ReFrat

The Recycling Fraternity, or Re.Frat for short, is the network which owns all the Reprocessing plants, converting the huge quantities of waste from Inworld into fresh raw materials.

Although they are known collectively as the ReFrat, the network is really many distinct organisations, mainly family groups who made it big during the third turf wars and who are constantly vying with each other for possession of the waste and contracts to supply Inworld.

The Reprocessors are staffed by workers from nearby outworld settlements and great cities have grown up around them as people come looking for work which is slightly less arduous and hazardous than power-gennying. Whilst GenCities are authoritarian states under Orwellian surveillance the CycCentre cities are anarchic but close-knit communities run by a benign (if ruthless) dictatorship.

The ReFrat take care of their workers, viewing them as extensions of their family and taking pride in the extent of the settlements which sprawl round their Reprocessors. It’s especially pleasing to them that these people have deserted the hated GenPower and a CycCentre which covers a larger area of land than the neighbouring GenCity is bound to carry an air of distinct smugness. Provided occupants of a CycCentre put in their shifts at the Reprocessers their supply of electricity and credits for their printers and food synthesisers is never capped. They can take as much as they want whenever they want and the ReFrat are happy to carry the cheque. Of course to take advantage of this the inhabitants have to rig up their own power supplies, resulting in a chaotic and sometimes dangerous jumble of wires criss-crossing the narrow alleys and makeshift buildings, but the residents are generally happy with the arrangement.

The more established CycCentres have a thriving social policy regarding housing.
Two-room apartments are standard accommodation for single residents. Three-room apartments are given to couples when they marry. Upon the birth of their first child they are moved to five-room apartments further towards the edge of the settlement and only the husband is required to work for the family to receive their full provision of services. Families with three or more children are given multiple apartments and the ReFrat allows retirement at the age of 60 with a small apartment right on the edge of the settlement (where the air is fresher) and continued unlimited electric supply. Of course, not many workers survive into their 60s, or even their 40s, but the promise keeps them loyal and the policy encourages large families which increase the status of the CycCentre.

Running each processor, in some cases more than one, and therefore the cities attached to them are the Dons. The Dons and their families do very little of the actual work of managing the factories, but everything to oversee their interests- making sure the waste comes in, the materials go out and the contracts keep getting won. The means by which they do this is usually bribery, theft, murder, sabotage and other unwholesome tricks of their trade. If a ReFrat family plays its cards right they can become major players in political spheres, even having an impact on Inworld life. Indeed, many of the original ReFrat Dons were financial and managerial big-shots who found they could generate greater power and influence by remaining Outworld putting their skills to use than by becoming somewhat passive participants in Inworld’s opulence.

The ReFrat are a heavily patriarchal society, with female roles restricted mostly to childcare and housework. The Dons and their male relatives are a macho bunch who set great store by displays of ‘manliness’ and bravado. They also take every opportunity to display their wealth and influence.
Lesser members of a Re.Frat family can often be found on missions for the Don, information gathering and silencing certain individuals who grow too noisy. It is common for the bulk of Re.Frat dirty work to be done by hired hands, Trash Runners and even workers at rival processors who can be bribed to work slower, pass on information and sometimes attack the plant itself. Although few would risk their own necks without guarantee of protection and Re.Frat families are notorious for going back on their word