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

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SECTION SEVEN: The Deep South (Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida)
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MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi has seen better days. Badly damaged during the war, both by direct action and the subsequent collapse of the economy, Mississippi was thrown into a state of anarchy that it has really never come out of. There are no large "empires by any definition" in the state, and what communities still exist are insular and often fiercely independent. Only along the rivers is there anything remotely civilized.

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

Jackson, SS-N-17
Columbus AFB, SS-18M1

Discretionary nuclear targets:
Keesler AFB, SS-N-8
Camp Shelby military reservation, SS-N-17
NASA test site, Picayune, SS-17

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS
Unnamed MP bolthole: Located beneath an old maintenance shed near the Mount Olive exit on US-49 southeast of Jackson.

3) MISSISSIPPI RIVER BANK
Several communities along the river at the various lock sites serve as portages for the vital barge traffic that flows along the river. Since nearly all the barge traffic is sponsored or affiliated with the Kentucky Free State in some way, many of these communities host Free State "commercial agents".

Greenville: Fairly typical of the smaller river towns along the eastern bank, Greenville receives much trade and travel from upriver and is steadily growing in size. The Highway 82 bridge spanning the river to Arkansas collapsed a century ago and much of the cross-river traffic is done by a large ferry that uses a horse-drawn rope system capable of carrying anything up to a five-ton truck. The town's mayor has a problem, it seems that his hottie daughter likes to sleep with all the men in town. Two days ago, she was raped by one of the KFS trade representatives, a slimy and pompous man named Slater. The man is currently holed up in the KFS compound overlooking the ferry dock, warning that if any harm comes to him the Free State will come with the torch. While this might be just an idle threat, the mayor and the police have yet to act.

Vicksburg: A bustling city, home to 3,800 souls, and the largest river enclave between Memphis and the Gulf. The river traffic is steady and the city has become a vital stopping point on the Mississippi River for both commercial and travel purposes. As the I-20 river bridge is still up, there is also a fair amount of overland travel and trade into and out of Louisiana from here. People live well here, better than anywhere else in the state by far.

Hero: The security forces of the city have recently declared victory in a year-long campaign against several regional bandit clans. For a while, these outlaws were quite a problem for the farms that fed the city. A rather brilliantly organized offensive by the city's horsemen caught the largest group in a vice in the Delta National Forest, and then scattered the other group five months later in a surprise attack on their camp near Brownsville. The entire campaign was planned and executed by Colonel Beauregard, who has since achieved nearly cult status in Vicksburg.

The Trail of Tears: Ten years ago, a trader from Vicksburg discovered a working oil pump along the Pearl River in Marion County, about 100 miles southeast of Vicksburg. Within a year, an overland route had been established across the barren and dangerous Pine Hills country. Mule caravans carrying barrels of unrefined crude oil follow the trail about a dozen times a year, less in the summer months. The oil is then traded as-is to river merchants, most from the Free State. The trail route is fraught with danger, from bandits as well as mutant animals, thus the nickname.

4) NORTHERN PLAINS
The northern parts of the state have seen fields dry up and people flee in large numbers over the last century, leaving few pickings for marauders and bandits who have scoured the area of nearly anything left of value. Any bandits encountered will be of the local boy variety, mostly armed with little more than spears and knives.

Amory: The largest survivor community in the northern half of the state, living off the infrequent trade and travel on the Tombigbee River. Amory is currently controlled by a racist overlordship led by a man named David Knowles. Knowles has set himself up as "king of his own country" and is busy enslaving anyone who wanders by. His followers number some 100, well-armed, but complacent with having it so easy lately. He is very short of reliable ammunition, however, and has been seeking someone to trade with him for more. He is considering becoming a slaver for the Free State, as they can offer him ammo for slaves. Knowles' men are beginning to patrol the hilly terrain of the Pontotoc Ridge region, trying to see how many potential slaves actually live in the area.

Columbus Air Force Base: Nuked during the war, this air base is now just a deserted shell. There is a intact bunker under one of the hangers containing some very valuable technology of an "experimental nature". Anyone with the ability to raise tons of rubble in a highly radioactive wasteland is welcome to it.

Ripley: The dusty ruins of this small town along Highway 15 are the current hide-out of a surprisingly well-organized band of outlaws. There are perhaps a dozen armed men in the group, along with an equal number of women and children dependents.

The lost Thunderbolt: In a wooded ravine in the old overgrown Holly Springs National Forest is a crashed Free State P-47 fighter plane. The plane was being flown out of a base in Tennessee on a recon flight a month ago when it suffered a mechanical failure and crashed. The pilot, a young man from a Danville military family closely related to the Rich Five, died instantly in the accident. A large search effort was launched across the Tennessee River soon after the loss, but they were looking in the wrong area and never found the wreck. The site was found, however, by the outlaw band from Ripley. Among the items they retrieved from the plane was the man's diary. In it, he describes the dark underbelly of the Rich Five, complete with many revelations of incest and patricide amongst the Rockerfellers, who his family served as estate guards. One of the outlaws can read and has seen the value of this diary to the underground movement fighting against the Free State. Now they just have to find a way to get it to the underground.

5) CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
A wasteland of bone-dry fields and mutant mosquitoes, unbearably hot in the summer. Epidemics hit this area hard every few decades, severely reducing the scant population every time. There are now no functioning settlements above the family farm level in this area.

Meridian: Almost completely abandoned as the droughts depleted the food reserves to the point where the town collapsed. The total population is now only four squatters who mainly spend their time playing cards.

The ruins of Jackson: Nuked during the war, this ruined city is often called "The Deadhole" by local travelers. Now just home to a few scavengers and Blue Undead, many of the later congregated around one of the MIRV craters in the eastern part of the city.

Grenada Lake: Now just a marshy, shallow bog, the Grenada hydroelectric dam having collapsed decades ago. This area is home to a small population of people, living off the fish and fowl in the marsh.

Interstate 55: This north-south freeway is in terrible shape. Scrub oak, thin locust and brush have broken it up in many places and wind storms have nearly covered it completely for long stretches. The hilly stretches through the Bluff Hills are especially damaged, by washouts and sun cracking. The route is rarely traveled, but does provide an easy navigation aid for local traders.

6) SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
In the southern part of the state, the fishing trade along the Gulf Coast is the main occupation. The people tend to be more independent than others, resulting in a shrinking gene pool.

The ruins of Biloxi: During the war, Keesler Air Force Base was hit by a nuclear weapon. The damage was enormous and the fires raged for weeks. The area of total devastation stretched from I-110 in the east to I-10 in the north to Popps Ferry Road in the west. The surviving citizens buried their dead as best they could, until the sheer numbers got out of hand and the survivors fled to the north. The dying did a fair amount of pillaging and looting on their way out and most of the city was reduced to ruins. 150 years later, no one lives between Biloxi Bay and I-10 at all. Through a freak of wind patterns, much of the initial fallout fell out to sea, and today Biloxi's radiation levels are relatively low, though this is not common knowledge.

Gulfport: In the immediate aftermath of the nuke on Biloxi just fifteen miles away and the crazed rioting and panic that followed, the US Navy evacuated the naval base here amidst much violent rioting and fighting. There has been some planning by various empires over the last century about salvaging the naval docks and shipyards, but there has never been any resources available for such an undertaking. After 150 years of neglect and looting it is doubtful that anything of value remains, anyway.

Ansley: A quite fishing hamlet on the sandy shores of the Gulf, populated by about three dozen people. Surprisingly, this small settlement have a batch of special crossbows capable of throwing a bolt a considerable distance with great force. These weapons are quality-built, not thrown-together, and show a degree of design and craftsmanship unheard of to simple fishermen.

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ALABAMA

Alabama is largely barren and severely depopulated. It is a state of independent villages, living mostly along the larger rivers or the coast. The Free State of Kentucky has been making inroads into the interior of Alabama for many years now, and perhaps at some point will annex it completely. The droughts have hit Alabama hard in the last decade, especially in the Red Hills. Most of the remaining citizens have moved into the larger towns along the rivers where there is still food to be had, leaving vast tracts of countryside to trappers and hunters.

