Message no. 1

From:	Jai Tao <jdfalk@****.COM>
Subject:	SPRAWL: MontCom
Date:	Wed, 6 Apr 1994 00:25:56 -0400

SPRAWL
F-01
Montgomery Community Television
--------
Built in 1986 as a public access cable television facility, this
nonprofit organization fell upon hard times as the Montgomery County,
Maryland government reduced funding over the years. As cable and
broadcast television, telephone companies, and other organizations built
the information network which was to become The Matrix, this and other
cable and low-power broadcast TV stations were shunted aside and largely
forgotten.
As time went on, the MontCom studios became a mecca of artistic
videography. When a small contingency in the Betapunk video artistry
organization split off for form the U-Punks (so named in honor of the Sony
3/4" U-Matic videotapes they used) in 1998, they found a home on the
Rockville MontCom studios.
By 2040, MontCom had linked to the Matrix, and deckers such as Joe
Young V (grandson of the engineer who kept MonCom's 3/4" equipment going
until 2018) will provie hookups for any community which would like
flatscreen viewing of the eclectic, obscure shows the facility is so well
known for.

Presently, anybody who has passed their examinations can send
video recordings for broadcast. They gave up on magnetic tape in 2030,
after their last second-hand D-5 digital videotape player broke down (it
is now in a museum), and currently accept most standard chip or disc
formats, as well as direct data transfers.
Though still liscensed by the U.C.A.S. Federal Communications
Commission, no government or corporation has control over them any longer.
The actual "broadcast" facility, still near the county seat (where its
been since 1986) is heavily fortified, and surrounded by the "Derwood Free
Zone," an area of seeming anarchy which is actually closely controlled by
MontCom.
Any strangers allowed inside would be watched carefully, but would
soon discover that good behavior and acceptance of the staffs'
eccentricities would be met by friendliness on the part of most, and
extreme indifference on the part of Joe Young V.

GM Notes: Most employees and "access users" (to employ the archaic
term) at MontCom are equipped with recording, low-light-capable eyes, and
absolutely _anything_ could be recorded. It is quite common for exciting
happenings to show up on the flatscreen feed, even if that is likely to
get some or all of the participants "in trouble."

Authors' Note: The actual nickname for Montgomery Community
Television is M.C.T., but in the world of Shadowrun that acronym is
already taken. Watch for an expanded description of this, the Derwood
Free Zone, and other areas in Maryland in the pages of the next N.E.R.P.S.
project!