Go back to the Morrow Project Travel Guide index to get to the other regional entries.

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SECTION SIX: Appalachia (Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina)
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KENTUCKY

Home of the "Kentucky Free State", a large, prosperous and militant empire. The KFS is so far contained to the immediate area, but has big dreams for the future. Slavery and despotism are rampant in the state and there is much danger for Project teams operating in the area. Still, the KFS is probably the strongest power in America and as such can be an instrumental in any large-scale attempt at rebuilding.

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

Louisville, SS-18M1b
Frankfort, SS-N-17
Bath County (Licking River) Hydroelectric plant, SS-N-8
Fort Knox, SS-N-17
Blue Grass Army Ammunition Depot, Lexington, SS-N-17

Discretionary nuclear targets:
Fort Campbell, SS-N-17

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS
Delta Base: Located somewhere in western Kentucky.
MARS Team K-4: Bolthole discovered by KFS Special Unit and all members killed.
MARS Force K-98: Bolthole location unknown, but somewhere in Northwest Kentucky. Eight members and one SK-5 hovercraft. Two of the team's six caches have been flooded out by the Ohio River’s changing course.
Science Team K-97: Bolthole location unknown, but somewhere in Western Kentucky near Cloverton. Nine members and one Science-One vehicle.

3) THE KENTUCKY FREE STATE

Situation, pre-war: Kentucky was the center of coal mining and agriculture. Oil, limestone and natural gas existed in significant quantities, while extensive trade went on along the Ohio River, bringing much revenue into the state. Fort Knox, the training center for the US Armored Forces, processed thousands of soldiers for the Army every year, while Fort Campbell on the Tennessee border was a major center for the US Army Airborne operations. Both forts brought a lot of revenue into the state. Kentucky was also famous for bourbon, bluegrass and horses.

Situation, the war: The Louisville-Fort Knox-Lexington area was caught in a mixed bag of nuclear and biowar strikes and was badly hammered by the war. Refugees fleeing the fallout spread the plague throughout the state. Decimated by a trio of nuclear strikes, Fort Knox was little help. Fort Campbell was the center of an attempt to impose martial law, fighting against local power-seekers and rioting. Its strength sapped by the plagues and desertion of men seeking to protect their families, it death knell occurred when a cabal of local leaders and ambitious junior officers attempted to set up their own regime. From then on, fighting between various factions raged on into the spring as plague and fallout devastated both states.

Situation, post-war: Fighting raged for years, as long as their were sides to fight. Most people simply banded together in their isolated valleys and towns, dug in and grimly held on. Ten years after the war, fewer than 40,000 people lived in all of Kentucky, while broken and abandoned weapons littered the countryside.

The people of the land: The people of the Free State are hard-working, generous and uniformly poor. They band together to pull each other through times of flood and fire and everyone responds on the rare occasion that the militia is called up. They live in constant fear of the Secret Police and the Five Families. The lucky ones are the freeholders and independent shop owners, but there are fewer of these every years. The Rich Five and their agents, the families of the Old Two Thousand, squeeze more on the independents every year. Most common people are sharecroppers, laborers or miners.

The Old Two Thousand: The Old Two Thousand are the descendants of the various employees of the Rich Five who served as their original rank-and-file. The fill the role of petty nobility and entrepreneurs, with the wealth of some of their families approaching that of the Five themselves. Each has a patron family and through them, a Patron Administrator. This is the managerial class, in which literacy is universal and almost all of them have gone through the great university at Bowling Green. The Army and Secret Police draw most of their officer corps from this group. So does the resistance.

The Five Families: The original Rich Five, the five families of industrialist that formed the Free State from the ashes. The people of the Five Families make up less than 1/2 of 1% of the population of the Free State, but control almost everything and have wealth that is unimaginable to the average human being of the time. Brought up with a firm conviction of their own superiority, the people of the Five Families tend to be educated, supercilious, and callous to the problems of the lesser class. They also seem to rarely age once they reach about 40 years old. It is rumored that a special serum is given to select members of the Rich Five once they are educated and reach a certain level of success. This serum is imported from a Breeder compound in Colorado (see that state for a full explanation).

The growth of the Free State: The Rich Five didn't start out intending to be dictators, it just sort of happened. When the five industrial leaders of what would eventually become the Rich Five made their plans, they had no intention of trying to restore order out of chaos. They intended to preserve themselves, their friends and their wealth in order to go on living as they had been. Provision was made secretly to keep 2,000 people in cryosleep for ten years. In their massive, hidden mountain complex in Kentucky, they stockpiled food, medicine, weapons for self-defense, precious metals for trade and most vital of all, information. Secure in their plans, those who made it to the complex as the bombs fell went into cryosleep. The awoke to chaos. Kentucky, never a very rich area, had been nearly depopulated. The remains of several factions struggled over the little that was left using the last of the weapons from Fort Knox and Fort Campbell. Hunger, disease and war stalked the hills. In the savage struggle that followed, the organization of the five industrialists was the only organized, well-equipped group. Not surprisingly, they won, though not before a lot of blood was shed. Using their technical facilities, some captured equipment from Fort Knox, and their knowledge of military organization, they welded together an army which swept the field.

Rebuilding from the ruins: Once the immediate fighting was over, the process of rebuilding began. Over the next twenty years, the Old Two Thousand led by the Rich Five, took on the task of rebuilding civilization. Refugees came seeking protection from the chaos outside. Surviving technicians were incorporated into the new order and its industries. Others became farmers and miners. POWs and criminals became convict labor. The population grew and kept growing. Few really cared that everything that was being built seemed to belong to the Five. The Army guarded the borders and fought and fought again. Forty years after the war, The Kentucky Free State was named. It was free only in the sense that it was free from the chaos. In the terrible times, there was no room for the niceties of democracy. The Army became an established entity and the Rich Five became absolute dictators, ruling over a population that was always one step away from starvation. As time passed and one generation succeeded the next, what had been a matter of expediency became a matter of policy.

Trade: Economically the Free State began trading along the Ohio River. They bought steel, pieces of old technology, books, furs, raw cotton, wool and slaves. They sold medicine, woven cotton cloth, trade rifles, percussion caps, tools, paper, horse-drawn agricultural equipment and dozens of other items. What they did not sell were modern firearms or ammunition, engines or information. Out of state trade is now extensive, with the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers providing routes for barge convoys to ply Free State goods throughout the Midwest. There is also some secret trade with the Breeder enclave in Colorado mentioned above, involving medicines and high-tech electronics. This unique trade agreement is handled only at the very highest levels of the Free State government and very few people are even aware of it.

Industry: At home, wealth remained concentrated in the upper society of the Five. Common workers earned little more than subsistence wages. Employers didn’t have to worry about markets and consumers at home when they could sell their good along the rivers. Wood-fired steam engines carried commerce within the Free State and the railroads were restored. Fusion power plants were installed as the scientists of the Free State were able to "reverse engineer" the Morrow fusion plants discovered with buried teams. Prior to the "discovery" of fusion, coal-powered plants were in widespread usage so the infrastructure to support power production and distribution were already in place. Fusion also allowed the Free State to turn garbage and coal into petrochemicals for their industry so such products as plastics, drugs, dyes and insecticides are in use in the Free State now. Industrial advanced to the point where small towns could pool their resources and buy such things as a communal radio or TV.

Territory controlled today: The northernmost boundary of the Free State is the bend of the Ohio River just south of Cincinnati. The Free State's eastern boundary is the Appalachian Mountains, much as it was in the past. The southern border skirts around the remains of Knoxville and follows the Tennessee River as it turns west and then north until it empties into the Ohio River. None of the dams on either the Ohio or the Cumberland still exist and they have returned to their pristine state (prior to the TVA's efforts). Recently, the Free State has been moving further south through Alabama to reach the sea, but things are not going well for them in Alabama.

The Army of the Free State: The Army of the Free State was assembled from fragments of the US Army detachments, local militia, company security and local police departments taken over by the Free State. However, it has been well over 100 years since this force has had to fight anything even close to a war. Fighting starving bands of border raiders and river pirates or suppressing the old slave revolt has given it an exaggerated view of its own potential. Further, a century of peace has permitted many bad habits to become tradition. The overall idea of the Army is something similar to the British Army before WWI. Regiments are raised from the population of a county. Enlisted men are highly disciplined and well trained. Corporals and Sergeants are chosen by merit and tend to be ferociously competent. Officers are selected from the "right" families and are promoted through political connections. The quality of officers ranges from brilliant to abysmal, but tends towards the latter, except in those cases where the military is an honored family tradition.

Weapons of the Army: The standard personal weapon of the Army is the Ruger Mini-14 modified for military use. This was used as a prototype because of the large stocks of it after the war. The Army crew-served weapon is the CETME, a Spanish modification of the old German MG-42 chambered in 5.56 as well. They also have .50 cal M2 heavy machineguns and 81mm mortars in weapons platoons. Rifle grenades issued to troops are of the "bullet catcher" variety. The standard sidearm is the S&W Model 59 pistol. The grenades the Army uses are standard M26 fragmentation grenades and M34 white phosphorus grenades. CS grenades are occasionally used for crowd suppression and the like. The Free State can manufacture both MP resistweave and Kevlar, but the cost is too great for them to issue it to common soldiers. Officers and NCOs have to purchase this body armor themselves.

AFVs of the Army: The Army's cavalry units use a locally-produced version of the M2 Bradley. Likewise, armored units use a version of the M1 Abrams. These vehicles were selected by the Army of the Free State because of the available prototypes from Fort Knox. In both cases these were originally the most plentiful types available after the war. Later when the Free State began to manufacture their own armored units, they stuck with these basic designs but with some significant differences. There are many things from the M1's gas turbine to the transmissions that the Free State simply couldn't reproduce. By they had the patterns in the form of the existing vehicles so they modified them in such a fashion that their industry could handle production. For example, the M1 has much thinner armor (about half a meter at best) and much lower quality. The rounds for the M1 are limited to solid shot. There are no TOWs for the M2s. Neither vehicle has a stabilized gun platform or laser range-finders. Thus while still formidable, they are not the same vehicles once used by NATO countries. Additionally, the Army uses locally produced copies of both the M60A3 tank and the Cadillac Gage V-300 armored car with the Cockerill 90mm gun. All these vehicles have multi-fuel engines running on anything flammable. Fusion power is not used, as the Free State cannot produce them small enough.