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

Birmingham, SS-17
Mobile, SS-N-8
Montgomery, SS-18M1b
Anniston Army Depot, SS-N-8
Redstone Arsenal, SS-17
Fort McClellan, SS-17
Browns Ferry 1, 2, 3 nuclear reactors, Decatur, SS-N-8
Farley 1 nuclear reactor, Washington County, SS-N-17

Discretionary nuclear targets:
Maxwell AFB, SS-18M2
Fort Rucker, SS-17
Bellefonte nuclear reactor, Scottsboro, SS-N-8

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS
Later…

3) NORTHERN ALABAMA
Northern Alabama is controlled by the Kentucky Free State, from the Tennessee River north. The situation in this area is roughly the same as in Tennessee.

Athens: The Free State Army unit here is Charlie Company of the Fifth Regiment from Nashville. This company is a bit over-strength at 180 men, thanks to many locals who have volunteered for the promise of better food. Enough extra men, in fact, that a detached platoon is stationed in Florence to the west. The garrison sends out patrols in squad strength, usually augmented with one or two vehicles. Irregular overland convoy service is operated with Florence and Gadsen.

The ruins of Huntsville: Nuked so hard it glows, nothing lives in the Huntsville area. Rumors persist, however, that there are still intact bunkers full of some very powerful experimental equipment beneath the scoured remains of the Space Center.

Florence: The large town of Florence is home to some 600 citizens, mostly living along the river bank. Florence is garrisoned by the 40 men of Platoon 3 of Charlie Company from Athens. The town also boasts a local militia unit organized and led by the Free State soldiers. Unusual to the Free State, these militiamen are treated as almost equals to the Free State soldiers, though they are not given modern weapons.

4) COOSA RIVER VALLEY
The Coosa River valley cuts through the center of the state, a fertile valley of farms and small river trade settlements. The Coosa is the major trade artery funneling goods and foodstuffs between the northern agricultural town of Gadsen, south through the countryside past the ruins of Birmingham to Montgomery, where the Coosa River turns in the Alabama River, which heads south to Mobile and the sea. As such, between Gadsen and Montgomery, it is characterized by a string of river towns, all prospering off this trade.

The Tenth Regiment: This is a field Regiment of the Free State Army based in Gadsen and responsible for security and policing the river traffic. The HQ is in Gadsen, and various subunits are spread south along the river all the way to Montgomery. It is not a combat unit, per say, more a Military Police and tax collection unit. It also has no idea what kind of trouble it is in for.

Spartans: The Executive Officer of the Regiment, along with a Company commander, are members of the Spartan resistance organization (see Kentucky). They have taken advantage of their relative isolation and distance from New Manhattan to try and influence their men and impose a strict Spartan-like code of conduct in the Regiment. They have been trying to do this without arousing the suspicion of their superiors or New Manhattan, and so far have been able to simply come off as strict disciplinarians, which is not a bad thing out on the frontier. The Regiment's commander is not a Spartan, but has allowed his XO to set the pace for the Regiment, aware of the dangers of operating on the fringes of the empire. The CO is a member of the Five Families, and as such is allowed to run his unit pretty much as he sees fit. So far, the two Spartan officers have managed to "convert" a number of junior Lieutenants and NCOs to their cause, though secrecy is air-tight. It's not that the CO is oblivious to the rumors and hints that something is going on, he is just very concerned with maintaining his position of power, and so far no one has risen to challenge him. Indeed, the Spartans are counting on the CO's blind eye to continue their work of turning all the officers to their cause. Just a whiff of suspicion has been detected in New Manhattan, though the stellar reputation of the Regiment's commander has so far kept the Secret Police from trying to meddle too much. An out-and-out revolt is probably out of the question, but there is some thought that if the Spartans ever do make a move on the government, they will need loyal military units to help them.

Gadsen: While not technically part of the Free State, Gadsen is virtually owned and operated by them. Free State money oils the wheels of politics and commerce, and Free State soldiers guard and monitor the town and the river traffic. Perhaps half of the 2,600 total civilians here still live in the city limits, with the rest being spread out in the county on small farms. The HQ, Artillery and Support Companies of the Tenth Regiment are here, with about 500 men, but only a few armored vehicles.

Below is a list of the four towns with Cousa River garrisons in them, north to south.

Ohatchee: South of Gadsen, this town is home of the Tenth Regiment's Able Company (120 men).

Pell City: About 30 miles south of Gadsen, Pell City is home of the Tenth Regiment's Baker Company (120 men). This company's commander is the other Spartan and nearly all his NCOs are closet Spartans. The camp is surrounded by multiple rings of wire and crude pillboxes made from sandbagged rubble piles. They have the bulk of the Regiment's armored vehicles, including a Cavalry Troop with eight V-300 armored cars.

Childersburg: Further to the south, Childersburg is home of Charlie Company (120 men). These men have three V-300 armored cars and two deuce-and-a-half trucks.

Wetumpka: To the south, Wetumpka is now home to Dog Company (120 men). These men have built a fortified position around the local town hospital (the largest and strongest building still standing in the town). They have some vehicles at their disposal including a V-300 armored car and two cargo trucks.

5) CENTRAL ALABAMA
Characterized by isolated farmsteads and rolling hills and hardwood forests. The droughts have driven most people towards the rivers or the coast, leaving the interior to the wildlife and the die-hards.

The ruins of Birmingham: Birmingham, once the largest city in the state, is now just a rubbled sprawl populated by scavengers and mutants. Birmingham is known for its large colonies of Maggots.

Tuscaloosa: A large independent town along the Black Warrior River struggling to survive. While much of the city was destroyed in the riots and chaos of the war, the southeastern part of the city survived intact enough to now support a large population of some 3,000 people. They mostly occupy the area from the river south to the old I-59/20 bypass.

Anniston Army Depot: Nuked with most of its "prize" content (like spare parts for tracked vehicles, refurbishable AFV hulls, heavy weapons ammunition, etc.) having been carted off by evacuating soldiers or smashed by looters long ago.

The ruins of Montgomery: Blasted to atoms by ten nuclear warheads, Montgomery is now just an overgrown charred field of rubble. Few people live here anymore, and the Blue Undead outnumber the normal humans two to one. The Alabama River was blocked for a time, creating a large lake that swamped parts of the ruined city, but has since broken through again. The river is navigable past the ruins and is used frequently by traders.

Selma: Home base of the "Johnny Rebs", the nickname of the "First Alabama Regiment". This is an actual unit which fought at the Battle of Gettysburg before being converted into a state militia. In the last 150 years this group has been a citizens' militia, a rampaging band of brigands, an efficient cavalry force, and has had a high of 1,500 men to being reduced to six men. Today, and for the last twenty years, they are a proud militia serving the 550 farmers of the Selma area. Their numbers are just 60 men, but due to the low population densities, they are able to effectively patrol much of Lowndes, Dallas and Perry Counties. Contact with Free State traders from the north has the militiamen feeling inadequate and looking to improve.

5) SOUTHERN ALABAMA
More and more settlements have been growing their populations as the droughts have forced people south. Outside of the gutted ruins of Mobile there are only scattered settlements and isolated family farms between the Gulf coast and Montgomery. The Gulf coast is known for a number of prosperous, if small, fishing villages. The Albany Presidency across the border in Georgia is the only organized group with traders in this area, though the occasional Free State merchant can be found.

The ruins of Mobile: Nuked during the war, Mobile sat empty and burning for several decades before people started to come back to the area. Today, there are several small settlements along the Alabama River. These people fish and trade on the river and in the Gulf, but rarely venture into the ruins of the city. The largest settlement is located at a fortified stronghold on Pinto Island.

Fort Rucker: This large training base was nuked during the war, but some of the structures in the northern part survived the fireball. Visited by salvage patrols from the Albany Presidency a few years after the war, little of real value remains at the base. The long-abandoned base is now the home of a bandit clan called the "Knights" led by a burly woman named "The Amazon". They have total control of the old fort and the nearby towns of Enterprise and Daleville. The Amazon's "palace" is in the remains of the Aviation Museum on post, with her throne being the ejector seat out of an AH-64 Apache. They conduct foraging raids as far afield as Florida and Georgia, where they have had unusual success avoiding the patrols of the Albany Presidency. While not affiliated with the Slavers that have moved into the region of late, the Knights are welcome to have them between them and the Albany military.

