Aztlan Sector

Aztlan The Aztlan Sector Executive Hector Ramirez Population 393,000 Human 69% Elf 16% Dwarf 6% Ork 8% Troll 0% Other 6% SINless Population (est.) 1,086 Per Capita Income 36,500 =Y= Below Poverty Level 9% Super-wealthy 4% Megacorporate Affiliation 90% Security Provider AZT Corporate Security Education: GED 25% 4 year degree 42% Masters or higher 15% Regional Telecom Grid NA/AZ-NO Opinion-Editorial by Smoking Mirror Sacrifice Sacrifice. Anglos talk about Aztlan like we are sacrificing on the alter every day, like we are little more than bloodthirsty savages so wrapped up in religion and ceremony that we don't notice what they are doing. Aztlan is my home, gringo, and the home of millions like me. We are a proud people, a noble people, and a people that has suffered greatly at the hands of the Americans, the UCAS, and others. So, tell me again about your sacrifices and how your methods are so much cleaner than mine. At least those that fall under my blade were willing. Geographic Overview The smallest of the national sectors, the Aztlan Sector covers nearly 65 square kilometers. But of all the sectors in Denver. Azzietown has the greatest population density. The sector's boundaries are East Colfax Avenue on the north (with a little jog to include the Civic Center), Intercity 25 and the South Platte River on the west, South Colorado Boulevard and the Intercity on the east, and Route 285 (known to locals as either East Jefferson or East Hampden, depending on where you are), Economics Cost of Living Notes Azzies have always been tight-hooped about civilians owning any of the more interesting ordnance - APDS, explosive, even belt-fed ammo. As for big-time bang-bangs like assault cannon rounds, forget it. Only megacorporate security forces (Aztechnology security forces) get to use the really good stuff. Light and medium body armor are legal, though frowned on In finer restaurants and stores. Heavy armor makes the Azzies nervous (and you wouldn't like them when they're nervous). Most sec-guards In Azzietown assume their opponents are wearing medium armor, and they pack gear appropriate to that level of defense. Want demolition-type explosives? Get licensed by the government as a contractor (or something close). Personal explosives are even more restricted than assault cannon rounds. No real restrictions on firearm accessories exist in the Azzie Sector. You can buy smartgun links or anything else you want. Just don't forget that the security forces already own all the toys you can get your mitts on and more. Security countermeasures may not be sold (legally) in the Aztlan Sector. Period. In fact. the Azzie sec-forces get theirs shipped in from Mexico City. Prices on the shadow market run anywhere from 110 percent to 250 percent what you'd pay in Seattle, depending on supply and demand. Ditto on cybertech, except for prosthetic replacements for damaged or excised tissue. And these replacements may not contain any enhancements (no strength or speed increase, no thermal imaging or flare compensation. and so on). Shadowmarket prices for enhanced gear run 300 percent of Seattle costs and keep going up-up-up, And good luck finding a shadow cutter to install the toys once you've got them. Cyberdecks cannot be sold legally, either, Want to buy a deck? Check out the shadows and bring lots of cred. Magical weapons are another illegal item, sold on the shadow market only. On the off-chance that you stumble over any, expect to pay 300 percent of Seattle prices. Military vehicles are just plain unavailable in the sector. Immigration Immigration laws in Azzietown represent a bureaucratic tour de force. Why anyone would want to pull up stakes from anywhere else in the relatively free world and come to live in the jolly Aztlan Sector, I cannot imagine - but would-be immigrants to the sector should know that they face a serious uphill battle. Before a single Aztech/govemment flunky will even eyeball a piece of paper or slot a single chip, a prospective immigrant must prove that a job awaits him or her with a government-recognized corporation, (And how many of these do you suppose there are, hmmm? Guess one, and you've got it.) Assuming the requisite job is waiting, the immigration procedure works as follows. First, the corporation intending to employ a would-be immigrant must perform the necessary datawork and forward its formal commitment to the appropriate government official in Aztlan proper. Next. the applicant must submit a complete listing of all important events in his or her life, from birth to the present day. This insanely comprehensive and time-consuming piece of work goes way beyond the standard job resume. folks. It includes (but is not limited to) details about the applicant's family background, credit, medical history, travel history, and so on and so forth. Before the Azzies let you set foot in their sector, they want to know all there is to know about your life. And the Aztlan authorities will check every single, niggling detail. They'll e-mail your alma mater to confirm that you graduated when you said you did. They'll contact your parents, if they're still living - and if you said they died, the bureaucrats will check the databases to make sure that's true, They'll call your doctor, your bank, your travel agent, maybe even your plumber. And here's the kicker - after all this song-and-dance, the Aztlan national government can reject an applicant at any point in the process without explaining why. No legal recourse for the banned, my children. Regulations allow you to reapply for immigration after one year, but I know of no one who's ever been accepted after rejection, no matter how many times they reapply. And believe you me, I've gone looking. If the applicant is fortunate (?) enough to pass the background check, he or she takes a little jander down to the Sector Management Building, once upon a time known as the Centennial Building, at Lincoln and East 13th. Within these hallowed walls, the poor sap submits to a personal interview with government officials. A successful interview awards the applicant the coveted prize: resident alien status, with the right to work in the Aztlan Sector. Only citizens or resident aliens may work legally within the Aztlan Sector. Working without the appropriate legal status constitutes a felony. Travel Passes The Aztlan Sector grudgingly issues temporary travel passes only after extracting from such applicants an amount of personal information that any self-respecting shadowrunner would die before revealing. If you must do biz in Azzietown, my children, do your homework, and fake your records