Organization of the Army: The Army is grouped into seven separate Regiments. A regiment is further broken down into four rifle companies, one headquarters company, one artillery company with 16 105mm cannon and one troop of cavalry equipped with 16 V-300s. Such a Regiment can field just under 1,300 men, with 16 .50 cal HMGs, 16 81mm mortars, and 64 CETMEs.

The Praetorians: The Sixth and Seventh Regiments are nicknamed the "Praetorians". Their four line companies are equipped with four tanks and two Bradleys per platoon, 18 tanks per company, 72 tanks per regiment. These regiments have eight men per squad (versus seven in other regiments) and two extra companies of infantry mounted in more Bradleys. The Sixth and Seventh Regiments can each field 1,600 men, 72 tanks and 84 Bradleys each. The Seventh Regiment uses M60A3 tanks fitted with the same armor as the M1. The Sixth Regiment uses M1s. Both regiments are paraded often while all families vie to control them as either regiment could take on any three other regiments and win.

The Air Force of the Free State: Few working aircraft survived the days of chaos. What few did were used by the Free State until they literally fell apart (sometimes in mid-air). But having planes was useful and so the Free State looked for a design of proven ruggedness and utility. Originally the intended to build jet fighters, but two factors stopped this. First, none of their neighbors, indeed, no one else in the world as far as they knew, had any jet aircraft left. Second, the technical problems of manufacturing jet engines were deemed too great. Instead, the Free State duplicated the P-47 Thunderbolt, a piston-driven fighter that they happened to have a prototype of, care of the Confederate Air Force. The P-47 was a rugged design with eight .50 cal machineguns and a tremendous bomb load. For the air support missions the Army needed, this was perfect. Six squadrons of eight planes each were formed. Since then, additional aircraft have been built on a one-for-one basis to replace losses. A few planes were declared "surplus" so they could be purchased by wealthy members of the Rich Five. Such planes are declared surplus while still fresh from the factory. Other light aircraft are occasionally custom built for the wealthy, and a few long-range transport planes have been built for special missions far outside of Free State territory, such as to Colorado. The Air Force is a "status" service and all pilots are chosen from the Old Two Thousand stock. This has a detrimental effect on the quality of pilots since many marginal or inept pilots are kept in service due to their political connections. There are three Air Force Bases in the Free State, each of which has two squadrons of P-47s assigned. Each base also has two companies of troops assigned, one of maintenance personnel and one for defense troops. The special transport planes are kept at a well-guarded airfield near the capitol.

The Secret Police: The Secret Police are like the Gestapo of old Germany, and just as feared and hated. They have the power to take anything they like, and answer only to the Rich Five. Originally the security forces of the Five before the war, they morphed into the intelligence gathering arm of the government. They have their own structure and equipment, including much MP gear and vehicles. People generally hide when they see them coming. They wear distinctive black fatigues and armbands, often MP resistweave dyed black.

Relations with the Morrow Project: The Secret Police are also responsible for conducting the war against the Morrow Project. This is not officially state sanctioned, but the unwritten rule is that the Project looms as a potential threat to the Free State. As such, the Rich Five have made it the Secret Police's mission to hunt down the teams in the area and capture or kill them. From these raids, the SP have acquired a quantity of MP vehicles and gear, all highly prized. In their mountain fortress in Harlan, the Rich Five have a sophisticated computer system that is used to track all information they have about the Project. Hints, rumors, the results of interrogations of MP personnel, all are included into this database. Where possible, they have extrapolated likely locations for teams and keep watch for new sightings. If an awake and active team is spotted, of if a bolthole is located, a Special Action Unit is sent to neutralize the team and capture the equipment. These units are never more than platoon in strength, but they have air power to back them up.

Local law enforcement: Law on the local town level is handled by sheriffs and deputies, backed up by the Army. Corruption is endemic as a sheriff is appointed by a judge, and only that judge can remove him. This is expected, however, and law officials are bought and sold as a matter of public knowledge. Sheriffs are also responsible for raising town militias as needed. This is needed in border towns where raiders are common, but in the interior it is just an excuse for forming a lynch mob.

Weapons in the Free State: Gun control in the Free State is draconian. Licenses are required to own any weapon above a flint lock musket or pistol. Only the wealthiest of the Old Two Thousand can afford anything better. Of course, anyone in the Five Families can carry anything they please. Nothing is traded outside the borders other than "trade rifles", percussion cap rifles that wear out after 50 shots. This keeps the raiders ill armed and assures that the threats to the state are reduced. The Free State has gunsmiths in all major cities and towns and working replicas of almost every firearm made in the 20th Century can be bought from the master craftsmen, but only in small quantities and only with the correct permits.

Slavery: Slavery in the Free State is commonplace. Slavery provides cheap labor for the state. Originally a stopgap solution of convict labor when labor was scarce, it evolved into an acceptable institution which came to form the basis of labor in the Free State. Race has nothing to do with slavery here, it is more a Roman model, where convicts, debtors, and POWs become property of individuals or industrial combines. They do the dangerous jobs, and attrition is therefore very high. Stocks are replaced by slavers. Slavery is a fact of life in the Free State, indeed, the state could not function without it. Perhaps 15% of the total population are slaves.

The Underground: Any dictatorship as corrupt as the Free State is creates resistance. Some citizens of the Free State are unhappy with the corruption of the society around them and its many injustices. Many would-be power seekers, frustrated by the grip of the Rich Five have on all political power, join them. As a result, numerous mutually antagonistic underground organizations have emerged, ranging debating societies to full-bore resistance movements with weapons stockpiles, safe houses and military objectives. Despite the savage efforts of the SP, these groups continue to grow, though many of them are riddled with SP spies. The chief underground organizations are listed below.

The Spartans: Founded by ex-US Army personnel in the chaos years, the Spartans believe that the corrupt civilian government should be replaced by an efficient military organization. Once a military state is created, the full resources of the Free State could be used to conqueror and unite the rest of the nation. Their dream is to create a nation with Spartan virtues of universal military service, prowess in battle and personal courage. Popular amongst the junior officers and career military families, this group is the strongest and toughest of the resistance groups and are the greatest threat to the Rich Five that exists. They regard the other underground groups as hopelessly idealistic dreamers. The Spartans greatest success may well be seen soon in Alabama (see that state) where the a distant military unit is been infiltrated by Spartans.

The Children of Liberty: Originally an anti-slavery group, these are now the most active foes of the government. The basic philosophy is "all men are created equal", and their goal is the overthrow of the Rich Five and the slavery system. They make guerrilla raids to free slaves, use propaganda campaigns to educate the people about the wrongs of slavery. The citizenry is listening and recently there has been much anti-slavery dissent in the cities. The Children of Liberty have a network of safe houses across the Free State and a headquarters in the labyrinth of caves near Cave City. Several ex-Masons were among their founding members. The Children openly despise the Spartans and actively seek to exterminate the Minutemen.

The Minutemen: A radical offshoot of the Children of Liberty, the Minutemen were organized to sow chaos within the Free State. Though very small in number, they seem impossible to destroy. While their message is garbled, they seem to think that their chaos will help topple the Rich Five. They consider the Spartans as Fascists and betray them to the SP whenever possible. There is an ongoing vendetta with the Children of Liberty and it is not uncommon for a Minuteman assassin to lie in wait for members of the Children.

4) WESTERN KENTUCKY

Situation, pre-war: The Mississippi has been the highway of the central United States since the colonial period. The intersection of the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers has been the site of an important settlement since settlers first moved into the Mississippi Valley. Roads in the area generally followed the river and settlements became major centers of trade. Some of these settlements grew to cities such as St. Louis and Memphis with barge traffic passing up and down the River between them. Other, smaller settlements remained local centers of trade for the next two hundred years and were virtually untouched by modern life. Even the coming of the interstate highway did little to change these towns of less then a thousand people. There were bad times and there was The River to contend with in flood season, but there was also a sense of continuity and stability.

Situation, the war: A Soviet SS-N-17 targeted on St. Louis dropped one of its MIRV warheads squarely in the Mississippi. Besides generating a glowing rain to the east, the blast sent a wall of water down the River destroying everything as far south as Chester. As the wave swept by it flooded areas usually above the high water mark of the River. The force of the waters finally diminished as it mixed with the waters of the Ohio but the last of its energy was spent along the Kentucky shore, raging through the sleepy river towns with destructive force.

Situation, post-war: The nuclear tidal wave did all of the damage to the area as no other missiles fell nearby. Bio weapons were targeted on the bigger population centers and, while the big wave killed many, once the surge had passed, the waters began to recede. There was little or no water left to cause further difficulties as there so often is after a flood. But, the surge left an uneven trace of radiation behind as the water flowed back through the sluggish side streams to the river. Today such areas are not lethal or even harmful unless one settles in a particularly contaminated area. The towns, which were on high ground, were less affected by accumulated radiation than by the force of the initial surge. Houses were swept off their foundations, sewers emptied into the streets and downed power lines electrified the standing pools of water. The people in the towns died by the thousands in the first weeks after the initial attack. The survivors had only begun to cope with the flood’s damage when the first desperate bands of refugees entered the area. They were sick, starving, or both and they were following the River south. Radiation victims were called “Sicklings” and most died with a month or so. Those who came down the Ohio did not suffer as much from radiation as from fear, hunger, and desperation. These people became known as “Starvlings” and many died in the following months, often at the hands of other Starvlings. They remained in the area until they died, or until they were accepted into the fortified hamlets. In the end the people of the fortified communities were able to survive, and ultimately prosper. 150 years after the War, the Mississippi River is again the highway of what was once the United States. The area is similar to what it might have been between 1760 and 1810. It is rough, but there is a patina of civilization. Individual towns are basically self-sufficient and rule themselves, though the Free State tries to tax them. Marauders are often a major problem due to the ineffectiveness of the Free State to guard the border. Trade with Illinois and Tennessee is brisk and they take their share of the lucrative Mississippi River traffic.