Slavers: A series of small Slaver encampments have recently sprung up, supported by the KFS. These encampments are used to raid Lower Alabama, the Gulf Coast, and Florida for slaves. Some senior officers in the Albany Presidency have secretly agreed not to interfere in return for some specialized repair parts from the KFS to keep the Albany Presidency equipment functional. (Thanks, Jim "Jamming")

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GEORGIA

Georgia is split between several regional empires. The Albany Presidency controls the southern lowlands, and the New Confederacy the strip along the Savannah River. The rest of the state, from the nuked cities to the isolated farm houses, is a mixed bag of independent farming towns and mini-empires, all vying for the best fields and rivers.

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

Atlanta, SS-N-8
Columbus, SS-16
Savannah, SS-19
Atlanta Army Depot, Forest Park, SS-N-8
Fort Benning, SS-17
Fort Gordon, Augusta, SS-17
Robins AFB, SS-17
Turner AFB, SS-18M2

Discretionary nuclear targets:
Edwin Hatch nuclear reactor, Baxley, SS-17
Fort Stewart, SS-N-17
King's Bay sub support base, SS-18M1

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS
Gamma 3 Regional Agricultural Base: Located off of Highway 30/280, between the small towns of Milan and Rhine.

3) THE SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY
The lush Savannah River valley between the sea and the nuked remains of Augusta is firmly within the New Confederacy Empire (see South Carolina) for a complete description). Trade is conducted up and down the river, with goods flowing from the cities in northwestern South Carolina down to the sea where they are shipped off to far away ports. Fish and manufactured goods from coastal communities make the trip back up the river, with numerous stops along the way to serve settlements. There are a string of these river towns that cater to the traders, and garrisons of NC Army troops make sure nothing interferes with the river.

Savannah: Something weird happened to the SS-19 that was bound for Savannah, making it spill its warheads far out in the Atlantic. Luck, however, was only partial as nearby Fort Stewart absorbed three nukes. Spillover pressure damage and flash fires ravaged a goodly portion of the western third of the city. Fires burned for weeks and nearly 70% of the population died. While damaged to some extent, the part of the city north of the Savannah River survived the worst of the chaos and formed the core of the new city. Its vital strategic location on the mouth of the river made its reconstruction a prime concern for the New Confederacy Empire. Today, some 9,500 people live in the area, most of them in the floodplains across the old state border. Savannah boasts an effective civic government and enough infrastructure to keep the citizens happy. Trade is king here and the city has a very cosmopolitan feel about it. Fishing provides the bulk of the food for the enclave, supplemented heavily by locally-grown crops in the fertile river bottom and by imported foodstuffs. The New Confederacy Army's "Savannah Brigade" is garrisoned in the port. Total manpower is some 500 soldiers with another 500 trained reserves available for call-up if needed. These men mostly check incoming ships for stowaways and pirates and watch the frontiers for bandits.

The NC Navy: The New Confederacy's "Atlantic Fleet" is based in Savannah. There is just one pre-war oil burning warship left, but numerous newer ships. This warship is over 150 years old and has been manned by successive generations of sailors. It is kept running and afloat with ingenuity and baling wire, with the help of numerous parts hulks in harbors around the Empire. Crudely distilled fuel oil is available, but is rationed so that this older ship mostly sits at anchor for years at a time. In addition to the old warship, the NC Navy has been slowly building up a fleet of old-style Ironclad monitors. These are based loosely on post-Civil War designs and are built at the shipyard at Savannah. Production rates are slow, of course, as it usually takes about six years to construct each Ironclad. Currently there are four Ironclads in service, one more working up, another about 75% completed on the slips and another with just the keel laid so far. There is a hodge-podge of sailing tradeships, fishing trawlers and skiffs in Savannah, all obligated to enter NC Navy service if an emergency arises. There are also a large number of river barges here (some converted to passenger service).

Old Dog: The old pre-war warship here is the Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate FFG-32 John L. Hall. The John L. Hall fought all though the nuclear war before returning to America in January of 1991 when her missiles and torpedoes were all gone and her stocks of food were expended. Abandoned at Savannah by her crew as unserviceable, she was taken over by the New Confederacy when that movement reached Savannah. Over the generations, the frigate has been rebuilt half a dozen times, and by now bears virtually no resemblance to the pre-war OH Perry class. Her name has also changed a dozen times, but lately has been called the Carolina. Overall naval command in Savannah is directed from the Carolina, which is still the Atlantic Fleet flagship.

Ironclads: The Ironclads have been named the Reuben Johnson class (a famous New Confederacy politician and champion of the Navy in the 2080s). They are scaled-down recreations of the Amphitrite class of seagoing monitors from the 1870s, the plans for which were discovered in a museum in Savannah. These ships are shallow draft monitors, about 1,700 tons and about 200-feet long. They are armed with black powder smoothbore cannons firing both solid shot and grapefruit, and mount numerous smaller guns for close-in protection. There are currently four operational, all based at Savannah, but occasionally serving at other ports for a season or two. These ships, despite the dated design, are quite powerful and more than a match for anything that anyone else can field (remember, the KFS doesn’t have a navy).

Fort Pulaski: Offshore of Savannah, Fort Pulaski is an old disappearing-gun emplacement that was a museum since the 1970s. Lots of dead-end tunnels, ports to nowhere, mysterious passages. The New Confederates operate a lighthouse on the island now. The men here have been hearing strange noises out of the old fort for sometime now--dragging chains, low moans, eerie scratching. No one is brave enough to go down into the tunnels to find out what is going on.

The ruins of Augusta: Nuked heavily during the war, virtually no humans still live in the city. At Augusta, the Savannah River is mostly blocked by rubble, collapsed bridges and sunken ships. This has meant that a large lake has formed north of the block, which has nearly swamped out the entire ruined city of Augusta. The narrow channel that the constricted river rushes through has got to be one of the best Class Five rapids in America. The actual port where the ships load and unload is several miles downriver.

New Port: This was once a tiny unnamed put-in for fishermen and kayakers along the east bank of the river. Since the war and the alteration of the river, this small area has grown to be the main upper river port for the New Confederacy. A new town has been slowly built, with some 2,000 people now living in the area. Several docks and gantries have been constructed to serve the ships and numerous bars and whorehouses have sprung up to serve the sailors. A well-maintained road heads northeast from here, connecting with old Highway 25, the main trade route to the cities up north.

4) NORTHERN GEORGIA
The top third of the state is a mix of empty, overgrown areas and isolated fortified islands. The closer you get to the Savannah River, the more the New Confederacy's influence grows. The closer to the Tennessee River, the more often you can find Kentucky Free State soldiers and commercial agents. In the hinterlands, there is often nothing but dirty farmers and trappers. Frequent droughts, famines, and forest fires keep any hope of organization down, and have reduced the population to very low levels. Only around Atlanta is there any semblance of civilization.

Gainesville: The farmers in this town northeast of Atlanta are currently being harassed by well-organized bandit clan. The clan has 60 members armed with various weapons, though none modern. They are based at the old town hall and have caused trouble for nearly everyone in town. The bandits have been making raids into Alabama, using their fast horses to give them immense mobility. They are unaware that a force of New Confederacy soldiers is looking for them, though in the wrong place.

Athens: East of Atlanta, Athens is now garrisoned by a platoon of New Confederacy infantry. From here they are pursuing the bandit clan that has been causing some trouble in the region lately. They received false information that the bandits were in nearby Winder, when if fact they are in Gainesville. The platoon has 45 soldiers, well-armed and mounted in two trucks.

Blue Ridge: Home of a band of Kentucky Free State Army deserters, ultra-racists who thought the Free State was too soft on minorities. They call themselves the "only true pure white military organization" left in America. They are dedicated to killing anyone who is not like them. First on the list are minority races, followed closely by half-breeds and anyone who opposed their ideology. This killing is done to "purify the human race" and remove any trace of the "lesser races". There are just a dozen soldiers here, though they make enough noise for a battalion. They seem to be more concerned lately with finding women than purifying the human race.

5) ATLANTA

The War and aftermath: A pair of 2 megaton warheads struck the Atlanta area. The firestorms swept through those areas of the city which were not in rubble, destroying many of the structures that had survived the blasts. Over 90% of the native population died in the first two weeks and much of the city was reduced to a uniform layer of charred rubble.

