There is an underground society of so-called "mole people", who live in tunnels under major metropolitan areas, such as abandoned and little used areas of the subway tunnels of New York City. These people belong to different tribes, some of them counting 250 or more members, and even have a leadership structure in place. Many of them are similar to the homeless seen in urban areas, variously disenfranchised, addicted, or mentally ill. Some communities have been able to hack together life's luxuries, like electricity and hot and cold running water, from utilities that are run through the tunnels. Mostly scavenging for food, there are a few members who make their living in more creative ways - including murder for hire. They catch rats and cook them over open fires. Despite the mole peoples' great distrust of above-grounders, there have been a couple of writers who have managed to gain entry into these communities and have written about college graduates, nurses, and others who live underground and don't see the sunlight for days, sometimes weeks, at a time. The mole people tend to scurry when an outsider enters their domain, but public officials can gauge the amount of people living in the subway tunnels in New York City by the fact that trains derail when they hit a body on the tracks - something which happens at least once a week. In the hierarchy of the homeless, the mole people are on the bottom rung, looked down upon by most everyone.
There is an underground society of so-called "mole people", who live in tunnels under major metropolitan areas, such as abandoned and little used areas of the subway tunnels of New York City. These people belong to different tribes, some of them counting 250 or more members, and even have a leadership structure in place. Many of them are similar to the homeless seen in urban areas, variously disenfranchised, addicted, or mentally ill. Some communities have been able to hack together life's luxuries, like electricity and hot and cold running water, from utilities that are run through the tunnels. Mostly scavenging for food, there are a few members who make their living in more creative ways - including murder for hire. They catch rats and cook them over open fires. Despite the mole peoples' great distrust of above-grounders, there have been a couple of writers who have managed to gain entry into these communities and have written about college graduates, nurses, and others who live underground and don't see the sunlight for days, sometimes weeks, at a time. The mole people tend to scurry when an outsider enters their domain, but public officials can gauge the amount of people living in the subway tunnels in New York City by the fact that trains derail when they hit a body on the tracks - something which happens at least once a week. In the hierarchy of the homeless, the mole people are on the bottom rung, looked down upon by most everyone.