Mayfield: The KFS Army forces in western Kentucky are centered here in Mayfield, with patrols going as far as the rivers and the Tennessee border. The unit here is the Second Regiment. This is an under-strength regiment, just some 750 men in just three rifle companies. The remained for the Regiment’s manpower and equipment is kept further east but is available in the event of an emergency. Duty on the western frontier is tough and for an officer an assignment to the Second is akin to a demotion. Charlie Company is garrisoned here, along with the Regimental vehicle and artillery and the command staff. The other two rifle companies are at Benton and at Fort Bundy.

Benton: Garrison home of Able Company. While taking orders from HQ at Mayfield, this company has a lot of authority to operate independently to react to bandit raids or other disturbances. Its troops are probably the best in the Regiment and see the most combat.

Paducah: Destroyed by wild fires two years ago that raged through this river town. The grain storage tanks down on the river exploded, turning the central business district to charcoal. The loss of life was tremendous, and the survivors are upset that the Free State has seemingly shown little concern for their condition. In fact, the Rich Five have essentially written on Paducah as too expensive to try and recover.

Fort Bundy: Built in 2042 near the ruins of Cloverport after a particularly destructive cross-border bandit raid, “Fort Bundy” is typical of the small border posts the Free State uses to fence in its thinly settled border regions. While Cloverport was mostly destroyed in the raid of 2042, a new, smaller town (Portown) has sprung up under the watchful eye of the fort. Portown is mostly just a stop for the steamboats on the Ohio River where they can take on coal and food and occasionally offload goods for the locals or the Fort. Relations between the town and the Fort are predictably strained. While the Fort protects the town from attack, they are also the tax collectors checking every ledger and sale. To make matters worse, the soldiers of the Fort are not fond of the "stinking river scum" who "infest" Portown and will make their dislike known whenever they go to town. As a result, while the people of Portown are not in open revolt, they have no fondness for the soldiers and will happily look the other way when one of them "disappears". The garrison here is currently Baker Company of the Third Regiment. They have a jeep, a deuce-and-a-half, and two V-300 APCs. There are six guard towers surrounding the Fort, each with a .50 cal HMG.

5) STARNAMAN
“Starnaman” is new town built after the war. Starnaman began shortly after the Mississippi rolled over the towns of Wylie, Brackton, and Oakton ending them as communities though many of their inhabitants survived. The Starnaman house was halfway between Wylie and Oakton on high ground nestled protectively in the face of a low butte and it had a good well. The survivors collected there and formed the first encampment. They were refugees at first bent on survival and only later building structures and fighting off marauders who raided them for weapons, food and medicine. Building materials were brought from Wylie in armed convoys as long as the gasoline lasted. A low stone wall was begun around the camp and was added to constantly. The wall grew taller then a man and more then a meter in thickness. It became the symbol of the town and while it protected them against lesser dangers it couldn’t stop the worst.

History: Four decades after the War, the chaos finally began to subside. New generations began to outgrow the wall around “Starnaman’s Hold” as the town had come to be called. A temporary palisade helped protect the overflow but a new wall was inevitable. Starnaman’s Hold was wealthy by local standards and this drew raiders and scavengers. As the new wall rose, a new round of raids signaled a second bloody period in the town’s history. The wall took two decades more to finish and the gate towers took another ten years to complete. The families which were crowded inside the old wall moved their shops into the new area, where the wealthiest got the best and largest spots.

Old Town: Old Town, the area enclosed by the old wall, became the home of the gentry when the people moved and the old shops became house. There are less then twenty families living within Old Town but they control most of the trade and power within the town. Strangers must be escorted by an Old Town resident or employee to move within the Old Town wall. Lodged against the cliff in Old Town is the guild hall, a two story stone building first used as the communal fortress, then a storehouse and now as the meeting place of the leaders of Starnaman’s guilds.

New Town: New Town consists primarily of shops, many of which are owned by families living in Old Town. An almost equal number are family shops with the craftsmen and their families living above or in back of the workshop. New Town is the hub of commerce and industry and is inhabited by a growing middle class. Traders are allowed to enter the town only during daylight hours unless they are guided by a local citizen. The area is primarily dived by the smithies in one section, weavers on the opposite side of the gate, and the potters in the center of town. The remaining sections are taken up by the smaller guilds. Almost directly between the Old Town and the New Town gates is a stone and mortar pedestal supporting a rusted V-150 hull that has been stripped of everything which could be removed. It is a symbol of the town’s will to resist against impossible odds.

Trade Camp: Trading meant letting strangers into the town walls and when this led to trouble, the merchants built Trade Camp, a palisaded compound outside the main gate. It has been operated by the Yates family for almost fifty years and is currently an independent enclave under Taylor Yates. It consists of a “Boarding Tavern” where traders can rent a room, stables, a display area for their goods, and a place where they can meet with the representatives of each of the guilds of Starnaman.

Inside the Fence: as the smithies and shops expanded and their staffs grew, the new wall was again outgrown and a new palisade has grown outside New Town near the well. A tower gate pierces the wall there and has become known as Journeyman’s Gate because the area against the bluff is home to the families of clerks and journeymen of New Town. It has not acquired a name and is simply known as “Inside the Fence”.

Low Town: The inevitable slum grew against the palisade of Trade Camp along the short, weaving wall connecting the Camp and the bluff. It is called Low Town and anybody or anything can be had there.

The Landing: About 1 mile west of the tower on the south side of a smallish peninsula lays the landing. This is an area devoted wholly to the river trade. It is a place for boats to land near the town and it is sheltered from the current of the river. There are several longish jetties’ there along with boat sheds for the winter and small warehouses for perishable goods just arrived or ready to be shipped out. The area is surrounded by a wooden palisade but no one lives there. There is considerable activity here year round during the daylight hours. There is usually at least one boat being built or repaired, cargo being handled, ropes and lines being braided, and traffic coming and going along the river. Some boat crews spend the night onboard their crafts though most prefer Trade Camp. The palisade is lightly guarded at night by a group of dock employees.

6) CENTRAL KENTUCKY
The stronghold of the KFS, where the vast majority of industry, culture and politics are conducted. This is perhaps the safest and most heavily-defended regions in the nation, perhaps the world.

New Manhattan: The political center of the Free State, and its real heart, is "New Manhattan", a city of 30,000 people. The mountain fastness the Five had slept in was a secure base and a starting point for the war against the savages that roamed Kentucky, but as a capitol it was useless. Therefore, 75 years ago the city of "New Manhattan" was founded near what used to be Danville. When construction started three generations ago, the Rich Five designed this city to be a gleaming metropolis of skyscrapers and have gone a long way towards that goal. With its broad, well-lit avenues, its tall buildings and its fantastic wealth (by post-war standards), it is a reminder of the past. But there are jarring dissimilarities…Old Manhattan never had open slave markets between the skyscrapers. The Seventh Regiment (Praetorians) is headquartered outside the city and the Air Force's main base is there also. New recruits for the Army are trained at a base outside of town, with two rifle companies assigned for training.

Louisville: About the same time that New Manhattan was being started, Louisville began to recover. The city had not fared well in the war and was destroyed by a biostrike. First, pockets of the city were rebuilt, then more and more of it was cleared and reestablished. Louisville today has a population of over 100,000 people and it is the largest city in the Free State. It is also the Free State's industrial heart and the base of its river trade. In this city are traders from up and down the Ohio River, and its mills and factories take in all they bring. It is said that if you can’t buy it in Louisville, it ain't worth buying. This city is representative of the Free State’s lower classes, and in its riverfront taverns, boatmen and fur traders rub shoulders with farmers and factory workers.

Bowling Green: Bowling Green and its university are the center of education and research in the Free State, growing to a population of 30,000 people since the war. Not incidentally, they are also the center of dissent and revolutionary activity. Students from all over the Free State and from numerous towns up and down the rivers come to attend “Rockefeller University” (as it is now called). A substantial majority of the Emdees to be found in this part of the nation are trained here. Towns in the Free State often pool their money to send promising students here. The Sixth Regiment (Praetorians) are based outside of this town, as well as one of the three squadrons of the Air Force.

Cave City: The labyrinth of caves in the area are the home base of the "Children of Liberty", an underground anti-government/anarchy group.

Fort Knox Military Reservation: Nuked during the war, today only the northwestern portion of the fort is remotely intact.

7) EASTERN KENTUCKY
The underdeveloped and mountainous eastern third of the state is home to numerous mines, pulling coal and steel out of the hard rock to feed the furnaces of the Free State's industry. Slaves die here by the hundreds, but more and more arrive every day. This area is characterized by small isolated towns and shotgun-toting farmers. Few bandit groups operate in these highlands, as the populace is well-armed and travel is difficult even in summer.

Hazard: A small town of 2,000 (not counting slaves) that grows crops, raises livestock, and works the Knott County Mine. Essentially one giant farm and a big mine. Living conditions for the miners are abysmal.

Maysville: Back in 2011, as the Free State was expanding, there came a threat from the north in the form of Maxwell's Militia (see Indiana for a complete description), another empire growing at the same time. Conflict was inevitable and one week during the summer of 2011, a battalion of Maxwell troops tried to force their way across the Ohio River bridge at Maysville. The bridge was defended by just a platoon of Free State troops, but in a Thermopolye-like action, they managed to hold the bridge against tremendous odds until a relief column arrived. When the Maxwells retreated, there were only three men of the platoon still standing. A memorial to this battle was erected soon after, a large stone stele with the names of the fallen inscribed on it. It is interesting to note that only the names of the three officers killed are on the stele, the enlisted men's names have been lost to history. Over the decades, "The Battle of Maysville" has been a popular rah-rah speech given at military functions and political rallies.

Harlan: This small town up in the Pine Hills of southeastern Kentucky was the original home of the cyrotubes of the Rich Five and their 2,000 supporters. The massive underground redoubt is still occupied and contains the computers that they use to track down the Morrow Project assets in the area. Most of the weapons manufacturing in the Free State is still based around the factories built in or around this mountain hideout. A fact which has made it difficult for the Underground to successfully sabotage them.

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TENNESSEE

The state today is a mix of farming towns and open countryside. Middle Tennessee is controlled by the Kentucky Free State, bounded by the Tennessee River. Outside of this area, there are just insular farming groups. The New Confederates from the south are making subtle inroads into eastern Tennessee.