Maggots: There were many survivors, of course, usually people who were in bomb shelters, and others who were in subways and deep basements by chance. These people waited for their chance to come out again, in trickles and ones and twos. These survivors formed the basis of the current population of Atlanta. Not all the humans came out of the dark, however, many staying down underground. Down here, the radiation and disease, combined with a limited gene pool, spawned horrible mutations. These half-human creatures, generally called Maggots, are vicious killers and live in uncounted numbers in tunnels and caverns beneath the ruins. At first, they were killed on sight by the normal humans as they were easily spotted. Then one day, perhaps 30 years ago, a normal looking man named Tom Jones wandered into the Atlanta area. He went into the tunnels and never came out. The people were sure he was killed immediately, but they were wrong. This man was a Warlock, a mutant himself despite his normal appearance. In a short time, Jones had become the ruler of the Maggots and they did his bidding for him. Since then, the Maggots have waged near constant war on the large normal population above ground.

Tom Jones: Jones is a super-mutant Warlock, one of the rarest of mutations found in the world today. He is over 170 years old, though he stopped ageing the day he was exposed to a massive dose of radiation during the nuking of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Jones might possibly be the first Warlock born of the nuclear war, perhaps the wisest and certainly the most powerful. For years after the war, he wandered the South as his powers grew steadily. Finally, he recognized his own immortality and it drove him crazy. His search for other Warlocks like him was fruitless and he eventually wandered into Atlanta. The Maggots seemed to recognize his powers and he became their leader. Jones's powers are amazing and dangerous. He can control the Maggots, as well as normal humans, through mind control. He can levitate objects, hurl them through the air at targets. He can seemingly hear, smell and see for tens of miles around him. He could probably do more, but he himself doesn't know all his abilities yet.

Glug: Glug is the leader of the Maggot horde, being one of the more intelligent of that new species. For a Maggot he is tall, almost normal sized, and immensely strong. He has killed many with his claws, but also is deadly with a mace made of stout iron. It is Glug who will lead the final telling Maggot assault on the humans one day.

The Maggot horde: The army of the Maggots is a powerful force. Numbers are vague, but there are perhaps in the thousands or so. The average Maggot is about three-feet tall and hairless. They have powerfully built bodies and three-clawed hands ideal for digging tunnels and killing victims. The have excellent night vision, but poor daylight vision, and can move very quickly through pitch black tunnels. The only reason they haven't yet conquered the surface world is their fear of the sunlight and a built-in compulsion to stay near their tunnels at all times. Jones is working on changing that.

"Georgia": The name of the normal human settlement, take from the old pre-war state. An almost totally agrarian society has developed, similar to Civil War-era plantations. There are no slaves, persay, but the serfs who are tied to the farms feel like them. This area stretches from the western suburbs of Atlanta all the way out to Carrollton, a connected network of farms and small towns. There are perhaps 5,000 people living in this area now, surviving on the expansive farming plots and hunting game in the thick forests. More people are filtering in from Alabama and Tennessee as weather problems in those areas force people out. Relations with the Albany Confederacy to the south are cordial and often productive, with salvaged technology and loot from the Atlanta ruins fetching high trade value for foodstuffs from the southern plains.

The Knights: The informal name of the Army of Georgia, and the shield deflecting the Maggot attacks from the peaceful settlements. Each Colonel has his own "private" battalion, each of which forms a part of the greater defense of Georgia. They are armed with some firearms, bows, swords, spears and these odd-shaped hooked daggers that they are known for. The total number of troops is about 600, with perhaps 300 of those full time soldiers and the rest on reserve. So far they have been able to hold off the Maggot horde for a generation, thanks to superior tactics and weaponry, along with strong defensive positions.

Three Colonels: Georgia is run by a Council of three powerful "Colonels", the largest and wealthiest landowners. The title of Colonel is hereditary, passed down from father to son. The Council has three supposedly equal members to keep one man from taking total control of Georgia. This system has worked relatively well for a very long time. The current three Colonels are all strong and respected men, and all harbor secret desires to rule Georgia alone. If given the opportunity to, they would each kill off the others and take over. Each of the Colonels has a family estate in the area, usually a large farm with many serfs and private guards.

Colonel Gary Rogers: The oldest of the Colonels, and the most physically distinctive. Years of fights with mutants and bandits have left him scarred and limping, but his prowess in battle is legendary. He knows more about the Maggots than anyone, and is sure that they pose a very real threat to Georgia.

Colonel Evan Stendal: The best administrator of the three, though notably untested in battle. His family's personal wealth gives him the standing to sit on the Council. Without the Council's knowledge, he has been in contact with both the New Confederacy and the Kentucky Free state. He expects to have business and trade deals with both by years end.

Colonel Marcus Donaldson: The youngest and most ambitious of the Colonels, the one most likely to stage a coup in the future. He is cunning and deceitful, perfectly willing to kill anyone on his march to the top. His family is not originally from here, having moved up from the Albany Presidency some 60 years ago, a fact that his enemies and detractors never fail to mention. Marcus took over his father's lands when he died when he was just ten, and power and glory is all he has ever known.

Alice Donaldson: Colonel Marcus' wife and a daughter of Colonel Rogers (who has many sons and daughters). They were wed young by their two families to seal political bonds and neither is really in love. Marcus has a large harem of concubines, which Alice is increasingly becoming angry about. Her father has had talks with her, trying to convince her of the wisdom of perhaps arranging an "accident" for her husband.

6) THE ALBANY PRESIDENCY (Thanks, Jim "Jamming")
A regional empire which has been active for 150 years, still holding onto the old American governmental system. It now controls an oblong area based around the city of Albany in southwestern Georgia. The eastern border is roughly along the north-south Highway 129. The western border is roughly the Chattahoochee River on the old Alabama border. The northern border roughly follows old Highway 80 between the ruins of Columbus and Macon. The southern border extends into the Panhandle of Florida, but no further south than Interstate 10 and the ruins of Tallahassee. Better weather and few bandits have allowed this area to prosper and grow.

History: The Albany Presidency was originally built around the US Marine Corps Logistics Center in Albany, which was a collection point for the local reserve units, plus nearby surviving Army and Air Force units in western and central areas of Georgia. The Presidency traces its "legitimacy" to former President Jimmy Carter, who was living the retired life north of here in Plains at the time of the war. In the chaos after the war, he was selected by local leaders and survivors to become the "head of state" for the emergency, since someone with Presidential status would command more respect than a mere State Governor or US Senator. He led for a short time and appointed his own successor on his death bed, beginning a line of succession that has lasted to this day.

Social classes: A Feudal-like system has long been in power, where the Officer Corps, politicians, and the wealthy are in charge, with responsibilities to the croppers (farmers). Despite the name, there is no racial aspect to being a cropper, in fact wealthy croppers are often able to enter into higher responsibilities. The return of the Southern Gentleman is seen as a social refinement that is open equally to members of all races. The Gentleman is able to work on the farm, build houses for his neighbors (a'la Habitat for Humanity), plus spending time in developing his education, his manners, and his professional skills.

The status of women: The one problem with this social order is that women have again become the fairer sex and as such, women able to bear children are not allowed any responsibilities outside the home. Women who are considered to be past that age or those unable to bear children are able to work outside the home but are considered somewhat second-class women. Motherhood either prior to the birth of the child, raising the child, or after successfully raising children is the standard which women are judged in this society. However, some women are able to combine their careers with staying at home by farming, becoming Electronic Techs, or some other way that they can work at home.

Defenders of the Presidency: The Albany Presidency troops have always sworn to be loyal to any ”reformed national government” that might arise one day. When that day comes, the Albany President will give up his emergency powers to that government. The troops wear dark blue berets, and the phrase "True Blue" has new meaning related to that they swear a blood oath upon their blue berets to remain loyal to the US Constitution, amendments and all. They still venerate the old 50-Star American flag and the newest State of Georgia flag, which was adopted in 2003.

