G Nook
"Gangster Nook" - The Underground's Neutral Ground
If you don't know where it is, you're not supposed to be there.
What outsiders once knew as "Gamer Nook" is now whispered among locals as "Gangster Nook," or simply "G Nook." These aren't just places to rent terminal time. They're neutral ground for the cyber underground, safe houses for runners on the move, and information exchanges that operate entirely outside corporate surveillance.
Services
Standard Services (All Locations)
Anonymous Terminal Access
50 credits/hour
No logs. No surveillance. Network routes through nodes that corporate tracking can't trace.
Secure Communication Relay
200 credits/message
Messages that don't exist. Untraceable, unrecoverable.
Private Meeting Booth
500 credits/hour
Signal-shielded, swept for bugs. Factions that would kill each other outside can negotiate inside.
Dead Drop Facilitation
100 credits/drop
Leave something for someone, no questions asked. Staff never remember faces.
Premium Services (Select Locations)
Safe House
Invitation only
Temporary disappearance. Runners in transit can rest, regroup, and vanish.
Data Brokerage
Reputation-based
Information trading through trusted channels.
Network Introduction
El Money's discretion
Connection to other underground operators.
The Back Room
Unknown
Rumored. Unconfirmed. Don't ask.
What G Nook Doesn't Do
- Corporate contracts — neutrality is sacred
- Wetwork coordination — violence brings heat
- ORACLE fragment trading — too dangerous, too visible
- Anything that could bring Nexus through the door
The Rules
Every G Nook operates under the same three rules. Break them and you're out—permanently.
No Heat
Don't bring corporate attention. Don't bring faction wars. Don't bring anything that makes G Nook visible.
No Questions
Don't ask about other customers. Don't ask about staff. Don't ask about El Money.
No Recording
What happens in G Nook stays in G Nook. Terminals leave no logs. Neither should you.
"Break these rules, and Ice will be disappointed. You don't want to disappoint Ice."
The S-Money Memorial
Every G Nook maintains a special terminal dedicated to S-Money—El Money's younger brother, a legend in the cyber underground before his death. Known for extreme dedication to media consumption, S-Money could process more data streams simultaneously than anyone believed possible.
The memorial terminal runs continuously: thousands of channels at once, exactly as S-Money would have watched them. A shrine of noise and light. Nobody touches it. Nobody changes it. It runs for him.
"The screens in every Nook run for him. He's still watching. I like to think he's still finding patterns."
Notable Locations
G Nook 7G
Level 4, Sector 7G — The DregsDisguised as an abandoned water reclamation office. The location most new customers encounter first. Features three S-Money Memorial terminals (larger than most), direct dead drop connection to The Collective (unofficial), and frequent Ice sightings.
G Nook Central
Location Unknown — Rumored HeadquartersThe network officially has no central hub. But regulars whisper about a G Nook that's different—larger, better equipped. People who claim to have been there describe conflicting details. Either there's no Central, or there are multiple decoys.
The First Gamer Nook
Former religious district — Now Nexus territoryRose from the ashes of El Money's destruction by the Purifiers. Operated for twelve years before the neighborhood changed hands. When Nexus acquired the district, El Money closed it personally. The equipment vanished overnight. People say he kept the original hand-painted sign.
Bash Terminal
Origin Site — Gone, possibly deliberately erasedBefore G Nook. A cramped, filthy space next to a river so polluted it glowed at night. El Money built his reputation here—terminals, connectivity, discretion at fair rates. Every G Nook maintains "The Terminal" corner in homage: a few chairs, basic equipment, lowest prices. For those with nowhere else.
How they stay hidden: Abandoned water reclamation offices, failed business storage, infrastructure maintenance hubs, condemned residential blocks—sometimes even corporate server closets. El Money has a dark sense of humor.
The Fire Department Tribute
How does G Nook stay hidden from corporate surveillance and religious harassment?
The answer isn't technical—it's political. El Money pays tribute to the fire department. Not a bribe—a business arrangement. Access fees. Infrastructure consulting. A mutually beneficial relationship.
In the Sprawl, the fire department is the only authority that matters. They control infrastructure access. They know every building, every hidden space, every off-grid power tap. When the Flatline Purists tried to oppress El Money's operation, their harassment triggered fire code inspections in their facilities.
G Nook has friends who control things that religious fervor can't touch.
Ice Watches
Regulars say a sleek chrome cat sometimes watches from the shadows. They say the cat reports to someone. They don't say who.
Ice—El Money's cyber cat—has been seen in multiple G Nook locations simultaneously. Whether there's more than one Ice, or the cat can somehow move through the network itself, is a mystery no one dares investigate.
"Ice goes where Ice wants. I just feed her."
Faction Relationships
The Collective
Respects G Nook's independence. Uses the network but doesn't control it. An uneasy alliance of convenience.
Ironclad Industries
Doesn't know G Nook exists. Corporate surveillance can't penetrate fire department territory.
Nexus Dynamics
Suspects something operates outside their data collection. Can't prove it. Wants to.
Flatline Purists
Tried to destroy El Money once. Learned better. The cold war continues.
Player Relevance
Age 1: Street Hacker
G Nook is discovery. You hear about it from other salvagers—a place where you can work without being watched. Finding your first G Nook location is a milestone: you've proven you belong in the underground.
- Anonymous network access (essential for early hacking)
- Your first safe communication channel
- Exposure to the underground economy
- Potential jobs from fixers who work the booths
Age 2: Network Runner
G Nook becomes infrastructure. You're running operations that need secure staging areas, communication relays, and neutral meeting ground. El Money might take personal notice—you're becoming useful.
- Multiple location access (as reputation grows)
- Network introductions through G Nook contacts
- Possible meeting with El Money himself
- Access to The Terminal (helping others like you were helped)
Age 3+: Beyond the Underground
G Nook becomes a resource you maintain rather than depend on. Your operations have outgrown what the underground can provide—but the network still matters. El Money doesn't forget the people he's invested in.
- Continued underground intelligence
- Safe communication channels for sensitive operations
- A reminder of where you came from
- The question: do you help G Nook, or have you become what it hides from?
Connection to The Keeper
The second G Nook location—before the network became an empire—was haunted.
Data bleeding through reality. Equipment malfunctioning in ways that defied diagnostics. The building sat on a location where the boundary between physical and digital was thin. No technician could fix it.
The Keeper—the first cyber monk, living atop The Mountain—reached out. His ancient knowledge of consciousness and the boundaries between realms gave him insight that technology couldn't. Together, they stabilized the space.
Now El Money climbs The Mountain occasionally. He brings real tea. They talk about nothing important. Ice and Kaiser—The Keeper's uploaded cat—have developed their own understanding.
They're the closest thing either has to a best friend.