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

Memphis, SS-17
Knoxville, SS-N-17
Nashville, SS-18M1b
Holston Ammunition Plant, SS-19
Milan Ammunition Plant, SS-19

Discretionary nuclear targets:
Chattanooga, SS-19
Arnold Engineering Center, Manchester, SS-N-8
Watts Bar nuclear reactor, Spring City, SS-N-8

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS
Later...

3) THE KENTUCKY FREE STATE IN TENNESEE
Over the years, the powerful KFS has moved into Tennessee, expanding their boundaries to the south. Today, the Free State controls all of central Tennessee north of the Tennessee River, including the cities of Nashville and Knoxville. Free State influence extends further south into Alabama (see that state), but it is limited to a string of river garrisons there. Towns and trade in this part of Tennessee have similar conditions as in Kentucky (see that state), though as the distance from New Manhattan increases, so do the levels of opposition and dissent. Free State Army forces in Tennessee are strong, but scattered in forts and garrisons. Economic levels and standards of living are not the same as in Kentucky, think of it as sort of a West Germany, East Germany situation.

Resistance: The open plains and rolling hills of central Tennessee are scattered with anti-Free State resistance groups. Whereas some would welcome any assistance from Project team members, others would just as soon as slit your throat for the fun of it. The most active in opposing the Kentuckian rule are the "Volunteers", whose overzealous religious views have kept them from being a larger threat. Not only do actively seek to caste off the yoke of the Rich Five, but they kill anyone and destroy anything that doesn't adhere to their fanatically strict interpretation of Old Testament law. Other resistance fighters are open game if they have "impure" minds and bodies.

4) NASHVILLE

History: Once the center of country music, Nashville was a nice city with a lot of culture and tourism. During the war, the city was hit by a bacteriological warfare warhead, but the expected destructive nuke never came. The anthrax and botulism killed thousands, and forced tens of thousands more into flight. Riots and rampages tore at the city further, along with more epidemics and pestilence. Despite all that, the actual physical infrastructure of the city survived somewhat intact. Thus, Nashville was perfect for a regional base when the Kentucky Free State moved south across the border. most of the population was killed and the rest went to the hills.

Today: Now a large city with a population of nearly 30,000 traders, farmers, slavers and Free State soldiers. Much industry has been developed in the last 75 years, much of it of a military nature. There is a medium-sized tankworks in the city, producing turrets for the M60 series, which are shipped north for final assembly. There is also a motor plant in the city, making engines for trucks and jeeps. The Nashville Airport has been converted into a Air Force Base and a repair shop. With so many factories running, the need for cheap slave labor is constant.

The Fifth Regiment: The Free State Army's Fifth Regiment is based here, with several of its rifle companies spread out in Tennessee and Alabama. The Regimental HQ, along with a Rifle Company, the Cavalry, Artillery and support units are garrisoned at spots around the city. As well, the airfield hosts a detachment of KFS fighter planes, the only base outside of Kentucky to do so. These soldiers are divided up, with a big hunk at the Army Camp, and detachments at the tankworks and at key points of entry.

Secret Police: There are also some 200 Secret Police garrisoned here, though usually about half are out in the field at any time. There is much competition between the Regiment's staff and the SP, who tend to be a bit more bullying this far from New Manhattan. The local SP commander is Colonel Labonte, a young but efficient soldier.

Problems: As with any big city, there are problems to be had with keeping the peace. The devastated northern suburbs are infested with bandits and small-time gangs that often make it difficult for regular people to live and work safely. The Sheriff and his deputies, along with local militiamen, have busy clearing out this area, as the Free State military doesn't want to risk its men. As well, there is the constant problem of off-duty soldiers causing fights outside bars and impregnating local girls. The Regimental commander is considering making it a tribunal matter for troops raping girls.

"Blue Sky": The code name for the underground resistance movement in Nashville. Based in the northwestern suburbs, they are branded as anarchists and agitators. The "central committee" which leads the resistance is 15 locals, some of them prominent members of the community. They meet regularly in the back room of Merlotti's Grill, a local eatery in the Bordeaux area. The three main leaders are Sam Stone (actually a woman, a court clerk) and Arnie Meyer (a respected local dentist). Doctor Meyer treats KFS bigwigs, and occasionally searches pockets and pouches while his patients are under the gas. The Blue Sky organization seeks to one day free Nashville from the oppressive rule of the Kentuckians.

Professor Robert Sparrow: A brilliant scientist now working for the Free State. Sparrow was a Project Science Team Leader, born in 1939 and frozen in 1978 in eastern Kentucky. His bolthole discovered seven years ago by a Secret Police survey group. When the SP discovered his specialty (he taught nuclear physics at Florida State), he was immediately whisked off to Rockerfeller University. There he fell under the sway of other scientists, who convinced him that he could best serve the world by helping the Free State. Soon, this always arrogant man was almost a celebrity in Kentucky, constantly going to parties and entertaining young women when he wasn't lecturing on sciences long since nearly forgotten. Sparrow is currently in Nashville for an unknown reason, but it certainly must be something very important, and is usually holed up in the Governor's mansion. His new bride and their son are here with him also, suggesting that he might be here a long time. Sparrow, when he does go out, is guarded by a special team of Special Police soldiers and approaching him is next to impossible. To see him is to appreciate his celebrity--he is a tall handsome man always impeccably dressed, and surprisingly athletic and healthy for a man nearly 200 years old.

5) NEAR-WESTERN TENNESSEE
This region between Nashville and the Tennessee River is the responsibility of Baker Company of the Fifth Regiment. The Company HQ is at Waynesboro, with a platoon each at Savannah and at Perryville guarding the portage ferry there.

Waynesboro: A small town grown large by luck of being at intersection of several major roads. For many years it has been a military town, currently the home of the HQ and support staff of Baker Company of the Fifth Regiment. The Free State military occupation here is overtly repressive, a result of a recent uprising amongst the slave farmers. Trade and commerce have ground to a halt as traders and merchants now have to pay exorbitant taxes for goods coming either in or out. All guns have been taken, even horses have been confiscated. Travel in the county is regulated heavily, you either have a damn good reason to be out or you end up in the jail. Even the one school in town has been closed, the teachers forced to find other work. Secret Police members from Nashville prowl the town. The local Free State administrators have promised that if the townspeople can go six months without another incident like before, then the harshest of the restrictions will be lifted.

Savannah: Home of Platoon 1 of Baker Company, rotated bimonthly from Waynesboro. They have fortified an old Greyhound bus depot and have another watchpost down on the river bank. They are here to monitor the traffic on the Tennessee River and assure the ferry operates on time.

Fort Campbell Military Reservation: Nuked hard, and then fought over for a decade, nothing much remains here. Occasional Free State patrols camp out here, but no permanent population exists.

"Donelson Temple": A large two-story, brick building, surrounded by a wall, formerly the Fort Donelson National Monument on the Cumberland River. The Donelson Temple is the only known concentration of "Sun and Moon Cultists" in America. These "priests of the temple" do little more than raise gardens and stay up all night looking at the stars. As they have nothing to offer, the Free State has left them alone.

6) FAR-WESTERN TENNESSEE
The remains of Tennessee west of the Tennessee River are not controlled by the Free State. No effective government exists above the local level. Many rural towns are deserted and looted and food shortages due to a localized crop blight are decimating the remaining populations of larger towns.

The ruins of Memphis: Nuked and burned, Memphis has had a hard 150 years. Most of the few remaining standing buildings are dilapidated and packs of aggressive wild dogs run the streets. The population has fluctuated over the years, but is currently on the upswing, with some 400 people occupying decayed, ramshackle structures in the areas along the southern waterfront.

Brownsville: Home to a mangy bunch of farmers, some 300 strong, in the largest town on the Jackson Plains. They are constantly hassled by marauders and bandits, and even slavers from the south.

Bolivar: This town is currently held by a group of slavers working for the Free State. They are about 200 strong and led by "General" Josephus Mitchell, once a Corporal in the KFS Army. The slavers are armed mostly with flintlock rifles but do have some Free State Trade Rifles they have bought "under the table" from greedy soldiers. They have no motorized transportation, just horse-drawn wagons. The currently have about 100 slaves with them, and plan to make the trip back to Shelbyville before the winter comes.

7) SOUTHERN TENNESSEE
Charlie Company of the Fifth Regiment used to be based in Fayetteville, but many years ago moved south to Athens, Alabama (see that state).

Murfreesboro: Once a fair-sized city, Murfreesboro is now just a small farming and trading town, where one passing through can relax, get refreshed and take a nap without worry. Thanks to the proximity to Nashville, the people here enjoy a relatively peaceful living.

Shelbyville: Shelbyville is a slave market town, and is widely feared for that. A common saying in the area is, "Better watch out, or you'll end up in Shelbyville."

Kursk, Tennessee style: On the flat floodplains of the Duck River about 30 miles northwest of the nuked town of Manchester, there is a graveyard of some historical note. In 2014, as the Free State moved inexorably south through central Tennessee, an armored vanguard was met by a mixed force of tanks and infantry. This force was the last remains of the self-proclaimed "Tennessee Nationalist Party", made up of former military personnel and a large body of civilian recruits. In an effort to stop the Free State, they committed the last of their hoarded military vehicles in what was to become their final battle. Indeed, the day long fight was the largest armored battle on American soil and quite probably the last armored battle on American soil for at least the next century. Today, little remains but the rusting carcasses of about forty tanks and armored vehicles.

Maxwell: Currently the winter home of a small but well-armed raider clan, they operate out of "The Estate" the old abandoned Falls Mill (west of Chattanooga) they have converted into an ad-hoc fortress. They are led by a wandering Napoleon's Own named "Arthur", who believes he is indeed the legendary King Arthur. Operating as they do on the fringes of Free State territory, they keep a low profile when not out raiding.

8) NEAR-EASTERN TENNESSEE
This area between Nashville and the Knoxville is protected by Dog Company of the Fifth Regiment. The Company HQ is at McMinnville, with two platoons dispersed at Kimball, northwest of Chattanooga, and at the Tellico Dam along the Tennessee River.

