Program File # 2 The Crossbones

FrozenFyre reporting in.

My second gang taken under observation are the Crossbones. I have had the privilege of meeting their leader while working for Zion and he seemed most amicable and has declared that he wants peace with Zion, making it easier for me to study them- but don’t be foolish, they are determined to hold on to their territory in Moriah and will act against any perceived threat to this.

As before, quotations are in italics and suppositions are in bold

The Gang

The Crossbones are the dominant gang in the Moriah Projects area and ruthlessly protect their turf. They are engaged in a war with the Demon Army at present.

On the surface, the gang look like any other, though their long white coats and facial tattoos are distinctive enough, but while they engage in the violence and paranoia of other street gangs they have a more interesting side to them as well. At first I took them to be just another random grouping of exiles, but further investigation revealed what should have been obvious from their name and the skull and crossbones medallions they wear- the gang have a pirate theme! Thankfully they have not submitted themselves to the indignity of dressing up as pirates, but they all have a common interest greater than punching in your face; an interest in the olden day pirates of human history.
They have taken to speaking in the manner of a stereotypical Pirate accent, and are known to have a secret language based on a Pirate code of the Tortuga region. It would be fascinating to see more of this in the gang- but unfortunately they are taken up with a greater hobby- their war with the Demon Army, which is a pity for me, but a gang’s gotta do what a gang’s gotta do.

The Token

In keeping with their piratical theme, the gang wear medallions with a skull and crossbones engraved on them.

The Turf

East of Achan and south of the nicer Tabor Park Area, the Moriah Projects are largely composed of tall, nearly identical apartment structures for the city’s urban poor. The place is run down and gives little hope for better days ahead, but the neighbourhood’s residents have a deserved reputation for being stubbornly optimistic. They selected “Hope conquers all” as the slogan for Moriah.

I have always had an affection for this neighbourhood as it was one of the first for me to visit, and such an attitude from the people brightens up the dreary outlook. Perhaps this optimism is what drives the gang to stay and defend this otherwise dreary neighbourhood- though on the other hand, it could well be supposed that the turf war with the Demons could be so they can move into the nicer Tabor Park. I still know little about the motivations of programs to accurately guess why they do what they do.
Aside from its chirpy bluepills and apartment buildings Moriah has a few points of interest to attract those with or without knowledge of the Matrix. The Azimuth Monument sits in the middle of the Moriah plaza, and Moriah courts are the perfect place for Molly B to do business. The district’s club- the Sanguine Room, while as run down as the rest of the district, is actually quite pleasant. By the title it is understood that the club is not meant to be the hotspot of the city, but rather a place to relax, have a drink and get up on floor if the mood takes you. The ample scattering of sofas enforces the chilled out atmosphere: almost ordering you to kick back and relax.
For those more in the know and loyal to Zion, a small bookshop is in fact an access point to the Archives, digital realms extra to the Matrix itself, which feature fascinating exiles of their own- but I will come to that another time. On the whole, the neighbourhood is unremarkable on the surface, and fascinating beneath it.

Rank and File

The Crossbones group themselves on substances of importance upon Pirate Ships, Bumboos, denote a popular drink, Tars were essential for keeping a ship seaworthy and Salts were necessary for preserving food on a long voyage. This is supposition of course, but to my understanding this is the only explanation for somewhat unusual groupings- but it’s better than the dull obvious groupings of gangs such as the Crushers or Sparks.

Bumboos are survivors of the outer and middle neighbourhood brought to the fore of the inner neighbourhood for defence.

The Tars are best at guerrilla fighting; street skirmishers who’ve become hardened combatants during the ongoing battles with the Demon Army.

Salts are the individual shock troops, any one of whom is more than a match for you and your group.

(Note that I’m quoting from an external source here, not expressing an opinion of you or your group’s combat skills- please do not feel the need to engage the Salts just to prove me wrong!)

Leadership

It isn’t known who started the war between the Crossbones and the Demon Army, but Hatchet is determined to finish it. He is a highly dangerous exile and should not be crossed lightly.

Hatchet is a very interesting individual, while adamant to finish the war with the Demon Army and defend his turf from all who might pose a threat to it, he is also reasonable and unwilling to pursue unnecessary conflicts, such as during the finding of the cheat codes when, after initial hostility, he declared he wanted peaceful relations with Zion since they had no real grounds for conflict. Hatchet has a visible cough, and it’d be interesting to see how afflictions affect programs or whether he has adopted it as a personality trait- but I doubt anyone feels like pressing the issue!

Allies and Enemies

The gang is locked in conflict with the Demon Army, no one seems to know the origin of this rivalry, and as often happens in drawn out conflicts, neither side seems to care. Due to both sides being focused on eliminating each other they don’t seem to have much in the way of enemies or allies outside of this conflict- no other gang seems interested in supporting one of the two. There is little else to say about this conflict other than that it has been going on as long as anyone can remember…and looks like it will continue for some time. The Machines were able to take advantage of this conflict when they moved against the Demon Army, who had allied with the General- they traded information with the gang in order to obtain the location of the Demon Army leader.

They have a smaller enemy in the form of Jack, who hires redpills to weaken the gang- but he is no agent of the Demon Army, Jack is simply looking out for his brother. His brother has taken an interest in joining the Crossbones gang- for whatever reason, his brother’s safety or just dislike of the gang, he wants this stopped- he wants the crossbones to be killed and thus appear weak to discourage his brother from joining. Exile motivation is always fascinating, I don’t know who his ‘brother’ is or how they are such but it is interesting to see programs form bonds similar to human ones. It is also interesting to see the way they think without the compassion or respect for life humans have- when a gang is just code, it’s easy to delete it to get what you want- some gangs even purge their own membership to get a better gang, something absurd in human standards, but logical to those who are still machines, free from the system or not.

Zeroone506 and PhrogXIX have written more detailed accounts of working for ‘collectors’ such as Jack

The gang suffer two important exiles to dwell on an do business in their territory. The first is the bag lady who keeps to the side alleyways- perhaps because of the gang, or more likely because of her rivalry with the powerful entity Tick Tock. The bag lady is interested in small, seemingly insignificant but yet powerful items within the Matrix and also serves the interests of the entity known as The Collector and is willing to employ redpills to help her.

The second exile is Molly B, a member of the “Elements” grouping. Gang violence is not her thing, so I doubt she has an affiliation with the Crossbones, but she is able to stand openly in a courtyard filled with the gang. Perhaps this is a sign of the gang’s willingness to accept other that aren’t a direct threat to them. Molly B serves her own interests, that of protecting bluepills from the fallout of her groups more radical actions, whilst still trying to keep the peace within the group- despite occasionally taking action against them, she still has the loyalty and affection of the group making it unwise for anyone to move against her.

Sugaree has written accounts of working with these exiles and has insights on both

Aside from the recent nonaggression agreement with Zion, the Crossbones have little else in the way of allies- but since they have only one major enemy this doesn’t seem to be a problem.

Conclusion

I have, perhaps, been a little too personal in discussing the gang and will endeavour to keep out of the habit, especially when discussing gangs I have a grievance with (though I may tell you the effects of my study on the reaction of ASP members to a bullet in the face someday) however, as one of the first gangs for me to come across, and subsequently part of the reason I’m doing this study. But nonetheless there is a lot more to these pirates than meets the eye- making them one of the more interesting gangs of Megacity.