From: wolf@cheshire.oxy.edu (Clinton Richard Wolf)
Subject: ADMIN: The Shunrunners
Organization: Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA 90041 USA.
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 02:30:08 GMT

      Here's a description of the Shunrunner gang, for anyone who's interested.
If you want to use them, please e-mail me first. Thanks.



                            THE SHUNRUNNERS
                            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
            
          The Shunrunners are a loosely organized band of young men and women
who struggle to survive and make a living in the Buff', in a very hazardous and
unique fashion; the procurement and selling of artifacts from the Shunned Cen-
ter.        
          The Shunrunners do not consist of one unified gang... rather, dif-
ferent 'spokes' are spread throughout the Ring-shaped Buff'. Each spoke op-
erates more or less autonomously, under the leadership of an 'Elder,' who is
merely the oldest and most experienced Runner in the group. As the fatality
rate among Runners is so high, it is a rare Elder that has passed his mid-20s.
'Elder' is just a title of respect, relative to the rest of the Runners in the
spoke. 
          The Runners are reknowed for agility and quick-thinking, as well as
their willpower and mental strength. They are the elite of the Buff' popula-
tion, since they live lives more Darwinian in aspect than even other Buffers.
But they are not concerned with power. Most Runners join because they have no
other options, or have sick or injured relatives they need to take care of.
Some also join to help protect the Buff' community, since it is largely the
Shunrunners which convey information throughout the ring, passing it through
the various spokes. The Runners are about the closest thing to a police and
militia that the Buff' possesses.
          The typical Shunrunner mindset is about the same as any Buffer...
perhaps even more heightened, however. Pride in the community, friendship,
an acceptance of life as it is... they are also quite used to death... even
the horrible types of death offered by the Center. Words are spoken, perhaps
a wake is held, but they then move on. A Shunrunner learns to live in the mom-
ent, because the past is past, and the future holds doom. Every Shunrunner
knows that his or her luck will run out sooner or later, and Creepie Charlie
will get them, or they'll crack under the constant pounding of the Press, or
just succumb to the normal dangers of living in the Buff'. So they eat, and
drink, and are merry... for tomorrow...
          In dealing with outsiders, the Runners are usually friendly and open-
minded. They will undertake scavenging jobs for a price, and won't haggle much,
since they know part of a Buffers life is to be continuously screwed over by
everyone else in the City. If you manage to befriend them, they'll be quite
loyal, and the news of your good deeds will be spread quickly to the other
spokes. Ditto if you offend them, or make them enemies. The best way to deal
with them is to be straightforward and honest. Don't ever underestimate the
Shunrunners because they're just kids. They've probably seen more in their
short lives than you ever will. They'll know just about everything about you
the moment you walk in. Perhaps even before. If you lie, they'll know. It's
just a matter of whether they care or not...
          It is a sad situation, certainly. The Runners really are just kids,
most in their mid-teens, and they have gotten old far before their time, and
been witness to things no human should ever have to witness. Their lot is hope-
less, their fate is death. But they shrug and carry on. That's the way things
are in the Buff'...