McMinnville: Home of Dog Company's HQ and the bulk of the armor and artillery. The Free Staters have issued a number of "social reform laws" to keep the local counties under control. Despite this, the general citizen lives relatively well, not brutally oppressed, but rather controlled by a set of very strict laws. The one law that has helped keep down on violent resistance the most is the instant death penalty for possession of a firearm. As well, a large reward system for turning in weapons, as well as agitators prone to use them, has been successful.

The ruins of Knoxville: Nuked during the war, the rambling ruins of this city are mostly uninhabited. Norris Dam, northeast of the city, burst 70 years ago, and the river shifted south around the massive concrete structure, flooding a wide area. A small Free State garrison is centered on the remains of the Tellico Hydroelectric Dam on the Tennessee River just southwest of Knoxville. It is Platoon 3 of Dog Company, detached from the Fifth Regiment in Nashville. They have converted the massive structure into a fortress with several howitzers on the roof. The soldiers keep to the area they control, rarely venturing out of their compound. The Platoon's current commanding officer, Lieutenant Rogers, has gone off the deep end lately. Never very stable, the rigors of the job have made him crazy. Though still a dedicated officer and excellent soldier, he has taken up the persona of "The King" behind closed doors, and fancies himself as Elvis reincarnated. Where he learned of Elvis is anyone's guess, but he seems to have an amazing knowledge of the legendary singer, even knowing most of his songs. He is increasingly detached from the day to day operations of his unit, which is de-facto run by the Sergeant.

Cookeville: About 35 years ago, there was a rebellion here against the Free State. The military reacted (perhaps over-reacted) by rolling in and killing nearly everyone in the town. They took out any children under five-years old, and some young women, but shot down everyone else. The burnt ruins have remained a reminder to other local settlements of the dangers of defying the Free State.

Dayton: A town unsafe to visit, as it is held by a strong force of around 10 bandits. These are not your average road-trash, however, they are mostly Free State Army deserters and are well-armed with M-14 rifles and even a .50 cal machine gun.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory: This lab was strangely not nuked, for reasons still unknown. Following the nuclear attacks, however, waves of angry and frightened refugees stormed the facilities, looking for revenge on the scientists who split the atom. Overrunning the security guards, they killed off nearly everyone and ransacked the place thoroughly enough that there is nothing left of value anymore. Fortunately (or not, depending on your point of view), in the hours before the mobs came, the fissionable materials were crated up and shipped by air north to Griffiss AFB outside Rome, New York, where they remain today (see that state). The city of Oak Ridge has been smashed repeatedly over the last century and few buildings remain standing. Today, there are some small settlements at Olive Springs to the northwest and at Solway to the west, home to descendants of Oak Ridge residents. With the long passing of time, the locals now fear the ruins as a superstitious place of death.

9) FAR-EASTERN TENNESSEE
The remains of Tennessee east of the Tennessee River are not controlled by the Free State, though patrols and traders are often found on this side. Eastern Tennessee between the ruins of Knoxville and the North Carolina border is a mountainous forest full of xenophobic rednecks and roving packs of wild animals and anyone who wants to remain safe has long ago banded together for protection. Streams still hold fish and plentiful game is to be had in the forests, so this area will probably always hold a stable population. The New Confederacy is popular in these parts, mostly because of the dissatisfaction with the Kentucky Free State's policies of taxation and slavery.

Bristol: A notable exception to the anarchic rule in the Smokies is Bristol, a prosperous town of several hundred citizens up in the mountains. Some extensive mining operations, run by experienced coal miners from North Carolina and West Virginia, keep the town lit and warm in the winters. Trade with the Free State is brisk, and often Bristol miners are hired to supervise mines in Kentucky. Bristol is clean, organized, well-defended, and powered by a coal-fired generator. The town operates several huge, well-cared-for community gardens to help feed the populace, and have reopened a small clothing factory to trade with local towns.

Bald Mountains: Rumor has it that there is a big bandit clan up near here, though no one knows for sure.

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WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia is still a wild backwater of racism and clan infighting, a region of scenic beauty and less than beautiful people. The rugged mountains appear to be mostly devoid of life, but on closer inspection the state teems with life in the secluded hollows and isolated mountain canyons. Most of West Virginia is composed of small towns and villages that are basically independent. Those along the borders may be allied, but for the most part its neutral ground. The bandits that infest these hills usually travel in small groups, are indifferently armed, and are usually not too experienced, bright or healthy. They can, however, be dangerous to those who let their guard down. None of the larger cities are intact, and little civic leadership is seen above the town and family level.

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

Charleston, SS-17

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS
Later…

3) NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA

Wheeling: Wheeling was one of the easternmost outposts of the once-great Maxwell's Militia (see Indiana for a complete description). When the empire crumbled some thirty years after the war, the garrison at Wheeling was left to its own devices. It prospered for a while, then fell into a stupor. In the last generation, Wheeling has recovered, now becoming a trade center on the Ohio River. Key to this is the intact I-470 bridge, one of the few for hundreds of miles in either direction. The bridge is heavily fortified on the eastern end and controlled by the 30 men of the militia. The city proper is only occupied by about 350 farmers and townspeople.

Glenville: The main enclave of security and civilization in eastern West Virginia is centered on the small Glenville State College campus. As the nuclear winter and the chaos reigned following the war, the survivors at the college managed to create a self-sustaining society that has prospered for the last 150 years. Before the war, there was a large SCA medieval recreation group active on the campus and in the post-chaos years their organization and low-tech knowledge were invaluable. Over the generations, the society of knights and knaves grew and became ingrained in the traditions of the locals. The people of Glenville have some cottage industries operating, mostly involving textile producing and gunsmithing. They also have a distillery to make alcohol fuel and a small shop where they reload empty rounds.

4) CENTRAL WEST VIRGINA

Charleston: The state's lone nuke was a dud. The SS-17 MIRV hit the I-64 causeway across the Kanawha River a few miles west of the city. The warhead did not explode properly and just blew a hole in the causeway and spread solid radiation thick around the immediate area, leaving fused remains of the missile still visible in the shallows even today. The former state capital is now mostly a collection of burnt-out and empty buildings with a brackish river running through it. Charleston is now held by a trio of bandit gangs. Relations between the gangs vary, as temporary treaties and backstabbing are common. At least two of these gangs trace their roots back to the originally residents of the city. In the aftermath of the war, groups of citizens protected their local neighborhoods, and over time they settled into their areas to stay. The largest gang has the unoriginal name of the "Charlestons", and are based around the old National Guard armory in the north side of the city. The armory has been converted into a fort. Rumors say that there is a huge cache of modern weapons somewhere in the city. The cache has remained untouched for 150 years.

Huntington: Caught in a refugee wave, Huntington was nearly destroyed. 150 years later, in most of the city signs of life are limited to a few crows and buzzards. Of humans, there is no sign except an occasional scavenger. However, the outskirts are home to a band of Robin Hood types known as the "Whitetails". They are about 60 strong and are based in the old Heritage Farm Museum south of the ruins of the city. The eastern suburbs are occupied by the "Skin Eaters". They earned their name from their ritualistic cannibalistic activities, which by now have become part of their religion. They are most active at night, although anyone entering their territory is fair game. The Whitetails pick them off whenever they have a chance, but normally avoid contact.

Beckley: The northern suburbs of this ruined city are home now of some 75 farmers. They are led by a man called "Moose". They are well-armed with a mixture of shotguns and flint locks.

Crab Orchard: Near this town, south of Beckley, deep in the coal mines of Wyoming County, is a craggy ridge known as Pine Baugh Mountain. Rumor has it that there is a secret pre-war base hidden down in the bowls of the mines on the crest of the ridge. Some even say that this is where President George H. Bush spent his last days, hiding out from a vengeful nation. In a small lake in the valley east of Pine Baugh Mountain it is said that Air Force One crash landed, backwoods trappers have claimed to have seen its rusting tail plane still sticking up out of the mud.

5) EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA
In this area there are a lot of little independent towns and a lot of isolated farms. Traders from the USA in northern Virginia can be found in almost every town, and the area often seems like a province of that empire.

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VIRGINIA

Though severely damaged by the war and the chaos, Virginia retained a lot of potential for recovery. The large number of military and governmental centers in the state assured that some level of command and control survived the worst of the chaos, even if it was fractured and disorganized. Over time, these elements either dissipated entirely or joined together. Within a generation, a growing hold out of the federal government existed in northern Virginia. 150 years later, the "Federal Government" controls a sizeable chunk of northern Virginia and Maryland, operating from Mount Weather. This area has stabilized and numerous large communities trade and farm in the Piedmont. Throughout the rest of the state, however, conditions varied from thriving farming towns to complete anarchy, with the latter being more prevalent the closer to the North Carolina border you went.

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

Arlington, SS-17
Newport News, SS-18M2
Richmond, SS-N-8
Norfolk, SS-N-8
Redford Ammunition Depot, Pepper, SS-17
Quantico Marine Base, SS-N-8

Discretionary nuclear targets:
Fort AP Hill, SS-18M2
Hampton Roads Naval Base, SS-18M1
Langley AFB, SS-18M2

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS
Mars Team V-2: Bolthole location unknown. Responsible for protection of Morrow installations in the western part of the state.
Unnamed MP bolthole : Deep within Buck Hill Caverns near the small town of Bell's Cove.
Unnamed MP bolthole : In Devil's Slide Cave six miles southwest of Tazewell, southwest of Bluefield, West Virginia.

3) THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
150 years after the destruction of the White House, there is still an actual, quasi-legally determined President of the United States holding court. The Minority Whip of the House survived the war and aftermath, and his descendants have kept alive a functioning government in Northern Virginia still referred to as the “United States of America”. For all intents and purposes, this is the legitimate descendent of the old US government. As such, people might be willing to go along with it while rebuilding the U.S. It would probably take the backing of a group like the Morrow Project to accomplish this, however. Despite the impressiveness of the name, the territory the USA actually control consists only of the area of Virginia around Mount Weather stretching south down the Shenandoah River Valley, across to Charlottesville and Fredericksburg and back north along the Potomac River to the glowing ruins of Washington. Within this area close to 55,000 people now live, mostly involved in farming and mining in support of the government.

