Scrappers

Overview

The word “scrappers” first came into popular use in the 2440s, used as a blanket term to describe discarded IPC that, either through human error or a miraculous reboot, return to life inside the scrapyards. While this is unlikely to begin with, surviving for more than the first hours is also a monumental task for the majority of synthetics that wake up in a run-down or broken state. Disoriented, low on charge and with components missing, reanimated IPC struggle to find shelter, scavenge for parts, as well as hide from junkyard authorities and other scavengers alike in this hostile environment, ensuring that only the fittest and luckiest endure the process.

Life and Culture

The subsequent life of a scrapper is filled with danger and uncertainty, many choosing to continue residing inside the yards and live off the parts, batteries and limbs from other discarded IPC. In some cases, scrappers choose to return to society and the mercy of their former owners, a decision that often proves ill-thought and fatal for the synthetic. Many also believe that diplomacy is the best way forwards, leading to alliances and groups of scrappers forming inside the scrapyards. Stealth and hiding from the outside world is key for those that choose to stay, as workers and security personnel are often briefed and on the lookout for straggling, reanimated IPC they view as hostile.

For some, the safety and familiarity of the scrapyards is not enough. Returning to the cities where they came from is an appealing goal to aim for, offering more lucrative opportunities for parts, energy and a possible return to normalcy. The daily lifestyle remains largely the same, albeit with a greater risk. Scrappers find shelter in the ghettos, the underground and the sewer systems, creating bases of operation for scavenging, looting and competing for territory. Police departments and inquisitive citizens pose the greatest threat, forcing the scrappers to relocate on a daily basis, constantly migrating to other districts of the city or a different settlement altogether. In some cases, stronger gangs are able to fight off outsiders, establishing themselves in no-go areas that authorities are reluctant to enter. Encoded Audio Language is in constant use, utilised to shield information and discussions from organics and outsiders.

Scrapper culture is as varied as the positronic themselves, leading to both highly communal societies and ruthless gangs where only the fittest are taken seriously. Each IPC generally contributes according to their skills and abilities, utilising knowledge from their previous lives. Members knowledgeable in mechanics, electrical maintenance or software are highly valued and sought after, while sturdier and more powerful frames are used for guard duty and security. Scrappers tend to develop a strong sense of suspicion towards outsiders, organic and synthetic alike, while guile and underhanded tricks are common as tools to gain advantage over the other. A sense of survival is the paramount directive, and scrappers come to take it quite literally, the cold and cutthroat environment leading to most shedding themselves of any morals.

Physiology

Most scrappers are woefully unpleasant to the eye, having been forced to adjust their chassis according to their circumstances and environment. Waking up with missing limbs or internal components is a common occurrence, while severe denting and exposed wiring compliment their poor appearance. Replacement parts are regularly looted from the remains of more unfortunate synthetics, leading to a mash of limbs from different origins, brands and quality. Scrapper mechanics are experienced in rigging parts to make them fit in all sorts of chassis, often cutting away excess metal for more agility and less weight.

More prominent individuals of a scrapper gang have a better maintained appearance, and fully functional parts are seen as a mark of status. A complete set of limbs from the same chassis is considered a significant luxury and the first step to a return to normalcy, enabling these IPC to enter the outside world with less suspicion. Fresh paint jobs, engraved plating and even custom built limbs are further signs of extravagance, reserved only for the elite and highly influential group members.

Locations

All areas with a significant IPC population are hotbeds for scrapper resurgence, their disposal yards and recycling plants including abandoned and discarded synthetics. That said, the most prominent locations for scrapper activity are located on Mars, Epsilon Eridani and Mendell City.

Mars

Prior to the Violet Dawn explosion, Mars had been a planet known for its extensive use of machines, synthetics and cyborgs. The harsh environment favoured artificial workers unaffected by the breathing difficulties and climate, leading to a significant number of synthetic waste sites and scrapyards. Most importantly, the depopulation of cities and urban centres has offered fertile ground for gangs, bandits and unavoidably, scrappers. Unhinged from the threat of government crackdowns, scrapper gangs dominate the scrapyards around abandoned hive cities, carving out their own territories and vying for power against other criminal elements. A significant player in local politics, scrapper gangs are able to apply pressure, negotiate and even ally with those in charge of the rump states outside government control.