Relations with their neighbors: The Albany Presidency’s commercial agents range far and wide throughout Georgia, Alabama and Florida. They have officially hostile relations with the Free State, as they view them as having succeeded from the Union. Relations with the New Confederacy in South Carolina are cordial, though there is a fair amount of economic competition in the border areas of eastern Georgia. Tensions are low enough that it would take a lot to prompt a war between these two empires. They have mutual trade agreements with several other smaller regional powers, including the Gulf Breeze fishermen and the Colonels near Atlanta.

Albany: The capitol of the Albany Presidency, home of the President and his staff.

Macon: At the northern edge of the Albany territory, Albany is a good-sized farming town of some 650 people. They are prospering thanks to one wise man in town who has worked tirelessly for decades to improve crop yields and reduce pests in the fields. "Macon Corn", as it is known to traders, is the best in the region, and one of the main trade crops of the Albany Presidency.

The ruins of Columbus: Along the Chattahoochee River, the nuked ruins of Columbus now support a small population of around 150 people. Made up of squatters, transients, and criminals banished from the Albany Presidency, they mostly live around one of the housing districts of the old Fort Benning.

Georgetown: A trading settlement on the old Alabama border, taking advantage of the intact Highway 82 bridge across the Chattahoochee River. Georgetown is known as the main stop-over point for merchants traveling from Alabama through Georgia to the New Confederacy. Numerous traders stop here, including the occasional Gypsy Trucker, and a marketplace has been set up for the merchants to sell their goods to the locals. Albany military presence here is strong, as bandits often try and enter the area posing as traders.

7) SOUTHEASTERN GEORGIA
The open fields and swampy creeks of southeastern Georgia have seen a lot of death since 1989, mostly from epidemics and shifting weather patterns. A few communities still farm the river valleys and floodplains, but life for them is difficult. This area is the buffer zone between the Albany Presidency and the New Confederacy, and as such is frequented by trader convoys and travelers from both. As relations between the two empires are generally warm, there is little conflict and often groups from both sides mingle live together.

Douglas: Home to more than 600 farmers, making it the largest town in the area. A modest market exists here, selling ammunition, food, clothing, and other basic items. Douglas is a melting pot of locals, merchants from Albany and South Carolina, and travelers from the entire Deep South. It is not uncommon to find Gypsy Truckers, Mailmen or even Ballooners here during the trade festivals.

Lakeland: Lakeland and the surrounding countryside are home to 300 farmers and townspeople. Just this fall, there has been a horrible outbreak of smallpox in the town, killing many and driving more from their homes. The outbreak started in when an infected trader arrived in the area from Tennessee. Due to the rapid spread of the smallpox, and Lakeland’s mayor’s helplessness to do anything about it, several families have begun moving west towards Albany to outrun the disease. The Albany leadership is only now becoming aware of the seriousness of the situation, and is planning a course of action. Though the medical services of the Presidency are some of the best in the region, there is little that can be done with smallpox except quarantine the affected and let it burn itself out.

King's Point Submarine Base: The twisted ruins of this former submarine base are now several miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, thanks to erosion of the seashore by the nuke and the passage of time. Travel to and from the ruins must be by boat, but why would you want to go there?

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SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina is the heart of the New Confederacy Empire.

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

Columbia, SS-19
Charleston, SS-N-17
Charleston Army Depot, North Charleston, SS-N-17
Fort Jackson, SS-18M1b
Oconec 1, 2, 3 nuclear reactors, Oconic County, SS-19

Discretionary nuclear targets:
Catawba nuclear reactor, Rock Hill, SS-N-17
Paris Island Marine Corps base, SS-N-8
Charleston AFB, SS-N-17

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS
Unnamed MP bolthole: Near the town of Gaffney east of Spartansburg.

3) THE NEW CONFEDERACY
This regional empire controls nearly all of South Carolina, and parts of Georgia, with influence tendrils extending throughout the Deep South and Appalachia. Formed in the first generation after the war, the NC seeks to return the south to the former glory it once had. This is a grand ideal, but it is more of a dream than a reality. Despite its heritage, slavery is not condoned in the NC, and generally speaking all peoples are welcome as long as they are productive and peaceful. The capitol of the NC is in Columbia, spared by the war due to a stroke of luck.

The New Confederacy Army: The NC army is large and powerful, though rarely used to expand the borders anymore. They are well-armed and units are raised in the areas they protect, allowing them defensive familiarity of the territory. Bandits and marauders keep the army busy in the border regions, but internally there are few causes to mobilize a unit. In a common practice, units are named for the town they are garrisoned in. Rank and file soldiers wear dark uniforms with black caps, though in the hotter summer months they often just wear white undershirts. They are armed with locally-made carbine rifles ad muskets.

Relations with neighbors: The NC has cordial relations with the USA in Virginia (see that state), and not-so-cordial relations with the huge Free State empire in Kentucky (see that state). There is real fear in the Confederacy that the Free State hopes to take over their lands and is worming its way into the political machine to accomplish this with minimal bloodshed. This is the root of much of the distrust of the Free State, though there is a certain amount trade and travel between the two areas. The Albany Presidency to the west has never been a serious military threat, even though it has long limited the western expansion of the New Confederacy. The border region in eastern Georgia is shared by traders from both empires. Being a coastal power, ships from the NC have been known to visit places as far away as Europe and western Africa, and relations with these places are generally good.

Freedom Fighters: South Carolina is also home to a number of groups of anti-Free State "freedom fighters". These groups operate from remote camps in the Tennessee border area, usually in isolated valleys and towns. They conduct raids across the border, striking as far north as Kentucky itself on occasion, and have freed numerous slaves and plundered loot. The New Confederacy government officially is unaware of these groups, and even publicly denounces their "campaign of destabilizing violence and banditry". In reality, the government often actively funds and arms these rebels, using them as foils to the growing Free State power in the region. It is also certain that the Rich Five know that the New Confederates are backing and protecting the rebels, and they will not forget…

3) COASTAL SOUTH CAROLINA
The further northeast you go, say past the Great Pee Dee River towards the border with North Carolina, the less direct influence the New Confederacy has. Towns are still nominally a part of the empire, and trade and travel is regular, but a degree of self-governance is seen here that is not common in other areas of the state.

Myrtle Beach: Today, a fishing and trade center of 2,000 people, most living in the southern suburbs along the Golden Strand, supplementing their catch from their fishing fleet with inland farms. Their fleet consists of a couple dozen well-maintained sailboats of various sizes.

Georgetown: With the destruction of Beaufort and Charleston, Georgetown in the center of the coast is now the state's major port. It is a large city of 3,000 residents. Much infrastructure has been restored and there is now running water in most areas and electricity for three hours a day for the common citizen if they pay their "power taxes". Numerous people work at the docks, which have been expanded tenfold since the war. The total number of trained police under uniform in the city is around 100, counting auxiliaries, and they are very well-armed. There is still a uniformed fire department with one pumper truck as well as several horse-drawn fire wagons.

Moncks Corner: A large farming town of around 4,200 people. This is the center of the tobacco trade for the New Confederacy as well as a major textile center. The town center has been built up into a virtual fortress over the decades. There is much trade with the regional communities and the local NC soldiers of the garrison are very well-thought of in the area.

The ruins of Charleston: The nuclear war was not kind to Charleston, as nine separate warheads smashed into the city. Virtually the entire metro area north of the Stono River was leveled, though a few large concrete and steel structures remain standing on the partially flooded peninsula. The levels of colbalt 90 are extremely high in places and reports of Blue Undead are not uncommon.

Charleston Harbor: Charleston's harbor, once one of the busiest on the East Coast, is littered with sunken ships and nearly completely blocked off from the Atlantic. The numerous nuke effects and uncounted hurricanes have filled in the ship channel and shifted the sandy bars around to the point where today anything with a draft over three feet can't get in or out. The relatively narrow deep shipping channel is also hopelessly blocked with several dozen sunken ships, some of them huge oil tankers still seeping oil in rough weather. Were anyone ever able to clear the channel (an engineering feat that probably won't be possible for another century at least) there are still a number of relatively intact vessels at the various docks to be salvaged. These include a US Navy destroyer and a British Royal Navy frigate that was here on a port visit when the nukes fell. These two ships were pushed up on the beach by tidal waves, but are now about half in the water. Their hulls are rusted out but they still would be goldmines of engineering information.

