, awful sprawl.
Unknown to his parents, the young man is gay and has left home because he feared their finding out. Unfortunately, all he knows about life in the Sprawl is what he's seen on the tridshows and played at in a corporate-run high school, so the shadowrunners will have to find him before he manages to get into real trouble.
An executive or government official hires the characters to recover some trideo footage from a pirate news network before it can be edited and shown on the air. The characters are not told what the footage is of, only that they are to recover all copies of it and return them to their employer.
What they do not know is that the film clearly shows that Mr. Johnson is gay (how clearly is left up to the gamemaster's personal taste). Such a public revelation would almost certainly destroy his career. However, Mr. Johnson is also a very outspoken homophobe who donates generously to anti-gay causes, which leaves the characters with a dilemma. Do they recover and destroy the footage, allowing their client to continue his hypocritical ways? Do they allow the network to air the story, blowing the job and damaging their own professional reputations or do they take the tape and try to blackmail their client with it?