The Journey · 275 miles · 19 stops
South to North
Ad Graveyard near old San Jose. Mystery Court on The Mountain. Everything in between is smuggler way-stations, corporate shadows, and rail that hasn't seen a maintenance crew in seventy-eight years. Each stop is in a different faction's shadow — avoided, not visited.
- 1→
The Ad Graveyard
South San Jose · in the shadow of Wholesome (Rothwell)
A disconnected content delivery node in Sector 8's lower infrastructure, running since the Grid Collapse of 2171. Holographic advertisements for dead products
- 2→
The Bone Chapel
South SF / Colma area · in the shadow of Neo-Catholic Church (Cardinal Silva)
An NCC parish built from the carcass of a Nexus Dynamics data center. The nave is formed by rows of server racks, their indicator lights pulsing in liturgical
- 3→
Neon Graves
Glen Park / Bayview area · in the shadow of Relief Corporation
The Sprawl's last art district — six blocks of converted Relief entertainment infrastructure in Sector 8, where neon signs for dead services illuminate
- 4→
Bash Terminal
Mission District · in the shadow of El Money's Network
Not the original Bash Terminal — that was swallowed by Sprawl expansion years ago. This is a memorial recreation in the Mission underground, built by El Money's
- 5→
The Rim Gate
Embarcadero edge · in the shadow of Nexus Dynamics
The smuggler entrance to the bay floor — a descent from The Rim into The Dregs. Where the Embarcadero's edge drops away into the drained bay, someone cut a
- 6→
The Deep Dregs
Bay floor, central bay · in the shadow of Ironclad Industries
The lowest point of the drained bay — a mid-tier salvage zone where electronics come to die and 180,000 people live in a collapsed megastructure that was never
- 7→
The Trench
Under the bay (Transbay Tube equivalent) · in the shadow of None — total blackout zone
The ancient shipping channel beneath the bay, converted into a tunnel network after the waters were drained. Total electromagnetic blackout — no signals in,
- 7.5→
The Undervolt
Bay floor deep level, Sector 9 · in the shadow of Lamplighter-maintained neutral ground
An underground settlement beneath the Sprawl's power distribution layer. 2,000 permanent residents, 5,000 transient. The Lamplighters maintain it
- 8→
Substrate Row
West Oakland industrial · in the shadow of Ironclad Industries / Nexus Dynamics
The primary black-market consciousness services district, nestled in warm sub-levels beneath the server farms. A 400-meter strip of converted maintenance
- 9→
G Nook #7
Fruitvale / San Leandro area · in the shadow of El Money's Network
One of El Money's underground cyber cafes — disguised, connected through networks that officially don't exist, and governed by three rules: no heat,
- 9.5→
Flooded Junction
San Leandro BART junction · in the shadow of Dregs scavengers
A rail junction where three old BART lines converge below ground level. Bay water seeps in through cracked tunnel walls, flooding the junction
- 10→
The Tether Camps
Fremont area (southern turnaround) · in the shadow of Ironclad Industries
An informal settlement of people waiting for orbital departure — cargo handlers, passengers, engineers, and drifters who've been waiting so long they've forgotten
- 11→
The Stacks
East Bay floor · in the shadow of The Collective
A vertical slum in Old Town where buildings have been constructed on top of other buildings — three, four, five structures deep. Ninety thousand residents
- 12→
The Analog Schools
Oakland Hills · in the shadow of Guardian Security
A network of 47 schools teaching children without digital technology. Reading from physical books. Arithmetic with stones and chalk. Debate without
- 12.5→
Guardian Sweep
Oakland / Berkeley border · in the shadow of Guardian Security
A Guardian security sweep zone covering the above-ground rail corridor between the Analog Schools and the Print Shop. Patrols move in patterns
- 13→
The Print Shop
Berkeley area · in the shadow of Nexus Dynamics (surveillance interest)
Zephyria's printing cooperative transplanted to the Berkeley margins — five buildings producing the only widely distributed physical journalism in the
- 14→
The Silent City
Richmond Industrial · in the shadow of None — sealed and autonomous
Bunker 7741 — sealed since April 1, 2147. Three thousand people went in. When the Opening Team breached it in 2181, they found 4,200 people speaking
- 15→
The Dam Approach
Richmond Bridge / Golden Gate Dam service area · in the shadow of Ironclad Industries / Guardian Security
The last stop before Marin. A smuggler's staging area where the Richmond Bridge meets the Golden Gate Dam's service infrastructure. Final supply point,
- 16→
The Mountain
Marin Highlands · in the shadow of None — neutral ground, protected by The Architect
Mount Tamalpais — The Mountain. The one geographical feature the megacorps never consumed. Real trees, real weather, real silence. At its peak sits