Folly Island: This island, just a narrow sandy strip some seven miles long, south of the ruins of Charleston is home to a NC Army garrison detailed with watching traffic along the coast. They have several tall watchtowers built here and can see several dozen miles out to sea on clear days. The garrison numbers only ten men most days.

Sullivan's Island: This old seacoast fort now supports a small population of local fishermen.

Walterboro: Another thriving town of 3,000 people. Many skilled craftsman and laborers live and work here, making all manner of goods out of the stocks of oak and pine.

Parris Island USMC Recruit Depot: Nuked during the war, this base has been picked over by the Confederates over the years. A small Army garrison of some 125 men with some armored cars and trucks man a log and earth fort north of the base at Burton, watching over the farms and fields.

4) THE SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY
Covered in the Georgia listing.

5) CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA
Never rich in mineral wealth, this area of the south has always been agricultural. Vast tracts of land have been farmed for centuries here, and the rivers and creeks are filled with edible fish. This is the "breadbasket" of the NC, though the population is not as high as other areas.

Broad River: A trade route to and from Columbia. The river is full of mutated fish, including huge haploid catfish that often attack boaters.

Fort Jackson: Hit by a biowar strike during the war, the Plague spores killing off thousands of people to the east and northeast as a strong wind carried them away from Columbia proper. Enough of the fort's infrastructure remained for it to now serve as an important base for the NC Army.

Columbia: The former state capitol is now the capitol of the New Confederacy. In 1989, the SS-19 targeted here failed due to EMP interference and spread its MIRVs across the Sumter National Forest north of the city. Riots and chaos wrecked havoc in the city's urban core, but a semblance of organization and order did manage to survive in Columbia. Thus, it was the logical place for the NC to built its administrative center around. Some 22,000 people live and work in the city and the surrounding counties. Known as a center of textile production, the area still produces textiles, though neither in the quantity nor in the variety of former days. Some heavier industries exists here, producing weapons and vehicles for the army and the traders.

President Jonas Ingram: The current president of the New Confederacy and a man determined to see his people thrive and prosper. The Presidential Mansion is in the northern part of the city, formerly one of the buildings on the Columbia College campus.

General John "Smoke" Lovell: Lovell is the supreme commander of the NC Army and secretly plotting to depose President Ingram. He is in love with his niece Caroline, who is 40 years his junior, and she is the reason he is considering this drastic action. Lovell lives in a fortified compound near Fort Jackson, where he is training his personal security detachment for a possible assassination attempt on the President. Should he choose to go through with it, Lovell would probably have the support of the Army, but not as much with the traders and farmers that make up the middle class of the empire.

Caroline Davis: Lovell's niece, a tall and sexy girl just 20 years old. She gives her uncle the impression that his love is shared, but she is really just using her feminine charms to get close to him. Caroline is secretly a member of a radical group of rich, pampered children of the ruling class who have begun to worship Satan. The Satan they bow to is more of a cross between a manifestation of the atomic war and a water monster that supposedly lives offshore. They believe that if they can take control of the military, then they can usher their monster god ashore to rule. To this end, young Caroline is willing to use her body to gain influence over the General. In the comfort of her arms late at night, the General is listening more and more to Caroline's urgings to depose the President.

John Thomas: The one who first founded the Satan worship five years ago, basing it on writings in some ancient books he found while on a day trip to the ruins of west Columbia. At first it was just his circle of friends, but has grown to include several dozen young wealthy boys and girls in Columbia. He is more than a little envious of Caroline's growing position of power within the group. John's father is one of the leading merchants in Columbia, dealing in tobacco and cotton. He has no idea of what his son is up to and certainly would not approve.

6) NORTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA
For the first few years after the collapse of authority, frenzied refugees and marauding bands stripped this area of small cities and farms clean of food, vehicles, technology, and other equipment. Disease and starvation claimed lives by the truckload in smaller communities and riots wracked the smoking ruins of the larger cities. When the New Confederacy rose again, this area was reclaimed for its tillable fields and waterways. The bandits have now been largely run out, the crops replanted and life has moved on.

Greenville: With nukes seemingly landing all over the region, the citizens of Greenville panicked and ran. On the way out they managed to burn and loot most of the city, leaving large areas of it charred ruins. The city basically sat empty and rusting for nearly twenty years until people started to come back to the area. Today, the old city of Greenville is home to about 3,000 people.

Spartanburg: Spartanburg has survived fairly well, certainly when compared to other cities in the nation. The New Confederates have almost total control over the city's management and patrol the streets daily. Spartanburg is now home to around 20,000 people, a growing number that worries the city's leaders. The NC Army garrison is the "Spartanburg Brigade". The Brigade has been able to defend the outskirts of town from attacks by marauders for decades now, and the people rarely complain about the tax burden imposed to support the garrison. The Spartanburg Brigade is pretty well-armed and actually do try to serve and protect the citizens. They are sometimes blind to goings on in the slums, however.

Rock Hill: Being just south of Charlotte, this city was severely damaged by refugees and epidemics following the war. Rock Hill is now the home of the "Carolinas for Christ", a fundamentalist Christian group that has taken over an abandoned shopping mall in the south of the city. They are led by the Reverend Johnny Graham, a descendant of the famous TV evangelist and Bible thumper Billy Graham. Graham gives almost daily sermons to anyone who comes, numbering many hundred at many times, usually filling up the parking lot where his podium is set up. He has become the spokesman for the New Confederacy's increasingly Christianization. Tracts written by Graham are passed out to traders and farmers throughout the empire, stamped with the official seal of the government.

Oakway: This small farming town of 100 people has instituted a strict version of the Christian religion as a means of controlling the population. They have cut off the trade of tobacco and alcohol as a violation of the Bible.

Longcreek: A little trapping settlement on the Georgia border, now home to the most feared marauder band in South Carolina. This group, known as the "Hillbillies", was formed two years ago from the remains of a recon company of the NC Army that went rogue. The unit's leader is a charismatic man with bigger plans for his future than sitting in backwoods South Carolina robbing traveling salesmen. He has fought several sharp engagements with his former battalion from Seneca, usually coming out on top. His band has swelled as bandits and people disaffected by the NC's policies on taxation and service have come to him. This core fighting force is organized into two platoons, with a total of 48 men. The group is highly mobile and vehicle assets include an incredibly old M3 Stuart light tank, a large military truck, and a jeep. The wheeled transports were stolen from a NC unit in a daring nighttime raid, the tank was bought from a traveling arms merchant. As it is virtually unthinkable that an arms merchant operating 150 years after a world war would have operational tanks, this is a great mystery. Rumors of this tank and the merchant have filtered into both the New Confederacy and Free State intelligence communities, and both nations are currently investigating the claims.

Seneca: The small NC Army unit here has suffered extensive losses in combat against the Hillbillies in the last few years, and what remains of the battalion is now a veteran anti-guerilla force to be reckoned with. The commander is waiting for Columbia to reinforce his unit before going back out into the hills.

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FLORIDA

Florida is still here, just most of the people and about a quarter of the land are gone. Things have settled down by now and recovery is in motion in many areas.

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

Tampa, SS-17
Jacksonville, SS-N-8
Saint Petersburg, SS-N-17
Tallahassee, SS-17
Homestead AFB, SS-N-17
Patrick AFB, SS-N-17
Eglin AFB, SS-19
Crystal River 3 nuclear reactor, Citrus, SS-17
Saint Lucie 1 nuclear reactor, Fort Pierce, SS-19
Cape Kennedy space facility, SS-18M2

Discretionary nuclear targets:
Orlando, SS-N-8
Pensacola, SS-17
Miami, SS-19
Key West NAS, SS-N-8

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS
Heavy Recon Team F-47: Bolthole location unknown, but somewhere in central Florida. Emplaced in the state instead of the normal Mars team due to funding and logistics problems.
Recon Team F-17: Bolthole located near Monster Lake, 30 miles southeast of Starke. Frozen in 1982. 6 members, with one V-150 and one HMMVW with cargo trailer. Lake has expanded over the years and the bolthole is now under 10 feet of murky water, though intact and functioning.
Science Team F-37: Bolthole location unknown, but somewhere in central Florida.
Agricultural Team F-27: Bolthole location unknown, but somewhere in central Florida. Woke up 15 years after the war and set about saving the world in the small town of Starke. Over time they did their jobs well and died knowing that they had done all they could.

