Art

Amoung many social groups in humanity the gang has replaced the family as the central unit.

A combination of a street gang, a family and a special forces platoon. Digital Nanotech sprayed graffiti, the heraldry of certain gangs

Gangs live through the contracts and quests given them. Mostly through the LAW and the corporations and also through larger, more influencial gangs.

The corporations rely on the gangs a lot. The LAW may be said to be their main client but the gangs are the people who actually buy and use the products. Under the LAWs command or not. There are ample gangs who never take LAW contracts and still pay plenty for hardware.
Plus there are the jobs the corporations want done themselves. Usually deniably.

"Fight your way to the bottom to buy your way to the top."

Gangs take over more and more territory and factories in the boreholes, being owed alligenace and taxes from smaller gangs. Gaining rank. Growing from gang leader of a 10 man gang to a Leiutenant commanding 3, 2 other gangs in addition to your own.

O-2     Lieut.                  Plat, 3 squads
O-3     Major                   2IC coy
O-4     Lt Com                  coy
O-5     Commander               2IC reg
O-6     Colonel                 reg/ship
O-7     Brig. Gen		1 star
O-8     Maj. Gen		
O-9     Lieut. Gen
O-10    General

The gangs in the factory boreholes usually progress down the shaft, to the more powerful, secure factories, away from the prying eyes of the LAW and Corps. Once there the huge factories they run provide enough cash for them to buy their way to the arcologies or even the spire itself.

Death is not a certainty nor even permanent.

The purpose of life is to spread genes and memes but technology allows the choosing what is kept.

A gangers career can culminate many ways. Overwhelmingly the most common is a quick grown birth followed by a quick death, not proven worthy to pay the data storage capacity to be rebuilt.
Some may earn storage for a time yet fall one day and be decided to be replaced. Immortality must be continually earned.
Even data storage and nanotech reconstruction is not enough to ensure permanent life. Net based assaults can corrupt and destroy a gangs storage and some or all the souls stored can be lost. Certain alien (and human) technologies can destroy the soul with the body. Somehow corrupting even remote storage.
The most common goal of Gangs who achieve power is to be utilised more and more by the LAW until finally their contract is purpetual. These gangs are given the best technology and resources available as rewards and are used in the front lines of alien assaults and defenses. To many this life of constant warfare versus hoards of awesomely powerful opponents is heaven. An attitude the LAW would never contradict.

All corporations have security forces of some level or another. Gangs with high alligiance to corporations can fill a similar role to the LAW soldiers. Permanent contracts. These gangs tend to be given control of the much more common shorter contract gangs to enforce the companies will either, in the boreholes or the city and spire.

Some gangers continue on and live without alligience. The most respected of these are refered to as Sensai.