The Government: The government of the USA is still nominally a representative democracy, with strong elements of socialism. Elections for public posts are carried out almost annually, with a President elected every four years. The system actually works better than expected, though the sheer number of elected officials constantly running for office can get annoying to the average citizen. The Government has numerous branches dealing with different aspects, including Security, Agriculture, Commerce and Public Health. The overseers of these branches are still called “Secretaries”, though they are elected and not appointed by the President.

Technology: The technological level of the USA is roughly 1920s, more in some areas, less in others. Trains run on several tracks and the roads are in reasonably good repair, especially between the larger towns. There are still automobiles in use, mostly by government officials. Gypsy Truckers like to frequent this area because of the excellent spare part and machinery services offered. Up until just 40 years ago, there were a few ancient airplanes still flying in the USA. Wireless sets keep many people and officials in touch, and crude telephones are used in a few select areas.

The United States Army: The new US Army is really little more than a very strong regional militia. Known as the "Old Guard", a heritage of the nickname of the 3rd Infantry Regiment. The 3rd IR was a ceremonial unit that helped the government evacuate Washington in 1989 and has stayed loyal to their pledge to protect the civilian leadership of America over the decades, being instrumental in ensuring that the fledgling Mount Weather enclave survived the first few decades of chaos. Today, the Old Guard counts about 3,000 men under arms, spread out in northern Virginia with a main base in Front Royal. There is a considerable amount of old pre-war military equipment remaining, including a number of armored vehicles and cannons. Most of the Old Guard's soldiers are armed with pre-war M-16 rifles and is truly a force to be reckoned with. Much additional equipment has been salvaged over the years from the various military installations that dotted Virginia. Parties of soldiers still make occasional trips as far as Delaware and North Carolina searching for weapons and other goodies.

Relations with neighbors: The USA is strictly a regional power, despite its name. It has contact with the Free State in Kentucky, though it is mostly through middle-man traders. It is aware of the 1st Cavalry in Texas, and at times attempts to issue orders to that unit, claiming that it is a unit of the US Army still. Those orders are always denied and often ignored. Relations with the New Confederacy to the south are cordial, with some coastal trade being conducted. A New Confederacy ambassador has recently made the long trip to Mount Weather where he is being wined and dined. Most commerce is done with local towns, using the rivers and surviving roadways as trade routes. The unit of currency for civilians is still the "dollar", though now a uniform unit of silver or gold coinage. The Government uses chits almost exclusively within the empire but trades externally in stamped coins.

Mount Weather: The capitol of the USA since 1990, Mount Weather was the nation's premiere underground emergency facility before the war. Hidden in the carved-out innards of a heavily wooded mountain ridge, the site is on a 434-acre site on the borders of Loudon and Clarke counties near Berryville. Intended to shelter the nation's leaders in the event of a nuclear attack, Mount Weather was a self-contained city, with it's own power plant, TV and radio station, computer network, stores of dried, canned, and preserved food, underground reservoirs of drinking water, living quarters, offices and a direct link to the White House Security Room. Its original residents included computer programmers, engineers, fire fighters, security personnel, craftsmen, secretaries, and mostly importantly, bureaucrats. 150 years later, it still is an impressive place, though much of the sophisticated machinery within has broken down. The computers have been kept intact over the last century and a half by the dry and cool environment of the sealed complex, but the power requirements needed to run more than a few at a time limit their usefulness. Some 250 people live and work in the mountain full-time and the bulk of the political machine is run from here. There is the usual amount of bickering and pandering and the entire political institution now resembles the 18th century French court at Versailles. This is not a good thing, and is perhaps the main reason that the USA has stagnated as a local power for all these years.

Winchester: The administrative capitol and the largest city in the USA, with some 10,000 citizens. Some surprisingly large-scale manufacturing industry operates here, with a crude coal-fired power plant providing electricity. This utility has been kept on for the last 150 years, mostly based on the utilization of century-old equipment and handed-down knowledge.

Front Royal: The military center of the USA, with the Army's training grounds and vehicle pool located here. There are some 6,000 civilians here, mostly farming and serving the military's needs.

Culpeper: Home to 1,000 people, known for a great flea market.

Charlottesville: A farming town of 3,600 people.

Fredericksburg: Home to 950 traders and fishers, this town serves as the main port of the USA, with considerable traffic moving up and down the Potomac River. Shallow draft ships from the New Confederacy often arrive, loaded with a manner of goods.

4) EASTERN VIRGINIA

The ruins of Norfolk: The Norfolk-Newport News-Hampton area was pasted by about a dozen nuclear weapons. The biggest was a 25 megaton city buster which was mistimed and actually smashed through the deck of a tugboat before exploding at nearly sea level in Hampton Roads. Despite this, the very large mega tonnage of the warhead ensured the end of the city. The hits at all the military bases reduced the city's population from 300,000 to 300 in a few hours and destroyed what ships of the US Atlantic Fleet that were still in port. 150 years later, the urban area is just a flattened rubble field. The Hampton Roads channel all the way over to the mouth of the James River is totally obstructed by ancient shipwrecks sunk by the blasts. Current radiation levels make the Norfolk area a dangerous place to stay the night and travelers are very rare. The Highway 13 causeway connecting Norfolk to the peninsula of Northampton was severed in three separate locations, though a few segments still poke up out of the water. Once boasting the best harbor on the East Coast, it will take decades to clear away the sunken hulks of merchantmen and warships from the docks to make them accessible again.

The ruins of Richmond: A nuclear warhead 150 years ago demolished most of the downtown area, leaving little but charred rubble north of the Chippenham Parkway. The ruins are still very dangerous, especially the pools of toxic chemicals that breed mutant animals. The few inhabitants here make a living either farming small plot gardens and sifting over the rubble for overlooked bits of salvage. They are not affiliated with the USA, though traders from the north often come to the area.

Petersburg: South of Richmond, this town still supports a varied population. The southern suburbs are home to a small community of about 450 Latino farmers and hunters, descendents of the city’s large pre-war Hispanic population. As well, the "Peters" have a large enclave in a block of low-rent apartments in the Colonial Heights area. They number around 300 people, but are considerably poorer and more desperate than the Latinos. The Peters and Latinos have been mortal enemies for a century, constantly fighting each other, raiding turf and taking women. This conflict has more to do with survival and food than any ethnic dislike, though rhetoric on both sides would lead one to believe that race is the main issue.

Palmer: At the mouth of the Rappahannock River, this once quaint, little town is now the current equivalent of a minor metropolis. Dusted with radiation from the coastal city nukes and swamped with dying refugees, the town was initially abandoned. With a decade, however, it was obvious that the area was safe and people started to return. Today, with a population of almost 2,700, Palmer now boasts a vigorous fishing industry, as well as some coastal trade in Chesapeake Bay. Though not an official part of the USA, most of Palmer’s trade comes from that empire, both coastal and overland. Because of Palmer’s wealth and location, they have been able to sign a series of very favorable trade deals with the USA.

Williamsburg: The low-tech industries and crafts of colonial Williamsburg would logically be in demand in the chaos after the war. However, the town was nearly completely destroyed by refugee riots and wildfires in the first year after the war. Just a small population of farmers lives here now. Their leader is a Fundamentalist preacher with hidden aspirations to be a king. He would prefer not to be messed with and has turned away traders from the USA for the last year. This has served only to cripple the already slight economy of the town.

Site P: There is a secret Snakeeater base located on the expansive grounds of Fort A.P. Hill military reservation, which was nuked hard during the war. The base was one of the largest in the country and was designed to serve as a command and control center for awakened teams. The top levels were totally destroyed by the nuke hits, concealing the entrance in a huge pile of rubble. Parts of the interior of the base are slightly radioactive, and has cracks have let in water to destroy much vital equipment. About half of the frozen Command Team and the associated Green Berets are still alive, though it is questionable if any outside activation signal can get through. The base holds a considerable stockpile of weapons and ammunition, as well as vehicles and even aircraft. It would take a monumental effort to unearth the base, however, and its location has long been lost to memory. This base is officially known as "Site P".

5) DELMARVA PENINSULA
This sandy peninsula was flooded with refugees from Baltimore and Washington in the days after the nuclear strikes. Once there, they were trapped. All the boats quickly left or were sunk in riots, leaving tens of thousands with no where to go. The northern neck of the peninsula was a wasteland of fire and radiation, and the sea was too wide to swim. It was not long before the first epidemics came to cull the refugee population, taking many of the locals with them. 150 years later, the peninsula still supports just a small population, and there is nothing resembling a regional government.

Quinby: Out on the Delmarva Peninsula, this small town has been quiet for generations. It has a small permanent population, just a few dozen local fishermen operating out of the old harbor there and a couple of craftsmen who produce rope and netting for the fishers. Recently, an Emdee from Pennsylvania moved into the area and is providing medical care and is even acting as an impartial learned judge to settle local disputes. The only problem is the man’s constant sleeping with everyone’s wife.

Pirates: The scattered islands and bays along the east coast are known to be a haven for a group of pirates. They prey both on local communities along the Atlantic coast, as well as the incoming and outgoing trade traffic through the Chesapeake Bay entrance. They are based on the island where the old Cape Charles lighthouse still stands, having converted it into a fortress. They have a shipyard of sorts on the mainland where their boats are built and repaired. The pirates are led by “Shark-Killer Tim”, so named because he supposedly killed a huge mutant shark with just his knife and his hands. Tim has received word that the New Confederacy, not happy with their tradeships being ambushed off the Virginia coast, are planning on sending one of their ironclad monitors up to smash the pirates. Tim would dearly love to capture this ship, preferably before any battle at sea.

6) CENTRAL VIRGINIA

Roanoke: Following the nuclear strikes, the Virginia National Guard unit in this city declared marshal law and armed the police department with stocks from the armory. Thus, order was maintained better than in most similar sized cities. It couldn't last and by the spring, the city had fallen into anarchy. Still, Roanoke refused to die. The people scratched and clawed against the gathering darkness and maintained a semblance of civilization. 150 years later, Roanoke is a prosperous trading center of some 6,000 people, with another 4,000 living in the surrounding farming communities in a 20 mile circle. The city's main commerce comes by selling food and manufactured goods north up the Shenandoah Valley and south along the New River Valley. The USA is a major buyer of goods from here, as are communities further south in North Carolina.

