The Seattle metroplex is generally larger, with each district occupying more physical space; this includes The Barrens, with Arclight, in Redmond, being a 45-60 minute straight shot from the edge of Seattle.
Revolutionary Evolution
 |
| Leosa Belnades |
People are capable of seemingly amazing feats, and advancements in technology have been earth shaking. Ten years ago, in an interview by the teenaged matrix-reporter Scarlet Gafgarion, Arcadia CEO Leosa Belnades was quoted as saying "We live in a world of unlocked potential. We're in the midst of a revolutionary evolution." Many other prominent figures also spoke on the matter, but Belnade's quote is the one that stuck, and Revolutionary Evolution has become the term that people use to describe both the recent explosion of technological progress, and the other new phenomena that some perceive in the world.
Some people, most of them old-timers find it strange just how good people can be at things. The idea that runners can be competitive without magic or cyberware strikes some people as strange, or not the way it used to be; most people acknowledge advancements, but few see evidence of anything strange. Nonetheless Revolutionary Evolution is a phenomenon often referenced when people discuss recent advancements and changes for the better.
The Joker Game
A new craze has been sweeping Seattle, and likely areas beyond. The Joker Game is a high-stakes combination of gambling and truth-or-dare with supernatural lottery undercurrents that has become all the rage from high-schools to frat parties and bars. Players of The Joker Game tell secrets or take dares in order to win draws from a deck of playing cards, with the ultimate aim being to pull the red joker, and avoid the black one. Whoever pulls the Red Joker is entitled to collect money for each numeral card he holds, and demand secrets or dares of the other players for each face card that he holds. Whoever pulls the Black Joker must similarly pay into the pot, tell secrets, or perform dares for his cards. The game ends when both jokers have been drawn, with the players who drew them keeping them as trophies or badges of ignominy.
Urban legend has a strange take on The Joker Game however. Rumor has it that the Red Joker is actually unlucky, and that whoever draws it will come into ruin; contra-wise, the Black Joker is the lucky one, and will bring fortune. Most people dismissed these rumors as nice things for losers to tell themselves, but soon after The Joker Game started to generate buzz around town, the serial killer who became known as
One-Eyed Jack began his reign of terror. Isolated reports of Joker Game losers who held onto their cards coming into money have fueled even more speculation and popularity for the game. Some thrill-seeking players have brought about the superstition that wilder, higher-stakes games, with big money at risk, and more extreme dares either mitigates the after-game misfortune of the Red Joker, enhances the luck of the Black Joker... or both. The Joker Game can become truly wild at parties, and some high-schools and even adult establishments have attempted to ban it. This of course only enhances its dangerous appeal.
