🪨 Morro Rock

“They’re building a cannon to shoot ships at the moon. In Night City. What could go wrong?”

A massive volcanic batholith jutting from Del Coronado Bay, Morro Rock is the most geologically stable point in the entire Night City region—which is why Orbital Air chose it as the site for their most ambitious project in decades. It’s also a strange, isolated place: a corporate enclave floating offshore, accessible only by ferry.

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📋 Overview

Aspect	Details
Location	Del Coronado Bay, west of the city
Status	Major Construction Site
Controller	Orbital Air
Security	Corporate High Security
Population	~5,000 construction workers + support staff
Access	Ferry only (regular service from East Marina)

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📜 History

Before Night City

Morro Rock existed long before Richard Night arrived. The volcanic neck was a landmark for centuries, visible from the old coastal Highway 1. Ancient volcanic activity pushed this plug of hardite stone up through the softer surrounding rock—making it the most geologically stable point for hundreds of kilometers.

The Morro Bay Massacre

The area around the bay has dark history. Before Night City existed, this was Morro Bay—a small coastal town. In the 1990s, a group of violent boostergangs called it home. It took Arasaka’s intervention (funded by Petrochem and Night’s backers) to “clean out” the gangs and make the region safe for development. To avoid the stigma of the massacre, the Partnership renamed the area Del Coronado Bay.

Richard Night’s Vision

When Richard Night built his city, he incorporated the distinctive rock into the city’s geography. The natural harbor around it became part of the rebuilt waterfront—primarily industrial and military.

Post-War Orbital Renaissance

After the 4th Corporate War, Orbital Air identified Morro Rock as ideal for a groundside massdriver—the only stable foundation in a region where much of the land is built on fill and landfill. Construction began in the early 2040s. As of 2045, it’s the largest construction project in Night City.

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🚀 The Massdriver Project

The Orbital Air Massdriver is a marvel of engineering ambition—a magnetic launch system capable of hurling spacecraft into Low Earth Orbit without rockets.

What Is a Massdriver?

A massdriver (or mass driver) is essentially a giant electromagnetic cannon. Using powerful magnetic coils arranged along a track, it accelerates payloads to escape velocity, launching them into orbit.

Massdrivers existed on the Moon before the War, used by the Highriders to fire raw materials—and occasionally, rocks—at Earth during the War.

Building one on Earth is extraordinarily difficult:

• Requires incredible structural stability
• Tremendous forces involved
• Morro Rock’s volcanic geology is one of the few places on the entire West Coast that can handle it

Progress in 2045

Status	Details
Construction Phase	Early — boring the main tunnel
Projected Completion	Unknown (years away)
Funding	Orbital Air, possibly military contracts
Workers	Thousands of construction crews
Problems	Behind schedule, over budget

Stability Concerns

Reports out of Morro Rock suggest geological engineers flown in from Kenya have halted construction at times, citing concerns about the stability of the area’s bedrock. Is the rock as solid as they thought?

Rumors suggest Militech may be quietly involved—access to orbital launch capability would be strategically valuable for military cargo and passengers.

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🏘️ Life on the Rock

Getting There

The ferry is the only way to reach Morro Rock for most people:

• Departs from the Ferry Building in East Marina
• Regular service for workers
• Non-workers need a reason—or connections

Orbital Air Housing Block #3

A Cube Hotel built to house engineers and specialty staff who work at the Massdriver:

Aspect	Details
Type	Secure corporate housing
Access	Living here doesn’t require a permit
Limitation	Can’t get closer to the Massdriver without employee pass
Amenities	None — no restaurants on the Rock without employee pass
Food Options	Vendit machines or wait for the ferry
Upside	Extremely quiet. Nobody asks questions.

107.3 Morro Rock Radio

Surprisingly, the Rock has its own radio station—107.3 Morro Rock Radio:

• Classic tunes and deep thoughts
• Hosted by “Wacky the Weatherman” (among others)
• One of 14+ stations broadcasting in Night City by the 2070s
• Transmitter probably on the Rock for geological stability

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🔒 Security

Morro Rock is one of the most heavily secured locations in Night City that isn’t a corporate headquarters.

Layer	Details
Perimeter	Fenced, patrolled, sensor grids
Checkpoints	Multiple ID verification points
Response	Corporate security forces on-site
Air Defense	Rumors of anti-aircraft capability
Sea Approach	Patrolled by armed boats

Access Levels

Level	Who	Can Access
Public	Anyone with ferry ticket	Dock area, Cube Hotel
Employee	Orbital Air badge holders	Construction site, facilities
Restricted	Senior staff only	Core tunnel, control systems

Visitor Access

Unless you work there or have a very good reason, you’re not getting past the dock area. Corporate employees need badges. Everyone else needs connections.

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👤 Notable NPCs

Franklin M’bolu

Role: Tech (Orbital Air Project Director)

The man in charge of building the massdriver. M’bolu is a brilliant engineer who developed many of Orbital Air’s leading technologies. He’s also a hard-nosed negotiator who manages all of OA’s contracts in the U.S.

Aspect	Details
Origin	Kenya (flown in with OA’s best)
Employer	Orbital Air
Reputation	Competent, ruthless, ambitious
Side Business	Deals OA technology and information on the black markets

Wacky the Weatherman

The voice of 107.3 Morro Rock Radio. Nobody’s quite sure who he is or where he broadcasts from—but his weather reports are surprisingly accurate.

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😄 What You See

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🎲 GM Resources

Why Come Here?

Purpose	Hook
Construction Jobs	Legitimate work for Techs with the skills
Industrial Espionage	Corps pay well for massdriver tech intel
Sabotage	Someone always wants to slow progress
Smuggling	Getting contraband past security is lucrative
Franklin M’bolu	The project head has side businesses
Hiding Out	The Cube Hotel is off the grid and anonymous
Space Tech	Access to OA’s orbital technology

Infiltration Methods

Method	Difficulty	Notes
Fake employee badge	Hard (DV 17)	Need to forge OA credentials
Bribe ferry operator	Moderate (DV 15)	Gets you to the dock, not the site
Small boat at night	Hard (DV 17)	Avoid armed patrols
M’bolu’s invitation	Varies	He decides who gets access
Worker disguise	Moderate (DV 15)	Blend in, don’t ask questions

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🔗 Related Topics

• Orbital Air — The corporation building the massdriver
• Franklin M’bolu — Project director
• Highriders — Space-dwelling people, control existing mass drivers
• Del Coronado Bay — The bay surrounding Morro Rock
• Upper Marina — Ferry departure point
• Night City International Airport — Other major transit infrastructure

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(Source: Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook, pp. 306, 310; Interface RED Vol. 2; Tales of the Red: Hope Reborn)