Rockbridge County: Home range of a local white supremacy group called the "Thomas Jefferson Legion". They are well-trained, militant and virulently xenophobic. They are led by several former US Army officers who deserted when they were reprimanded for being too racist.

Danville: A very productive agricultural region, most of the population lives on self-sufficient farms and trades only limitedly. Local farmers are armed and very independent minded, and nothing more organized then an occasional posse ever develops. Crimes are usually dealt with by civic minded individuals who hunt down and lynch the persons accused. The actual town of Danville has just a few dozen inhabitants, most people living in the rural area.

7) WESTERN VIRGINIA
A rugged region of hills and beautifully scenic valleys affected by seasonal floods and droughts. The population is mostly independent Appalachia folk, quick to shoot and slow to change their ways.

Galax: Galax is home to a small monastery run by a group of monks. It is known that the monks keep a large quantity of gold and silver in their complex, gathered from unknown sources. No firearms are allowed in the complex, but the raiders somehow keep their distance. It is rumored that the monks have some sort of "mystic powers" to keep violent people at bay, as well as heal the wounds of locals.

Hillsville: A few months ago, this large farming town was smacked by a huge tornado that came in suddenly and without much warning. The twister caught the settlement unprepared, and killed numerous people and flattened most every large building in the town’s center. Perhaps because of the strain of this disaster, or maybe something else, the town's mayor has gone a bit batty. Always taking his appointment a little too seriously, he has now declared himself the "President of the United Commonwealth of Hillsville" and has become even more driven to protect his people and "his country". He has suggested that a series of high towers be built around the town to watch for any future incoming tornadoes. This actually is a good idea, but far beyond the means of the people of Hillsville, especially in the wake of the devastating storm. The monks in nearby Galax have been strangely silent about this confusion lately.

Lebanon: After decades of poor crops, the population had stabilized at about 100 hunters and gatherers. Then came a horse-mounted bandit gang from North Carolina, who beat the town's small militia in a series of skirmishes this summer. The bandits kidnapped the mayor and his family and are now harassing the citizens. The remaining locals, while outnumbering the bandits three to one, are disorganized, demoralized, and mostly unarmed.

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NORTH CAROLINA

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

Charlotte, SS-N-8
Greensboro, SS-19
Winston-Salem, SS-N-8
Raleigh, SS-N-8
Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, SS-N-8
Charlotte Army Missile Plant, Charlotte, SS-N-17
Seymour Johnson AFB, SS-17

Discretionary Nuclear Targets:
Camp LeJeune, SS-N-17
Cherry Point MCAS, SS-18M2
Brunswick nuclear reactor, Southport, SS-N-8

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS
Recon Team F-22: Bolthole located 6 miles northwest of the town of Spivey's Corner. Frozen on December 3, 1987. Their mission was the reconnaissance of central North Carolina and northern South Carolina. One Commando V-150. There is at least one Psychology Specialist on the team, as the Project was fully aware of the prevalence of racial tensions in the area, which would, no doubt, be exacerbated by the war.

3) OVERALL SITUATION

Situation, pre-war: North Carolina was one of the first areas settled during colonial times. Although famous for its swamps and marshes, most of the state has a very productive agriculture region, producing tobacco, corn, soybeans, cotton, wheat, and peanuts. Besides agriculture the states other major industries included textiles, lumber and paper products, and a small amount of mining. Most industries were located in the crescent formed by Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Raleigh-Durham. The state was home to a large military presence, more then 110,000 Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, and Coast Guard personnel. There was also a large Amerind population, particularly Cherokee and Lumbee.

Situation, the war: North Carolina was hit hard in the War. All of the cities in the industrial crescent were destroyed. Fort Bragg, Cherry Point Air Station, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base were also hit, as was the missile plant near Charlotte. All of the strikes completely disrupted major communication and travel arteries. Shocks from the Charlotte and Winston-Salem bombs cracked the dams along the Catawba River, sending a flood down the river into South Carolina. Although not a nuclear target, the city of Burlington was destroyed when fighting erupted around the Army ordinance depot there. The depot itself was blown up and a good deal of the city went with it. The military survivors from Ft. Bragg, Camp Mackall, and Camp LeJeune spread out and declared martial law. The soldiers who moved out were very capable and led by professionals. Civil order was quickly reestablished.

Situation, post-war: Dependent on external sources for 99% of its energy needs, the economy of North Carolina ground to a halt almost immediately. Although the soldiers kept the peace and distributed supplies as well as can be expected, starvation was common. With the loss of power, the water treatment plants shut down and water supplies quickly became contaminated. Medical supplies were quickly consumed, and diseases of epidemic proportions appeared. The winter of 1989, the harshest on record, killed hundreds of thousands of people. Ten years after the War, only 100,000 people remained alive in the entire state. By the mid-22nd century the population has increased to 300,000.

4) THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND

General: Localities are frequently independent. Governments are usually democratic, and are rarely any larger then countywide. A few areas are controlled by an Overlord of some sort, and even elected governments are corrupt in some places. Most towns have a mayor and sheriff, elected at a town meeting. Town Sheriffs are in charge of the militia, when it is called up. This is infrequent, and is usually done only for escaped murderers and other large scale threats to the peace. There is still a fair amount of military hardware in private hands, salvaged from the many military bases in the state. A large number of people own an M16 assault rifle, though ammunition is scarce. Nearly everyone owns a flintlock. Trade goes on frequently throughout the state, and gold and silver are welcomed as standard currency. Technology is set somewhere in the late 18th century. Water-powered mills process cotton into textiles, timber into lumber, and grain into flour. There is no major steel mill or metal works, but most communities have a blacksmith. Most crafts practiced in the late 18th century can be found in a number of places in the state. Education is not very common and 80% of the population is illiterate. The only surviving college is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with an enrollment of less then 200 students per year. The education is a liberal arts one with a medical school as well. Technical and vocational education is usually done by apprenticeship. Traveling peddlers are very common. All carry a staff, to fend off dogs and highwaymen. Most sell simple household supplies like needles, thread, pots and pans, linens, buttons, simple spices, knifes, pins, beads, and laces. There are a few knife sharpeners, with a grindstone mounted in a one-horse wagon. Traveling cobblers and tinkers make regular circuits. Trappers are also widespread, and many areas offer a bounty for wolf, panther, and wildcat kills.

Groupings: For simplicity, the people of 22nd century North Carolina can be divided roughly into three groups; descendents of Africans, descendents of Native Americans (American Indians), and descendents of Europeans and Asians. While there is some mixing, these three groups are sufficiently distinct to require listing them as separate cultural groups.

Africans: In some parts of the Coastal Plain, people of African descent outnumbered people of European or Amerind descent. Over the years after the war, there have been times when non-Africans were made to feel uncomfortable and encouraged to move. Today, the Coastal Plain is largely populated by these people, and most are essentially similar to Europeans.

Amerinds: At the time of the war, there were more then 65,000 Amerinds in North Carolina. The largest and most visible groups were the Cherokee and the Lumbee. After the war and the general depopulation, all of the Amerind groups began to expand, retaking the land and lifestyle that had once been theirs. Nearly all Cherokee have flintlock rifles or Trade Rifles from Kentucky. 10-20% of any band is composed of men of fighting age and health. The Amerinds of North Carolina take their rights and lands very seriously, and are quick to use force to defend themselves. After the war, the Lumbee began to return to parts of their traditional hunter/gatherer lifestyle. Today, half the Lumbee farm, and half hunt. The Lumbee have blended the traditional and the European. Other tribes in the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont frequently roam all over the state. Hunting in the woods in winter, when deer hides are thickest, turning to the coast in spring and summer to fish and gather shellfish, returning to tribal plots to harvest crops during the late summer. The tribes are always on the move. The Waccamaw tribe now hold several tens of thousands of acres in the Coastal Plain which they jealously defend.

Europeans: These people live throughout the Piedmont and Mountains, living in small towns and on farmland. Farms are usually 15-20 acres at a minimum, and may be as large as 100 acres. Families are large. A family with fewer than 5 children is unusual, while a family with 10 children is not. Illiteracy is nearly universal, and there are few schools. In the mountains especially, the lifestyle is relaxed, as though there was a law against hurrying.

Mutants: North Carolina was hit by a number of warheads, and fallout spread over large areas of the state. Maggots or Children of the Night may be found in some abandoned cities. Giant wolverines, bats, mink, mosquitoes, porcupines, skunks, slashers, snappers, and giant rattlers might be found in some areas of North Carolina.

5) WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

Asheville: The center of a very fertile valley in the mountains. Asheville was spared most of the insanity associated with refugees. Even the destruction of Knoxville didn’t produce many people willing to try to cross the Great Smokey Mountains. Although the east side of the city was abandoned, the rest of the city continued its existence.

Hickory: A trade town along the Catawba River, Hickory also relies on the roads and railroads connecting Winston-Salem, Asheville, and parts of South Carolina. Many of the pre-war industrial plants were abandoned, but a few survived or were modified. Today, wagons, barrels, and railcars are made in town. The rail cars are pulled by oxen, but they are otherwise superb in all respects. The town has almost 600 residents within 5 miles, and another 4,000 within twenty miles.

Lincolnton: In the center of one of the most productive wine areas west of the Catawba River, the town also has a large woolen mill and several mines and quarries. A good deal of lime is mined here, and transported to the neighboring counties. Almost 2,000 people live within the county.

Gasionia: Once a home of dozens of textile mills, Gasionia was hit hard by the war. Refugees from Charlotte ransacked the town, and loss of electricity and consumer demand shut down most of the mills. Today there are three textile mills in the area, all water-powered. There are also iron mines and iron works in town. The nearest thing North Carolina has to a steel mill may be found in Gaston County. Most of the trade that goes on between the interior of the “Catawba Pocket” and New Confederacy South Carolina passes through town.

Lenoir: A small town, Lenoir has less then 100 residents, and only 1,000 farmers and lumbermen within 20 miles. The town is run by an Overlord, Arthur Jackson, a man whose great-grandfather took control of the town using captured National Guard weapons. His troops patrolled the town and prevented any looting and fires. Today, Arthur Jackson is the government; collecting taxes maintaining the peace, and trying court cases. He has a half dozen “deputies” armed with M16s. For the most part, the Jackson’s have been tolerable rulers, no worse then any other elected governments have been.

