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.: History
Far away from the bright lights and in the relative solitude of the Tacoma waterfront, south of the Boeing facility, along a normal four lane street running up towards the harbor, there's a small computer hardware store by the name of Seattle Matrix Rovers. Breckt, the owner, used to supply the greats along the East Coast with all their hardware, but trouble with the law and one or two local corporations forced him to move west. With the money he made as a deckmeister, he set up his store and planned to sit out his days in peace and quiet. His reputation preceeded him, however, and pretty soon he was at the center of many pacific north-east decker's attention. At first he didn't feel like getting back into the game, especially if he didn't have the support of a local gang, fixer, or syndicate. So he decided to take it slowly, working only with people he knew from the East, or those with rock-hard reputations.
The selective way with which he chose the people he worked with earned him some very loyal friends in the business, and he began to see some of them socially, as well. They gathered in a small loft above the shop's storeroom, accessible from the alley next to the store. Breckt had a bar installed, and it became a popular hangout for most of Breckt's loyal customers. The group came to call themselves the Seattle Matrix Rovers, naturally, after the name of the store, and they were a bunch of tight knit people. Most of them were getting on in age, and a lot of them settled down and started working for companies when they were done jockying their consoles. Surprisingly the group stayed tight.
Most of the Seattle Matrix Rovers were working as employees, scientists and executives for cutting edge technology corporations by now, but they still came by the loft. As their detachment from the dangerous life of a Console Cowboy became bigger, and as they started stepping aside for younger, more brass and less experienced jockeys, they were quickly labeled as "sell-outs" and "losers" by the younger crowd. The were the elders, the wise, the wash-outs, the sell-outs, the venerables, the mighty, the fallen. The virtual world regarded them with mixed emotions. Most of them had been at the cutting edge, the very forefront of Matrix development, and even years later the youngsters were using software and programs that they had written and designed. They were making use of tricks that they had developed, and that earned them lifelong respect from most, even if they had sold out and settled down to start a family. So what if they worked for a corporation! So what if they had mortgage and car payments to think about! They might be losers, but they earned respect. The were the Gentlemen Losers and their door was always open to those willing to learn.
.: The Group
The Gentlemen Losers come together as much as they can. Like normal guys will go to poker night, watch the Urban Brawl at their buddy's house, or go down to the local nightclub three times a week, these guys will come together in the loft above the Seattle Matrix Rovers and talk about the latest technologies, the latest rumours, the developments, the phenomena and to philosophise about the role of the Matrix in daily life.
The Losers doesn't have a membership, but they are rather selective in who they do and don't let into the loft. Most of the Losers sitting at the table in the loft, or drinking a beer at the bar have high positions at various companies, and just their interaction with one another violates about ten or fifteen non-disclosure agreements, let alone talking about the things they talk about. Breckt is still the nexus, the person who arranges all the meetings and provides all the hardware. Most of the Gentlemen Losers will get all their hardware through the company, and if they are in a shadow department, then they'll even have access to the good stuff, but for those who don't have access to the fancier hard- and software, Breckt is there to help them out. But most of them are pretty straight laced. Some of them are still running the wrong side of the law, and are still sleazing their way into corporate hosts, but most of them go to the loft because they want to philosophise and discuss.
The relationship between man and machine, and man's dependency.
Survival after a sudden collapse of the technological infrastructure.
Unexplained glitches in the Matrix.
Iconography.
The requirements for the spawning of an AI.
Damages done and consequences of more sophisticated IC.
The intracies of semi-autonomous knowbots.
Security failures and exploitable holes in new software.
Taking apart and analysing new hardware.
The Otaku; Myth or reality.
Information overload and saturation.
Matrix addiction.
...
These are but a quick glance at the topics these guys discuss in great detail. Some of the younger members of the Gentleman Loser think that some of the discussions are too much on the theoretical and philosophical side. Others say that it is better to understand without utilising, than to utilise without understanding. Some of the discussions get very heated, and quite frequently discussions have to be broken up. Fueds are pretty common place, but they never cross the boundary of respect. The are Gentlemen, after all.
Nobody outside of the Gentleman Loser know how many members there are, exactly. And those in the Gentleman Loser never tell. Some of them refuse to give their name, or come in disguise, afraid that they're counter-culture activities will get them in trouble, either on the street or in the office and laboratories. This is also the reason why during some nights the loft is closed for outsiders. The members that value their privacy leave through different means. Nobody really know how, but many people have speculated that they use the sewers and stormdrains.
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