This article is about the park in the 2010s-2040s era. For the subsequent park in the same location, see Reconciliation Park.Lake Park was the most important natural park of Night City, being one of the last places of greenery left within the metropolis. The park area in old Japantown was known as Eastpark.
History[]
1994 - 2010s[]
Lake Park was originally conceived by Richard Night to be the playground of his model metropolis of Coronado City. Built during the first years of construction which started in 1994, the park extended all the way from University District to the west, to Japantown to the east. After Richard's death in 1998, the City Council officially dedicated the park to his memory, building a bandstand with a bronze plaque with his name on it.
The park itself was completely man-made, from the lake to the patches of trees. Most of the only natural plant life in Night City grew here, with specially bioengineered foliage contributed as a gift by the Biotechnica Corporation. The lake was used for swimming and various water sports, as long as the water filtration system worked; while its small islands were the perfect place for gatherings and picnics. The Japantown section, known as Eastpark, was donned in the style of traditional Japanese parks, with shrines and flora typical from East Asia. At the southwestern section of Lake Park there was a large underground CitiPark garage constructed for public use.[1]
In the early 2010s, the homeless problem in the city reached epidemic proportions. The street was impossibly crowded, and often there were ten or twenty people fighting to sleep in the same location. Even worse, the gangs preyed on the homeless, the NCPD cops beat them and drove them out of the more livable sections of the city, and corporate security often used them for target practice, or worse. In Night City, the only real refuge for these victims was Lake Park; a place with little or no police and plenty of bio-engineered foliage to huddle under at night.
Kilven Wilkson's time in Lake Park as a homeless made him realize that if they were to survive the continual gang attacks, they would have to unite and help each other. Much like a nomad Elder, Kilven banded these various groups of terrorized Park dwellers together into a large organization which was named the Pack, who operated much like any other nomad family.
The bandstand built to commemorate Richard Night's death was destroyed during the 2014 Homeless Riots, but was soon after rebuilt. Upon returning to Night City in 2015, Johnny Silverhand played a free benefit concert on the bandstand in order to bring attention to the brutal methods that the NCPD had used to quell those riots. These Pack-benefit concerts made the group consider Johnny one of them. On another occasion, the Bay Area Rapid Terror gang attacked the Pack, but fortunately for them, a famous solo known as Andrew Scythe protected the homeless from the gangers.
In 2019, MAX-TAC managed to eliminate a cyberpsycho known as "The Claw" within the park grounds, making the headlines of the city news media. This brought attention to the area, and more people begun to visit Lake Park.[1]
2020s[]
By 2020, the park was frequented by the Night City citizens and plenty of its gangs; the Park Department custodians kept the place clean, and young parents brought their children to play in a "natural" environment. A mysterious gang known as the Breakfast Klub dwelled in the park's underground during the day. After sunset, though, these park "residents" emerged from the filth in which they had been hiding and stalked the silent greenswards, making Lake Park a very dangerous place at night. There were numerous disappearance cases, though no bodies were ever found. The Gilligans territory was once in the Marina District, but after a conflict with a local gang they were forced out and decided to settle in Lake Park.
Kelvin was still the leader of the Pack. He was trying to form other small packs into a proper nomad family, and was having a remarkable success in that area.[1]
In 2023, during the Fourth Corporate War, a gang known as the Metal Souls was nearly obliterated after using a FAE bomb on Lake Park.[2]
Locations[]
Notable Organizations[]
Notable Gangs[]
Notes[]
- The Night-Marriot Hotel located on the highest point of West Hill could be seen from as far as the southern edge of Lake Park.[3]
- It is unknown whether the park survived the Night City Holocaust in its entirety or partially. However, the name is briefly mentioned in Digital Dating in the Dark Future as one of the spots for dating in University District in Cyberpunk RED.[4] The park's location would later be known as Reconciliation Park, sharing notable similarities with Lake Park.
Gallery[]
Maps[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 PONDSMITH, M. Night City Sourcebook. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1991. (pp.28,54,56,136,142–146)
- ↑ ACKERMAN-GRAY, D. Firestorm Shockwave. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1997. (p.104)
- ↑ PONDSMITH, M. Night City Sourcebook. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1991. (p.93)
- ↑ GRAY, J. et al. Digital Dating in the Dark Future. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2022 (p.8)
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