Swap meets are monthly gatherings for scavengers to trade goods.

Location

Swap meets have happened in different areas of the city over time, but the longest running single location has been in the northcentral portion of Rivertown Central, about five blocks west of Lake Lawrence. The designated area is a partially enclosed parking structure.

History

Informal swap meets, also known as swaps, have been taking place for years in Rivertown following the superflu, although most were very small--a half-dozen to fifteen people. At this time, it was an opportunity for scavengers to insure variety in their diet, or attain goods such as warm clothing that they had not been able to find through scavenging themselves. For a time the arrangement worked, but things broke down when finding goods became more difficult as the city became more picked up, especially as the demand for rundown grew.

Larger swaps would often result in ambushes and, for a time in the 2090s, swap meets became semi-organized gang wars as the struggle for resources intensified. The by the mid-to-late 2090s, the second strain of the superflu had run its course and the population of Rivertown dropped, and swap meets disappeared for a time.

The practice of holding a regular swap started again sometime in 2111, perhaps by accident. By 2112, a group of a dozen scavengers began to meet on the first of the month (although this date was often missed by some due to poor date keeping) and by 2113 the practice had been firmly established. Swaps are generally only attended by scavengers who have lived in Rivertown for several years, given that word of mouth is the only way one could learn of the location and time it would be held, and most scavengers only trade words with people they know not to be threats.

Attendees and atmosphere

A typical swap meet is attended by about a dozen people, give or take a few, with a few regulars. Swaps are attended mostly by men. Once night has fallen, attendees begin verbal exchanges for the trade of goods, most often food and rundown but also a variety of weapons, usually handguns and knives.

The atmosphere of the "new" swap is decidedly tense, especially as more drug addicts attend in an effort to score more rundown. They can be unpredictable and threaten violence, though scavengers accept this since they will often engage in uneven exchanges in order to gain their fix.

Goods

The goods traded at the swap are primarily food, clothing, drugs, and weapons. Sexual favors have been offered and accepted, but this is not the norm. The quality and quantity of the goods is dependent on the number of attendees and their luck in both scavenging and holding onto what they've found for the previous month.