3) PENSACOLA/GULF BREEZE
Though the Pensacola nukes blasted much of the city north of Pensacola Bay, the peninsular town of Gulf Breeze was left relatively intact. It was around this town that the new Pensacola was rebuilt. With refugees cut off from the town by the downed bridges, Gulf Breeze escaped much of the post-war violence and insanity that devastated many other cities in Florida. Within a few decades, Gulf Breeze had become a thriving port town, feasting off the plentiful Gulf fishing grounds. Because they survived in such good shape, there is a large sense that Gulf Breeze was "spared by God", and a heritage of religious observance has developed over the last century. In more secular terms, there is a strong sense of civic pride here, keeping things together and giving hope for the future. Fishing provides a major source of food and Santa Rosa Sound is filled with local vessels daily. There are now around 2,500 people living in Gulf Breeze.

Defenses: The landward approaches to the east are heavily patrolled and barricaded, and few bandits have tried to breach the formidable defenses. The militia has about 350 full-time soldiers and is well-armed with numerous salvaged military arms. Guarding the landward approaches to the town are a line of trenches and pillboxes, constructed in the first years after the war by the local populace to keep the refugees out. Today, they are still there, thought the wire is mostly rusted and the trenches have been partially filled in by erosion. There are seven former USMC M60A1 tanks and several dozen M101 105mm howitzers still sitting in place, though none of them function anymore. The Albany Presidency has attempted several times over the decades to purchase the tanks and cannons. The Gulf Breeze leaders have always said no, but do want to buy spare parts for them from Albany, which they have so far refused to do. The reason is that the Albany leadership wants to make sure that if they have to one day invade the Gulf Breeze area, they won’t have to face operational tanks.

Gulf Breeze's "fleet": In addition to numerous fishing craft, both newly built and pre-war, there are a number of old steel-hulled ships to be found in Pensacola Bay north of the town. Several of these are US Navy ships that came here following the nuclear war, having few other places to go. Their crews were often assimilated into the general population, and welcomed due to their skills. Their ships were largely left to rust, and many of them have sunk at anchor over the years. Of those still floating, there are several of note…

Essex class aircraft carrier
CVT-16 Lexington 1
Charles F. Adams class destroyer
DDG-10 Sampson 2
Exxon Vera Cruz 3
Victor II class submarine
K-495 4

Notes:
1) The centerpiece of the Bay has got to be the Lexington, which was the resident flight training carrier at Pensacola when the war broke out. Crippled and beached by the nuclear blasts, her huge bulk has sat rusting on a sandbar for the last 150 years. Her fuel tanks have long ago been drained to keep smaller, more important ships running.
2) During her tour of duty in WWIII, the Sampson was credited with sinking or helping sink three Soviet and Cuban submarines and one Cuban merchant raider. She returned to Pensacola after being heavily damaged in action in 1990 and has never left. She is sitting very low in the water these days and is certainly well past the ability to go to sea.
3) The Exxon Vera Cruz is a very large 150,000 ton oil tanker that once operated out of New Orleans. On the way through the Gulf with empty holds when the bombs hit, she decided to stay out at sea until the exchanges were over. After six years or so of wandering around the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean in epic fashion, she answered a call by Gulf Breeze to come into their safe harbor. Once there, the crew was welcomed ashore and the ship was moved into Pensacola Bay. This is probably the most seaworthy of all the surviving larger ships in North America and could easily be made ready to sail.
4) This Russian Victor II class nuclear attack submarine was part of Russia's convoy-busting effort in late 1989, and was active in the Gulf, sinking several vessels. She suffered a crew mutiny in April of 1990, and the new captain decided to look for asylum in Gulf Breeze. The crew was at first welcomed, but soon were the target of much hatred for their nation's role in the war. An attempt was made to take the sub back out to sea, but the citizens of the town stopped it. Nearly all the Russians were killed in the battle or later in jail. The submarine itself sat quayside for about 35 years, before she sank during a storm. While on the bottom with a flooded engine room, the sub is still relatively intact and offers a goldmine of technology and equipment to anyone willing or able to salvage her.

Fort Pickens: This ancient seacoast fort south of the city, full of old 16" rifle emplacements and 12' mortar pits, is home to a large population of fishers and farmers. Gulf Breeze operates a small militia garrison here, guarding the approaches to the port.

The ruins of Pensacola: The city itself is a barren wasteland, occupied by scavengers who rummage through the less-damaged sections in search of trinkets. The remaining factories and military bases have been long ago been looted of all but the heaviest machinery, and much of that was thrown into the sea as being too radioactive to use. Few people from Gulf Breeze see any reason to visit these ruins anymore.

Elgin Air Force Base: Nuked hard during the war, this large, sprawling old base in the pine forests is now home to just a few scavengers. After the war, the growing Albany Presidency to the north carried off everything that was still intact back to Georgia, leaving only empty buildings. A massive underground bunker has been long rumored on the grounds of the air base, but no evidence has yet turned up to prove it.

The ruins of Tallahassee: Nuked and burned, nothing remains here anymore. The area was always full of sinkholes and the ground shocks have opened up many more. Travel through lowland areas near the ruins can sometimes result in falling into a covered sinkhole. The northern outskirts of the ruins are frequented by patrols from the Albany Presidency, which nominally claims the area between Tallahassee and the Georgia border.

4) NORTHERN FLORIDA (Thanks, Tim McKee)

Pre-war: Northern Florida was a land of forests, cropland and college football. Millions of people lived in big cities and small farming towns, enjoying the good weather and the slow pace of life.

The war: Nukes splattered all across northern Florida, destroying Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Gainesville. People panicked and fled the cities, swamping the rural communities under. Fear and desperation drove average people to do terrible things to their fellow man.

Post-war: In the chaos after the war, this area suffered greatly from refugees and epidemics. Within five years, the population had been cut by 95% and the situation was stabilized. People began to climb up the ladder again, rebuilding what had been senselessly destroyed.

North Florida today: The terrain in north Florida has changed over the years, with an increase in swamp lands and flooded areas taking over the pine flatwoods and cypress groves. Most rivers are at least 10 feet above their pre-war water level and numerous springs and small lakes dot the country side where there were none before. This swampy region, stretching far up into the Okefenokee Swamps of Georgia, is hot, muggy and filled with mosquitoes, diseases and skeletons. Many towns have been abandoned for decades and bamboo and palmetto have overgrown the deserted ruins. Smallpox is spreading slowly through the area from Georgia recently. Wildlife is also similar to pre-war, but more abundant and slightly larger, especially water-dwelling animals like giant catfish over 12 feet long. 150 years after the war, there are a number of people groups living in the region, some in active competition with each other. Most population groups are now small and independent.

Ag Team F-27: The team was woken in 2004 due to a computer glitch. The team awoke to a hostile environment with bands of nomads roaming the country side in search of food and shelter. The team set about organizing a community from the roving bands near the town of Starke, just east of Gainesville. The team had two large tractors and a large truck in their inventory, along with all the needed farm attachments to the tractors. They setup several farms and eventually turned over the maintenance to the local peoples. Several attacks by marauders depleted most of their ammunition. After a decade, the area was rid of most marauders and bandits. The Agricultural Team had established large farms and orchards in the area around Starke. F-27 settled in the area permanently since they had received no word from any other Morrow teams. They married, had children, and lived out their lives around Starke. As the Morrow members died off, either from accident, conflict with marauders or old age, the local populace became self-sufficient. The Agricultural Team had done a splendid job.

Starke: Around 60 years after the war, Leonard Smith was elected as major of the Starke area. The first 30 years of his rule were prosperous. He had the total support of the people in the Starke area due to his outstanding leadership and administrative abilities. As he aged, he began to become forgetful and less responsible. He was given a gift of a large Chucky Cheese Mouse costume head and began to wear it at special occasions. First as a joke, then later he was never seen in public without it on. He picked up the nickname “Cheez Man”. But the populace put up with this extravagance due to his life-long hard work for the area. The locals are very loyal to Cheez Man and it will take a lot of hard evidence to convince them that something is amiss. Unknown to the local populace, Cheez Man is suffering from Alzheimer’s. At this time his administration began the “1st Born program”. Every 1st Born child had to spend a minimum of two years in the Cheez Man's “Training Program”. This program provided instruction in mechanics and driving skills of the surviving MP tractors (from Ag Team F-27), farming, militia training and a variety of other skilled crafts. Only the brightest or wealthiest actually ever attended the training. The remainder were sent to the Gainesville Camp, a forced labor camp used to extract salvageable goods from the Gainesville ruins.