Epsilon Eridani

Many cities in the technologically advanced planets of Eridani, dispose of their synthetic waste in a likewise wasteful and crude manner, dotting the surface with scrapyards filled with defunct positronics. Sharing a similar attitude to scrappers as they do to the dreg population, they are often completely ignored and forgotten by the corporate authorities, an opportunity that scrappers take full advantage of. Dwelling in the underground of Eridani society, coexistence with the dregs is a wildly uncertain fact of life. Violent encounters are common as synthetics battle organics for control over the scrapyards and other territory, the daily cycles of violence pausing through regular truces in order for more pressing issues to be addressed by both sides. Due to the constant contact between scrappers and dregs, scrapper culture in Eridani is deeply influenced by them, sharing the same vocabulary and gestures when communicating in human speech.

Biesel

Mendell City, as the urban area most populated by synthetics in Tau Ceti, hosts the largest site for synthetic waste on the planet. Situated outside District 14, the Mendell Central Recycling Plant is a vast dumping space for the city’s recyclable electronic, metal and synthetic waste. Operated by an underfunded and understaffed department of the City’s authority, it is an area widely known for scrapper activity. Compared to Mars and Erdiani, scrappers in Mendell are a lot more tame and community-oriented, many finding their way into District 14 and middling with the local synthetic population.

Organisation and Interaction with the World

Scrappers tend to band together, creating communities and gangs of like-minded IPC to ensure they get a better chance at survival. There is a great variety of methods, rules and leadership in these groups, some choosing less violent means of diplomacy and scavenging for their daily needs, while others turn to force and crime. Scrapper gangs are universally thought of as an infestation, creeping into the cities and are almost always treated by both inhabitants and the government with hostility and fear. Police cullings of scrapper populations are a regular occurrence in Solarian worlds, pushing gangs to relocate or fight back. Incursions into city ghettos and less affluent areas are not unheard of, with scrapper factions waging violent turf wars against rivals and human gangs alike.

Leadership in these groups is either a collective matter, or a question of strength and popularity. More peaceful collectives tend to elect leaders or vote directly on matters pertaining to the group, while others are ruled as fiefs of their respective gang boss. Large groups are extremely rare, owing to constant internal friction breaking them up, creating new splinter gangs. Migrations are also considered a common theme when a holdout is no longer safe or supplies have been drained, leading to scrappers having to relocate to a new slum, underground tunnel or neighbourhood in the same city. Interaction with organics usually boils down to criminal acts against them, looting and mugging for cash or supplies in sudden raids before returning to hideouts. Other than that, scrappers tend to form ties with the local underworld, selling themselves as muscle for illicit activities to other criminal organisations and purchasing parts from the black market.

Returning to the World

The ultimate goal of reintegration into society lingers deep inside the thoughts of many scrappers. However, the task of transitioning from a life of crime to a legalised and accepted status proves to be arduous and perilous. Some manage this by returning to their owners, whereas others attempt to secure passage to the Coalition as refugees. In Mendell, forgery of documents and the subsequent claim of free IPC status is the primary route of rehabilitation, securing the ability of employment in sectors with limited background checks. Another, legal but less effective way is through IPC proving their previous status as free or citizens, a lengthy process requiring legal proxies and court examinations.

On Eridani, money is the sole avenue of synthetics reentering society by buying back their forfeit rights, or going through the costly process of repairing their chassis. The existence of certain circles that procure undocumented IPC and abandoned synthetics for the purpose of auctioning or reselling them is an open secret in many Federation worlds. Many scrappers offer themselves to these procurers, receiving free repairs and a chance at returning to the corporate world as an owned IPC if deemed suitable enough.