Snohomish

Snohomish is the sprawl’s breadbasket. Out here, there’s farmland. Greenery! Agribusiness and good old boys living off the land and feeding their fellow humans. And preferably no one else, if they had their way. Snohomish is even more racist than Renton, with metaracist ‘training facilities’ hidden amongst the farms, corporate blacksties, and the other shady bits that dot the landscape. And if that wasn't enough, there’s a magical antique market here of all things.

When most folks think of Seattle, they think of the hustle and bustle of the Emerald City, so the quiet country of Snohomish comes as quite a disquieting surprise. It’s an old-fashioned community that managed to hold together while most of Seattle changed after the Great Ghost Dance. Before and after that event, it has been the main source of locally grown produce for all of Seattle. Many have called it the Breadbasket of the Emerald City for its expansive wheat fields, but I don’t want that to be the only image people have. Snohomish has wheat, corn, and soy fields in abundance, and it also has hundreds of apple orchards, berry farms of every variety, potato farms that rival the Idaho of old, and large greenhouses that grow everything from peaches to coffee, both out of season and out of their normal region.

Along with all this food production, the rest of what you would expect from agribusinesses came along for the ride. Underground growth testing sites; river pens full of modified salmon and seaweed; and massive soy-processing plants to turn those bland little beans into delicious dishes and pastes. The megacorps have research and development work going on all over this region to develop better crops. And by “better” I mean more profitable for them, not healthier or anything crazy like that.

Beyond farms and fish, Snohomish is well-known for its antiques and has been for over a hundred years. The difference is a hundred years ago, the odds of an antique possessing accessible arcane potential were non-existent. Now, those looking for rare items that have been infused with mana from powerful emotional events or pre-Awakening ritual magic often find them here. During the recent rush to find arcane artifacts, Snohomish became a popular location for folks to trade and make their deals, since it already had a reputation for arcane antiquities. Several individuals in this area have made a name for themselves in the field of artifact identification and classification, making it a common spot for artifacts to pass through or spend some time while these folks dig up their mysteries.

> What a pleasant view! Too bad that’s not even close to the most shadowy aspect of Snohomish. While food and antiques may be big business, and thus important to runners, it’s the corporate safehouses that bring most runners to this quiet district. The rundown farms, abandoned homes, and a few small mountain cabins on the outskirts are used by companies, governments, and shadowy organizations to lay low or stash important assets while the heat dies down.
> Sounder

> The rare and lucky runner might get some training time at one of the several corporate black-ops training sites in Snohomish as well. Several corps that have safehouses here also have training grounds. The trainees are sometimes used as first responders (or only responders when they want it kept quiet). The sites are usually located on former farms where the ground can’t sustain crops anymore.
> Hard Exit

> Since most of those farms were bought up by Ingersoll- Berkeley early in the century and have since been sold off to other interested parties, I-B has a healthy chunk of insider information on where other corps are training their goons. Good if you want some info on those locations, but also bad because if you get caught, I-B can pull from a wide pool of talent by just asking a nearby friend.
> Pistons

> The training grounds here tend to have higher-than average metahuman enrollment. The entire district tends to be a bit metaphobic, and the racial tension allows the trainees to practice two very important skills: patience and restraint.
> Picador

> Metaphobic! Ha! Snohomish is the most racist district in the ’plex. It’s a regular spot for Humanis recruitment, and they’re rumored to have a training facility for members of the militant arm of the Human Nation, the Flaming Sword. Metahumans are regularly assaulted, and murder investigations tend to be short and usually blamed on other metahumans.
> 2XL

Demographics

Snohomish is one of the most sparsely populated Districts. Seventy percent of the residents work outside of Snohomish, which makes commuter traffic quite heavy along every highway going in and out of the district.

Culturally, the district has German and Scandinavian heritage.

Government

In 2048, Mike Walkstrong replaced Daniel Feddersen as the district's mayor after Feddersen was killed in a car accident. One of the major elements of Walkstrong's time was reducing the influence of Humanis Policlub in the district.

Geography

Snohomish has (huge tracts of land) large tracts of mountains, hills and woodlands, along with developed land controlled by agribusiness. It is a far cry from the steel towers and plastcrete canyons of the rest of Seattle. The District of Snohomish is bounded on the northeast by the lands of the Salish-Shidhe, on the southeast by the District of Redmond, on the south by the northwest by the District of Everett. The Snohomish River and its tributaries meander through flat fertile lands in the eastern half of the district. Away from the river valleys, rolling hills dominate this peaceful district.

Bigotry

Snohomish is a stronghold of Humanis, it's in fact the most racist and anti-metahuman district in Seattle. There is even a training facility for the Flaming Sword, the militant arm of the Human Nation. The true power in Snohomish is the Human Nation which actually runs that city.

Economy

Primarily agricultural. There is a conflict between major agribusinesses and small farm owners in the area.

Lone Star Security Ratings

• AA: Bothell, Mountain Terrace
• A: Snohomish
• B: Brier, Kennard’s Corner (some areas), Malthby, Monroe (some areas), Turner Corner C: Cathcart, Kennard’s Corner (some areas), Lynnwood, Monroe (some areas), Trasher’s Corner

Type

District

Population

115,000 (Human 86%, Elf 6%, Dwarf 1%, Ork 5%, Troll 1%, Other 1%)

Location under

Seattle Metroplex

Included Locations

• Blackstone’s Museum and Zoo of the Paranormal
• Edmonds Instruments
• Mile High Meat
• Snohomish Society Farms