Chicago

Chicago is slowly starting to recover from an incident 20 years ago involving the Universal Brotherhood. They opened one of the largest rehabilitation centers in the world, and it turns out it was just a cover for Bug Spirits.

The US quarantined the Chicago Area claiming a new strain of VITAS had appeared. And for years afterwards the UCAS (but mostly Ares) fought a war against the tide of Insect Spirits. Culminating in them dropping a nuke in the center of the hive.

The bomb put most of the bugs into hibernation. The Cermak blast was much smaller than it should have been.

Now the city has decided to open up the quarantined zone and is giving every corp a chance to get back any buildings they can prove they owned before the situation. While the doors are open, the CZ (Containment Zone) is still dangerous and no place you want to spend for long period of times.

Since they have been closed off for so long the matrix connection is spotty at the best of times and the blast has created background count that hinders magic. Both of these situations are worse the closer to the blast site you get.

The Maker Collective:
Formed by like-minded scientists and students of the former Northwestern University in Evanston (Northside), the Maker Collective has become the Corridor’s own gadget center—though some say it’s more like a whole district of mad science labs. Industrial noise, funny-colored acidic clouds, and the odd explosion commonly occur throughout the collective, as many techno-geeks make do with improvised appliances and equipment or makeshift ventilation. Nevertheless, the collective’s reputation for
creating all kinds of useful appliances and gadgets from scrap and recycled materials has spread throughout the Corridor and draws people to the Maker’s weekly bazaars.

> While the Makers work for anyone (often following their own idiosyncrasies), they seem to get in the middle of the rivalries between the Zone Lords, who have started calling dibs on the enclave’s brightest eggheads.
> Change Agent

> If there’s any place to fnd a hacker, it’s here. Secure your Matrix connections.
> Noob37

> Well, I’d say that goes without saying, but who let a noob on here?
> Maker Bot

> Noob-bashing aside, the Collective is a really good place to find technical people. You know, like the types who do really good gear and vehicle repair and upgrades.
> Viewpoint