ORGANIZATIONS DATABASE

// Factions, Syndicates, and Subcultures

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Major Organizations

The Index

Information Brokerage
KEY:The Index, information, network, broker, Hobb, Silas, Jessica Chen, El Buitre, Tommy Two-Times SEC:Greywater, Blackwood, Port Sterling, Sterling, Redemption, underground,

"The Index" is not a single person, but a decentralized, brand-named information brokerage network. It functions as the central nervous system of the underworld across both Cascadia and Terralinda, built on a principle of absolute neutrality and compartmentalization.

The Five Families of Redemption

Criminal Syndicate
KEY:Five Families, Los Cuervos, The Roughnecks, Desert Ghosts, The Circuit, The Brand, gangs, SEC:Redemption

The city's underworld is controlled by a fragile coalition of five distinct criminal organizations: Los Cuervos (drugs/smuggling), The Roughnecks (pills/weapons), Desert Ghosts (meth/extremists), The Circuit (cybercrime), and The Brand (gambling/prostitution).

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Intelligence & Support Networks

The Vulture's Web (El Buitre's Network)

Redemption Network
KEY:El Buitre, The Vulture, information network, HUMINT, spies SEC:N/A

El Buitre's seemingly omniscient knowledge is the product of a meticulously organized, multi-tiered human intelligence (HUMINT) network. It consists of street-level collectors ("The Spiders"), core family member analysts, and the pawn shop itself as a physical database of secrets.

The "Doc Coyote" Brand

Redemption Network
KEY:Doc Coyote, Coyote Network, underground medical, illegal clinic SEC:redemption

"Doc Coyote" is not a single person but a decentralized network of underground medical practitioners operating under a single, trusted brand name. The network, led by Dr. Ernesto Ramirez, includes other disgraced medical professionals who run their own clinics under his protection, using his supply chain and paying a cut for the brand recognition.

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Subcultures

Blackwood Rebels

Port Sterling Faction
KEY:rebels, collective, underground, activists SEC:Blackwood, students

The Gilt Cage Collective: A group of trust fund kids who perform a caricature of rebellion to annoy their wealthy parents. Their rebellion is a form of luxury performance art.

The Blackwood Underground: A smaller, more sincere group of scholarship students genuinely committed to fighting injustice by running an anonymous whistleblower website.

GreyWater Strivers

Port Sterling Faction
KEY:strivers, risers, the grind, students SEC:Greywater

The Risers: A mutual aid collective of young people determined to climb out of poverty by sharing resources and skills.

The Grind Never Stops: A more extreme group who work and/or study up to 18 hours a day, often holding three jobs while attending night school.

Border Crossers

Port Sterling Faction
KEY:commuters, shapeshifters, bridge people, border crossers SEC:Greywater, Blackwood, the bridge

The Commuters: Roughly 3,000 GreyWater residents who travel across the bridge to Blackwood each day for service jobs (cleaners, security, assistants). They live a life of code-switching, with two sets of clothes, two accents, and two personalities.

The Shapeshifters: A small, elite group of 50-100 individuals who have successfully "infiltrated" Blackwood. They hold white-collar jobs but secretly live in GreyWater, performing a constant, high-stress act of social camouflage.

The Bridge People: The true denizens of the border. They are long-term residents of places like the Crestview Motel, belonging to neither world. They provide services to both sides and know all the secrets, but are looked down upon by everyone.

Special Groups

Port Sterling Faction
KEY:fallen, climbers, ghosts, immigrants SEC:Greywater, Blackwood

The Fallen: Once the Blackwood elite, fallen from grace due to bankruptcy, scandal, or addiction. Now often reside in GreyWater. Considered the most dangerous people in the city, for knowing the secrets of both worlds.

The Climbers: Individuals who successfully transitioned from GreyWater to Blackwood but paid a heavy price. Forever marked as "outsiders" by the Blackwood elite, often alienated from their families in GreyWater.

The Ghosts: The city's invisible population of undocumented immigrants and workers. They exist in the cracks between both worlds.

Redemption Groups

Redemption Faction
KEY:The Returnees, Oil Orphans, Solar Cowboys, subculture, SEC:Redemption

The Returnees (Los Retornados): Individuals deported to Mexico who have smuggled themselves back into Redemption, creating a unique, resilient border subculture.

Oil Orphans: The young generation whose parents were oil workers, trapped in a past that has no future.

Solar Cowboys: A new, emerging subculture attempting to merge traditional ranching values with the new energy economy.