Mole people

"Welcome to the underbelly. Don't expect any sunlight for the next days."

Mole people, moles or tunnel people are a term for people living largely or entirely below the streets of Fortune City. Sometimes colorfully described like an entirely different race or species from surface-dwellers, moles were long considered by many to be an urban legend, but have in later years been more publically acknowledged as a real societal phenomenon as the group has supposedly grown in size.
The typical citizen of the underground is rarely seen in broad daylight on the surface, and most "sightings" take place from subway windows, late at night on lower street levels or by frightened urban explorers on subterranean adventures. They are usually described as being shorter than a regular person, having very pale skin caused by minimal exposure to the sun, wearing tattered clothing and sometimes night vision goggles. Reported conversations with them are exceptionally rare, as most seem to run away as soon as they are spotted.

Fact and fiction

Even if mole people themselves are not an urban legend, the myths and stories that seem exaggerated or very unlikely are many: moles kidnapping children, planning large-scale uprisings against above-ground society and living in huge, underground cities are some examples. Official statements on the moles' situation are scarce, but a case in 2071 where a group of "underground scavengers" managed to break into and steal supplies from a highly secure bomb shelter garnered great attention from the media. Eva Miskov, head of Quantum Disaster and Emergency Response (QDER), a subsidiary of Q Group, had this to say when asked about the potential threat of mole people:

"We're not sure exactly how many, but we know they exist. These are people, very poor, who live outside the system as we know it, which makes it hard to know much about them. [...] Underground people are not a homogeneous group, just like vulnerable or poor people in general. Some are definitely dangerous, but even those who are won't have a lot of resources or means to pose any real threat. And I'd like to believe the majority down there are just trying to survive."

A quote often brought up on the topic of mole people comes from urban explorer and photographer Keith Thomas, from an interview in the Bay Post 2067:

"I've been to a lot of weird corners in this city. And something you realize early on, is that the city extends just as far horizontally as it does vertically. You've got skyscrapers several hundred meters up in the sky, and then you have whatever's below that. And let me tell you, man: it goes deep. Deeper than I've ever been. I've met people who live down there, in the actual tunnels, and not even they know what exactly is at the bottom. Of course people have gone there. They just haven't come back."

Type

Illicit, Other

Alternative Names

Mole people, tunnel people, rats (derogatory), subdwellers