Auburn

“Work hard and play hard” could be the motto of Auburn, because that’s what people in the district do. Auburn is a working-class part of Seattle, with people keeping the district’s factories humming. So much so, in fact, that people talk about the “Auburn Hum,” the constant background noise of factories and plants working twenty-four hours a day to produce goods shipped everywhere in the world.

People in Auburn like to enjoy their time off as well. Sports are popular here, including the metroplex’s best amateur baseball and urban brawl teams (the Auburn Cardinals and the Auburn Rumblers), and there are a number of active gyms and fitness clubs throughout the area. You can enjoy a day at the races at the Seattle International Raceway and, in the evenings, the district’s many bars and nightclubs offer a wide range of entertainment. (from Shadowrun 2072 sourcebook)

Still, Auburn has become a dark place of late. 2073 saw the rise of anti-metahuman sentiment. The large Boeing factory, employing thousands of local employees shutdown, supposedly moving to an ork suburb of Philidelphia with especially cheap labor costs, (supposedly affectionately known to its locals as Gorgoroth). This has led to protests in the streets, anti-metahuman sentiment, and on February 7th, 2074 violence. As humanis thugs (headed by Dirlewanger's Brigade) organized their annual commemorative protest of the 2039 deportation orders (the ones that led to the Nights of Rage) things became violent. The crowd, swelled with ranks of disaffected ex-Boeing employees and unfettered by Knight Errant's notably lax riot squad, attacked and burnt down several local metahuman owned businesses. These events have been dubbed The Nights of Hate by local news sources.Numerous metahumans, particularly Orks, Trolls and Dwarves were attacked, and one young Orkish teens died from the injuries he suffered. 'Marky Grants', the dead ork boy, became a symbol around which the Orkish and Troll population unified. Several response protests were held by metahuman activists but Knight Errant cracked down extremely hard upon them and the Mayor's office imposed severe restrictions for "the sake of public safety."

Into this trouble filled situation several new organizations have arisen:

Black Sun Industries a largely unknown bioware and genetic intervention corporation has set up shop employing many of the locals who lost their jobs. They claim to abide by fair hiring practices but strangely few non-humans are employed by them. Their is an investigation into the matter underway by the mayors office.

The Gorilla Gang, is the major criminal presence in Auburn. Their ranks have swollen over the years and they have and become something of a rallying point for the disaffected metahumans of Auburn. They have started offering protection to local metahuman hangouts and businesses, trying to make up for the obvious laxness of Knight Errants patrols. In April of 2075 ago, their leader, the Troll Brawler, B-Day was killed in a brutal brawl with Oskar, the head of Dirlewanger's Brigade. The gang is in mourning and disarray. Rumor has it that they have been contacted by the Sons of Sauron and are receiving outside aid.

Bab es Salaam  is the other organization that has been helping out the local population and offering aid to the...