The City

The City is a immense metropolitan complex covering 150 square miles and located in the middle of a vast uninhabitable desert. Physically it consists of a number of towers, some as tall as 4,000 ft, that are interconnected through a subterranean complex known as the Undercity. These towers have been constructed and refitted a number of times throughout the many decades of their existence. The City is controlled and kept safe by The Computer, which is also responsible for the design and maintenance of the city infrastructure.

Architecture

The first seven of the towers, constructed over 200 years ago, are grouped in a contiguous sector known as Alpha Complex, which comprises the urban center of the City. Six 3,000-foot towers are clustered around a single 4,001-foot tower, all reinforced to withstand earthquakes up to 10.0 and Category-6 storms. This central tower, known as the Power Tower, is the home of the Department of Water and Power (DWP). Directly beneath Alpha Complex is the area known as the Core (actually an acronym for Central Operations and Resource Exchange), comprised of several subterranean levels that provide support infrastructure (such as water, waste disposal, and other utilities) for the entire urban complex.

The Utility Core

Located at the center of the city, towering hundreds of feet and reaching twelve miles into the surface of the planet, the Utility Core is the literal and figurative heart of the City. Every aspect of the complex infrastructure that exists within the City either originates or passes through the Core. The Water and Power Department (H2O) is located in the Primary Utility Core UC1), also known as the Power Tower, the central tower of the City and the only part of the core that is above ground. The Secondary Utility Core (UC2) is located directly beneath UC1. This contains Nuclear Engineering Module (NEM) that controls the reactor cores as well as the power distribution to UC1. Though workers maintain shifts throughout the day and night, mutants and other outcasts are the only residents of the Core, as prolonged exposure can result in mutation and death. City Sanitation stages yearly purges of the Core, releasing poisonous gases and other materials in order to eliminate those illegally residing in the core areas.

The Computer Core

Surrounding the NEM is the area known as the computer core. This is an incorrect and unofficial designation, as there is no single computer core. This area instead consists of a series of nineteen separate computer cores, each containing 24 pairs of quantum parallel processing units that act as the central processing unit of The Computer. These units are shielded against all forms of radiation and are nucleomagnetically supercooled to maintain an internal operating temperature of 165 K (−108 °C/−162.4 °F). The computer core is maintained by intelligent microdroids and nanobots and is off-limits to humans and other organic beings.

Alpha Complex

The first and oldest of the City's sections is also the most complex and populated. This is the primary urban zone of the City, where a number of important functions are located. Most City government and law enforcement functions are centralized here. Alpha Complex is densely populated and features every variety of food, music, lifestyle, and other options in existence. It is also a region high in crime and violence. However, many prefer to live here than in the safer but more staid Burb Rings.

Burb Rings

Rings of suburban enclaves encircle the city. These are not the suburbs of tradition, but large towers which reconstruct the style of suburban living on each of their multiple levels. Each tower is over 1,500 feet in height and consists of 50-100 levels that are nearly nine square miles in area. Some levels are constructed as densely populated, low-ceilinged urban zones while others feature verdant neighborhoods with open skies (simulated) reminiscent of ancient pastoral settings. There is a great deal of variety of living and lifestyle choice within every burb ring. Each burb ring is surrounded by a three mile wide security zone that acts as a buffer. These zones are constantly monitored and occasionally patrolled by COPS.

Zeta Omega Tower

This imposing black-glass tower is off-limts to anyone below Violet clearance. As the most secret area of the City, there are a number of rumors and urban legends surrounding the tower. Most believe the tower is somehow related to the operations of The Computer, though a great deal of rumor associates the tower with various secret societies. City officials have claimed privately that the tower is nothing more than records storage. ZO Tower is surrounded by a 3-mile wide security perimeter which is patrolled by robotic sentries programmed to shoot trespassers without warning.

The Flats

The surface area between the towers of the City is known as the Flats, a harsh and unprotected urban environment. Most of the buildings here are surprisingly well-constructed and consists of scavenged materials that include discarded housing units, storage containers, and even old vehicles. While hundreds of mutants and outcasts live in the Flats, not much is done about it as life expectancy outside the towers is quite low. Most days on the Flats are windy and hot, and during storms the wind can reach as high as 100 mph. This is the only area of the City that is not regularly patrolled by any law enforcement entities. Outside the security buffers of the burb rings, there is no law on the Flats. Those who live in the Flats are known as Scrubs.

Population

Officially, there are 500 million citizens in the City. This number does not include unregistered mutants, outcasts or others living in the Flats. Actual census data is classified (UV) but sociologists estimate the total number of City residents to be roughly 750 million. The primary language of the City is English, but Spanish, Chinese, and Russian are also spoken by large numbers in Alpha Complex.

Government

The City is governed by a tribunal of citizens, known as Governors, who are selected by The Computer. Each governor is given a primary area of responsibility or function over which they have authority. Governors are appointed for life, but may retire after seven years of satisfactory service. Primary divisions of city government usually begin with the designation “Civil Uniform,” such as the Civil Uniform Justiciar Office (CUJO), the division responsible for law enforcement and judicial proceedings.

Law Enforcement

There are two offices primarily responsible for the safety and security of the City. Primary law enforcement on an individual basis is performed by Civil Order and Patrol Service (COPS), who operate on foot and on hovercycles throughout the city. The highly-trained officers of the Grave Order and Offensive Nuisance Service (GOONS) combat gangs, control crowds, manage riots, and perform other functions of mass pacification. GOONS operate hover tanks and other heavy equipment in the pursuit of their quarry.

Transportation

The Civil Uniform Transportation Office (CUTO) supervises transit throughout the city. An intricate network of mag-lev trains serves most of the City, connecting throughout all sectors and most burb rings. Small people-mover trains may operate within some areas, but most citizens walk or use the moving sidewalks to make their way in the day-to-day. Some utility divisions of City Operations may utilize a variety of vehicles for any number of purposes. Law enforcement divisions often operate hovertanks (UT 226) for riot control and other mass pacification. Some very wealthy individuals may own their own air cars, and electric carts or scooters may be used in some areas of the burb rings.