to be watertight. (Even then, they'll probably catch you, but at least you'll improve your odds. Say from less-than-zero to about 8 percent.) The actual pass, once you get it, consists of data downloaded to your personal credstick - which requires you to have a personal credstlck and admit to owning it. But wait, it gets better. Part of the download process involves looking up your SIN - so you have to have one of those as well, and it must match the rest of the drek on your stick. Needless to say, these passes remain valid only for a limited time (the actual limit depending on the reasons you gave the immigration goons for entering the sector in the first place). Aztechnology security slots frequently stop people on the street for no apparent reason and ask them to slot their stick in the sec-guard 's pocket computer. (I use the term "ask" loosely.) If this happens to you, pray that your stick reads like it has a citizenship code, a resident alien certification, or a current travel pass. Even If it really does, pray. Otherwise. prepare to meet your gods. Legalities Weapons Visitors to the Aztlan Sector invariably express amazement at the apparent laxity of its weapons laws. How little they know, eh, children? Ifs true, sector security guards don't bother to look twice at someone jandertng down the street with an SMG bulging under her coat - but only because they're better armed and armored than anyone on the streets just about anywhere else in the world. Standard issue for secguards includes the heaviest of heavy armor and specially upgraded mil-spec gear, including all the oh-so-very-latest wlzzer electronic tech. Where real coppers carry pistols, Azzietown's official thugs pack high-rate-of-fire SMGs as their personal sidearms. And assault rifles and heavier ordnance frequently materialize in their hot little hands. Oh, and one last teeny thing to keep in mind: the sec-goons load all their pretty toys with AP or explosive rounds designed to chew medium-weight body armor into shrapnel. (They make such intriguing red patterns on the skin … ). Chips, Drugs and Alcohol The Azzies take what at first glance appears to be a strange attitude toward drugs and chips. They legislate and patrol vigorously to stop these Items from coming in over the border, but enforce uniquely lenient laws regardlng the use of chips and drugs. The reason behind this paradox, boys and girls, is quite frightening. Between tight border security and stiff penalties for smuggling lust about any even mildly mind-bending drug or high modulation sim sense: (Cal hots and their kin), the Azzies manage to shut down the import of most mlndfraggers of choice. Restrictions on high·mod sims and chemicals are even more stringent than those in the UCAS, for those of you keeping score. However, the use of drugs and chips carries few nasty legal consequences, for the simple reason that the Aztlan Sector management is only concerned with the economic impact of restricting imports, not the health of its citizens. After all, Aztechnology openly sells some pretty mind-fragglng drugs and chips - they're simply preserving the market for their product. Alcohol, on the other hand, is a very acceptable import and readily available. Aztechnology places no restrictions on the import (and few on the sale or use) of alcohol within the Aztlan Sector. Law Enforcement The division of Aztechnology Corporate Security (ACS) devoted to sector-wide law enforcement patrols the region on foot, in ground vehicles, and in rotorcraft, The ACS also handles computer and magical law enforcement, for which it is extremely well equipped. Just as Aztechnology pays for top-grade guns and armor, it also hires top decking and magical talent. If you try something illegal in either venue and fail, you're in deep drek. If you succeed, chances are you're in deeper drek: the secboys probably let you get away with It, (And you don't want to know why.) Law-enforcement personnel may use lethal force "as and when required," The definition of "required," of course, tends to be broader than the proverbial side of a barn. Think your local cops are bully boys overly prone to shoot first and interrogate the corpse? Consider yourself lucky, friend, Azzietown's police make the worst Lone Star knee-breaker look like mama's golden-haired boy. Justice As almost its first act, sector management declared the sector subject only to Aztechnology corporate law. The laughably misnamed Justice system consists of Aztechnology's own "Judiciary councils", highly touted as the very model of enlightened Judgment and decency. (Anyone who takes that last statement at face value may be interested in several hundred square feet of prime retail space on Zurich-Orbital that I'm looking to unload.) Cyberware Like the Tir and certain other nations. Aztlan requires that you register all cyberware with sector management when you enter the sector, or when you have the work done if you have your mods installed inside the sector. Those wishing to have bodymods installed at a licensed clinic must receive the appropriate license before going under the laser. Predictably, sector management has no obligation to grant any requests for licenses (and will tend to refuse requests for a built-in SMG). Cyberdecks Cyberdecks are not legally available for purchase in the Azzie Sector, and anyone trying to bring one in must offer a reason that the Azzies will accept. Assuming you manage to persuade them you need one (no mean feat), make sure it uses a nonstealth chipset that writes all the right Signatures to the Matrix audit trail. Use anything else and you'd better be able to run awfully fragging fast. Addictives Addictlves are defined as "hot" simsense chips, BTls, and drugs. As I mentioned earner. possessing additives for personal use constitutes only a minor misdemeanor unless you're slotting really bad drek like 2XS chips. Dealing addictives will get you very dead very fast unless you belong to Aztechnology's big, happy, megacorporate family. Chlpleggers and drug dealers tend to vanish. and even the bodies rarely resurface. Criminal Offenses and Punishment Table Offense Fine Sentence Arson 25,000 1 yr Assault 5,000 Battery 5,500 Extortion 2-5 yrs F. Confinement 2-10 yrs Fraud 2-5 yrs Illegal Entry 3 yrs Kidnapping 5-10 yrs Larceny(petty) 6m - 2 yrs Larceny(grand) 2-10 yrs Murder 1 30 yrs-life (death) Murder 2 20 yrs-life Murder 3 1-5 yrs Negligence 2-5 yrs Rape 2-5 yrs Rape (statutory) 2-10 yrs R. Endangerment 25,000 1 yrs Solicitation 10,000 Trafficking 1yrs-Life (Death) Treason 10 yrs-life (Death) Vandalism 5,000 Accessory 50% normal Conspiracy 75% normal