While for many the Chicago and the Bug City Containment Zone are synonymous, the CZ comprises less than 1/3 of the total landmass of the city of Chicago proper, not counting suburban areas and farmlands connected to the city. But the CZ is still big, and it is the rotted, gutted, feral heart of the Windy City. It starts at 115th Street to the south and runs nearly 30 km North way to Belmont Avenue to the north, and reaches from the Lake Michigan an average of 15 km to Harlem Avenue to the west. A mass of torn down buildings and hastily-erected barricades were added to and reinforced over the three-year period that the Containment Zone was in effect, and even now nearly 20 years later this barrier stands as an imposing divide between the Zone and the outside world. Anyone can supposedly freely travel between the zone and Chicago proper, but Lone Star watches those coming out and the gangs and warlords watch those going in very closely.
Between the Cermak Blast, the bugs, the debilitating effects of FAB III, and years of death and metahuman misery, astral space in and around the Zone is horrible. Unless otherwise noted, assume a default background count of 2 anytime characters are within the Containment Zone. The count will fluctuate wildly at times, so players should expect to encounter everything from high background counts and mana voids to various aspected backgrounds and mana warps. Areas of Chicago outside the CZ may also suffer background count bleed from the Zone.
Besides the background count, the CZ is a virtual nightmare for deckers and technomancers. The persistent low-level background radiation coupled with a distinct lack of modern matrix broadcasting equipment through the area results in a high level of constant background Noise that makes even basic matrix communication difficult. Noise levels will vary from area to area, but unless otherwise specified, assume a default Noise level of 2 anytime the characters are within the Containment Zone.