Morganton: A small town on the Upper Catawba River, Morganton is a major trading post for the mountains. The Catawba is not navigable above Morganton, so river traders often trade with local men in town, who then carry the goods into the mountains. These traders then load their boats with fine furniture, tanned hides, lumber, and gold. The actual pre-war urban center of town has been abandoned, and most of the locals have relocated to the east. There are two lumber mills, a hospital, and a number of furniture makers and wood carvers. The town boasts nearly 400 residents, but the surrounding area has only a few farmers, no more then 2,000 within 20 miles. Another 1,000 local residents are lumbermen and gold miners. A good deal of the gold in circulation in North Carolina was mined here.

Shelby: A small, agricultural trading post, Shelby’s only other industry of note is a small tin mine. The region produces a lot of wheat, some cotton, a small amount of tin and very little else. What little trade the town conducts, is concerned with the export of tin to the east and wheat to the west.

6) CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA

Albermarle: A small town with only one cotton mill, Albermarle is dependent on trade along the Yadkin River, which is not very navigable to the south. All the railroad lines are damaged and unusable. The town’s population is only 74, but there are nearly 3,000 people within 20 miles. Something that might catch the attention of a Project member is that Morrow Mountain is less then 10 miles from town.

Kannapolis: Burned to the ground by refugees from Charlotte, Kannapolis is nearly empty today. It is rumored that a group of Cannibals live here, leaving to attack local farmers at night. A few people have gone into the town to search for useful salvage. Few have returned alive.

Statesville: Home of several important industries, including a large flour mill, a gunpowder mill, and a cotton mill, Statesville sees a lot of traffic along its roads and railroad. There is a large rural population, and there are more than 6,000 residents with 20 miles, in addition to the 750 people in the town proper. Although the government is elected, Iredell County today is notorious for corrupt politics. In one election, nearly 3,000 votes were cast for one candidate, despite there only being 2,000 registered voters. Most of the local mayors, county supervisors, sheriffs, and judges are competing to see who can skim the most money from taxes, bribes, and patronage. Anyone who tries to disrupt the system can find himself in jail at the whim of the sheriff.

Salisbury: Between the Catawba and Yadkin Rivers, Salisbury is an overland route between the two water highways of the Piedmont. Salisbury also has a number of granite quarries nearby, and produces a large amount of dressed stone. There is also a rope plant in the town, and these ropes are traded throughout the Piedmont. Almost 600 people live in town, and 20,000 live within a 20 mile radius. The militia of the town is most often called out to protect the local farmers from attacks from Cannibals from Kannapolis.

Asheboro: A small trading post exists here and a few families have homesteaded near the town. They scratch out a meager existence farming, and occasionally they will supplement their income looking for salvage in the ruins of the old town. The population of the surrounding area is less than 4,000, all living a rural lifestyle.

Chapel Hill: The home of higher learning in North Carolina, Chapel Hill has a number of other industries, including iron mines and soapstone quarries. If any place in North Carolina would lead the unification of the state, it would be Chapel Hill. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has an enrollment of less then 200 students per year. The education is a liberal arts one with a medical school as well. Most of the important books and papers that could be salvaged were turned over to the University. Orange County has nearly 10,000 people, but the militia is not well organized.

Reldsville and Eden: A lot of tobacco is grown in Rockingham County, but the biggest post-war industry has become the mining of coal. There is actually a small coal-fired electric generator. The output of this power plant is rationed by the county board, but some places have electric lights, running water, and even refrigeration. One of the largest gunpowder mills in the state is here. The railroad, which used to run through Greensboro, is being rebuilt towards Chapel Hill. There are 7,500 people in the county.

The ruins of Greensboro/Winston-Salem/Raleigh: All nuked badly during the war, this strip of ruins are mostly avoided, though brave salvage parties still pick through the ruins of the suburbs. This whole area has been termed "The Dead Zone," by the locals. 150 years of reports of strange lights and sounds mixed with strange odors have served to build a paranoia about this area. Maggots, Blue Undead and mutant animals are said to be in the ruins, but few people want to find out for sure.

Durham: The largest city in North Carolina that avoided being bombed, Durham did not survive the loss of electricity. With water, electricity, and sewer services gone, the town became a deathtrap of disease. Today, the outskirts of the town have been re-populated, forming a ring around the ruins. Local farms produce the finest tobacco for an hundred miles. The 4,000 residents of the county are all connected with the tobacco trade.

Lexington: The center of a wheat growing region, Lexington is also one of the mints of North Carolina. Nearly all of the silver coins in the state are mined and minted here. The population of the area is nearly 5,000, and the militia is very well-organized, especially around the mines. The sheriffs and deputies have fully automatic M16s and a lot of ammunition.

The ruins of Fayetteville: Abandoned when Fort Bragg was destroyed. The fallout that spread across the town has ruined agriculture in the region. Even people making their living on salvage will stay away from this place. This town has “that curse of the radiation”.

7) EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
The gently sloping pine and oak forests of the coastal terraces are home to a number of small settlements. These people are generally insular, keeping their trade and travel limited to the immediate region. Along the coast, in the marshy swampland and river mouths, several large port towns have become centers for the active coastal trade routes.

Greenville: A large farming town with a problem. Swept by an epidemic of anthrax this summer, the rat population has blossomed and typhus is certainly coming soon. Many of the people have fled north and east, out to the countryside. The hope is that the winter will help kill off the rats enough to allow the town to be repopulated.

Kinston: A few hundred Black Muslims are now living in the old town of Kinston. They are led by a man named Abraham, and despite being heavily-armed and strongly Islamic, they have given the other local farmers in the county no trouble and even try to help them out on occasion. This Islamic community has its roots in a band of travelers from New England whose boat was shipwrecked off Morehead City in a squall. After spending several years in Morehead City, they were obliged to move further inland to find a place where people were more accepting of them. The small farming settlement of Kinston was happy to accept this influx of people to help with the farms and fields.

The ruins of Camp Lejeune: Back in the war, the submarine-launched missile targeted on Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base suffered a propellant malfunction in the atmosphere. The warheads scattered about 50 miles to the northwest. The base’s reprieve was short-lived, however, as the base took a nuclear cruise missile the next day, destroying much of the infrastructure. At the time of the war, the base’s resident division was spread across the planet, leaving only support and training staff to try and survive the war’s aftermath. The nuke hit, plus the raging riots and epidemics doomed the survivors and the base was abandoned by the end of the year. Today, little remains that hasn’t been looted or battered to pieces by summer storms.

The Dead Zone: The informal name given to the area around Clinton and Warsaw, where the errant nuclear warheads fell in 1989. While radiation counts have fallen to a point where travel through the area is possible, few people have the desire to do so. Wild reports of mutant wildlife also serves as a deterrent to wanderers and travelers.

Morehead City: This port town is a minor trade center, serving as a companion port to Wilmington. Ships come and go regularly and the residents have grown fairly rich on the business of serving the traders and sailors. Much trade is done both with the New Confederacy and with the USA in Virginia. As the New Confederacy has difficult relations with the Wilmington community, nearly all that empire’s seacoast trade stops here exclusively. There about 1,800 people living here now, many of them the families of traders who have decided to base their operations out of here. There is an old Coast Guard station at Fort Macon offshore, and a single cannon-armed sailing cutter assists incoming tradeships, as well as patrolling the Intracoastal Waterway for pirates and smugglers. Home to the "Morehead Militia", a unit raised from local residents. Manpower is 200 men divided into four companies. Each company serves for one week each month (so approximately one fourth of the unit’s manpower is available at any time), unless the entire unit is called up for some reason. The militia is relatively well-equipped, with about half armed with pre-war military weapons and the rest with an assortment of black powder rifles and melee weapons. The Militia is headquartered in the old police station. Over the decades, the Militia has had a working relationship with the Marines down in Wilmington. The Marines have trained a number of Militia commanders, as well as providing some weapons and ammunition, in exchange for favorable trade concessions for Wilmington fishermen.

Wilmington: With its docks and infrastructure intact untouched by the bombs and the majority of the chaos, Wilmington has retained a relatively comfortable life over the last 150 years. Many of the people here are the descendents of the 8th Regiment, a US Marine unit that made its way to Wilmington in the aftermath of the war. Settling down here, the Marines set about securing the port from outside forces and maintaining internal stability. Very soon, the Marines realized that they were alone in this new world, the last organized US military unit left in this part of the nation. The nuclear impact zones to the north of the port ruined a great amount of once-productive farmland, and killed off thousands of people in small towns in the area. However, the misses also served to steer most of the refugee streams from the cities away from Wilmington, which turned out to be the single most important reason that the town survived those first few years.

The Marine staff worked with the community leaders in Wilmington to meet the citizens’ needs, distributing food and supplies as best they could, and helping to control the fear and desperation that was commonplace in people. Things were going fairly well until the newly-resurgent New Confederacy movement took an interest in Wilmington. A NC force marched up from South Carolina and attempted to take the town. The Marines still retained much of their pre-war weaponry, and with their training and defensive positions, the NC force was soundly beaten. The New Confederacy pulled back immediately and has never tried to interfere with Wilmington since.

Wilmington then settled down into a century of farming, fishing and making babies. The Marines have always remained an important part of the community, though over the decades of relative inactivity they have become more of a militia. The still-hot wastelands to the north have served to isolate Wilmington from the rest of the state, allowing it to grow and prosper without too much outside stress.

Trade is conducted up the coast with Morehead City and coastal communities around the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Relations with the New Confederacy have been cool but cordial for the last century, with very little trade and contact taking place. Long-range Marine patrols occasionally penetrate into NC territory looking for loot or chasing bandits, but neither side has the heart to challenge the order of things. The New Confederacy has its own, much bigger, problems with the Kentucky Free State looming over its northern border.

There are rumors that across the Atlantic in West Africa there exists a large empire, based on the ideas and organization of the old USA. This empire was founded by US Marines and sailors who gathered there after the war. It is thought that when (if) these people venture back to America, a sense of military heritage might bring them to the old ruins of Camp Lejeune, and by default into contact with the Marine descendents here. (Thanks, Michael Cessna)