The Guard: The real power in Starke rest with the leader of the Guard and the Cheez Man's Chief Merchant. The Guard is a group of soldiers and mercenaries that protect the Cheez Man's HQ and the Gainesville Camp, run patrols of the area and are the leaders of the militia for the area. They are armed with a mixture of MP small arms (from the Agriculture Team and their caches) and black powder rifles. They are known to have an M60 MG and a 120mm mortar with limited rounds.

Starke Militia: The farmers and tradesmen have been formed into a militia group for mutual defense in time of crisis. They are 500 strong and armed with 75% balck powder muskets (which are manufactured in Starke), 5% pre-war rifles, shotguns, and pistols, and 20% melee weapons.

The ruins of Gainesville: One of the SS-17 MIRVs aimed at Tallahasse missed a bit and landed in the northern suburbs of Gainesville, demolishing about half of the city. Plundered by looters over the last 150 years, little remains of Gainesville but deserted dilapidated houses and burnt-out rusting cars. Large areas of the city are being retaken by the palmetto and mangrove trees. Gainesville is still filled with random radioactive hot spots with a low level of radiation in the whole area. The southern and eastern ruins are home to the Gainesville Camp, run by merchants and Guardsmen from nearby Starke, using the 1st Born recruits as slave labor.

Ocala: The Home of a colony of midgets and dwarves, taking the curious nickname of “The Hobbits”. At the time of the war, a large group of dwarves and midgets were on vacation in Florida. They survived the initial onslaught, but just barely. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that they were captured and used as slaves by a group of Bikers, odds are that they would have all died out within a few months. After years of abuse, the slaves revolted against their cruel masters. Many of the little people were killed in the revolt, but in the end they won, gaining their freedom. The survivors set up in Ocala, where they had been forced to serve the Bikers. The grounds of the old Thoroughbred Horse Farms proved to be an excellent area for a settlement and the population has grown steadily if slowly. Over the years, the survivors sent out scouting parties to look for others like themselves and offer them a safe haven to live, and there are now some 200 living in the Ocala area. The Hobbits can occasionally be found in small patrols all over Florida and even into Georgia, looking for other short people, or just hunting and scavenging. They are armed with bows, crossbows, slings and the occasional firearm, many of them cut down to size. (Thanks, Chris Van Deelen)

5) FLORIDA ATLANTIC COAST

The ruins of Jacksonville: Mostly rubbled-out after catching several nuclear warheads, this once fine port city is a shadow of its former self. Less than 1,000 people live in the entire Duval County area now. The ruins of the city are split in two by the Saint Johns River and the largest number of people are concentrated in the eastern half of the city, where they battle mutant wildlife often.

Saint Augustine: Home to some 900 people, the largest town along Florida’s Atlantic coastline. They are primarily fishers, but have spread out into surrounding fields to plant crops to supplement their diets and to provide alcohol fuel for their boats. These people live quite well, but are constantly aware of the weather and the shifting waters.

Palm Coast: A small farming and fishing community along the shore north of the ruins of Daytona. The current mayor is a pompous, arrogant man who has treated his citizens with utter contempt since he came to power in a rigged election four years ago. He has had several citizens publicly executed over the last year on bogus charges. As dissent grows, the remaining population is simply biding their time for the right moment to rise up. They have even considered contacting the Cuban community to the west for help.

Daytona Beach: Damaged severely by overpressure tide flooding from the offshore strikes, vast portions of the city were heavily waterlogged and gutted. Further damage from hurricanes and general neglect have left this area in near-total ruins.

Melbourne: Melbourne is now a small fishing town living on smoked and salted fish and small plot gardens. Hurricanes often drive these people inland, killing many each season.

Cape Kennedy Space Center: Due to a combination of a sticky keyboard error and the resultant computer failure at the launch site, the Russian SS-18M2 ICBM that was supposed to destroy the satellite launch center missed the mark wide. The ten MIRV warheads popped in a circle over the Atlantic about 15 miles to the northeast. The resulting nuclear-induced tidal wave and wide-spread radioactive seawater contamination were dreadful and thousands died in areas along the northern Florida coast. Physical damage to the Space Center itself was minimal--the hits were far enough away that they merely caused a four-foot high wave to wash across the coastal areas. The EMP, however, fried almost all the sensitive electronics and circuitry in the center, rendering it virtually useless. A follow-up strike nuked nearby Patrick Air Force Base the next day and further damaged the southern edges of the Space Center. While many official parties have come here over the decades, including Morrow Project teams, New Confederacy missions and even a submarine-inserted long-range Soviet patrol, they have mostly left disappointed. With all the software fried and the hardware rusting, any effort to get it back into operation would be prohibitively expensive. The most obvious features of the complex are still the three large launch structures, all badly damaged by blast effects and salt water exposure over the last 150 years. Most of the smaller launch towers have crumbled, but the large assembly building still towers majestically over the beautiful coastline, perched on a plateau overlooking the water.

The “Morrow Treasure”: All across Florida you will hear people referring to the “Morrow Treasure”. Most locals explain that this a treasure that will bring prosperity and a better life to anyone who finds it. No one knows where it is, but many have tried to find it. The Morrow Treasure is actually part of a secret Project plan initiated just prior to the war. Sensing the need for a failsafe for the Morrow bases that were to live through the war, Bruce Morrow initiated “Project Treasure”. This involved a emplacing a Special Salvage Team near the Cape Kennedy NASA facility. The plan was to acquire through legitimate business deals the items needed to launch a small rocket into the upper atmosphere. To be fit on this rocket is a transmitter, that will send out wake-up codes to key boltholes throughout the country. The problem was that the war started before all the components were in place. As the war raged, Prime Base awoke a Salvage Team in the Florida area and tasked them to go to the ruins of Cape Kennedy and get the items they needed. The Salvage Team found Cape Kennedy mostly abandoned, having suffered much fallout from nuclear strikes nearby. They managed to salvage a rocket, the launchers, and controls, and along with several support vehicles, they hauled it all to the west. Suffering from radiation sickness from the time the emerged from their bolthole, the Salvage Team realized that they were not going to make it to the coast where they were to meet their pick-up boat. Instead, they stashed all the stuff in a cave in central Florida and sealed it up. The team tried to contact Prime Base with the cave’s location, but by then Prime had been destroyed. The team managed to locate Agriculture Team F-27’s bolthole and left the manuals and coordinates with them before they died. When F-27 woke 15 years later, they attempted to locate the cave, but were unable to due to marauders and bad directions. They never tried again, too caught up in their own troubles, and the Treasure passed into local legend. (Thanks, Tim McKee)

6) CENTRAL FLORIDA
Outside of noted survivor communities, central Florida is largely a dangerous wasteland of swamps and carnivorous fauna. The Lake Plains region has seen severe changes in the water table, flooding out thousands of acres of once-productive farmland. The swamps are encroaching from the south, and in a century or so, this entire area might be underwater. Population densities are high in some areas, especially in the High Pine lands, many of them ethnic Cubans.

Cuba: Cuba was hard hit in the war, taking nukes from both America and Russia, devastating most of the urban areas. About 40 years after the war, a temporarily-resurgent Cuban government, staged a limited invasion of Florida from the mainland. This was a success, but back home, Cuba itself soon collapsed into anarchy, stranding groups of ethnic Cubans in Florida. More Cubans have come in the last year, though these more as settlers than conquerors, and these led by Jamaican overseers. Cuba has been a “colony” of Jamaica for the last 40 years or so (see the entry on Louisiana for a full explanation), and has served as the staging base for the recent expeditions to Louisiana. While the main emphasis for the Jamaicans has been the Mississippi Bayou, they have organized groups of native Cubans to cross the Gulf of Mexico to Florida, which many consider their property. Thanks to the security and economic development that the Jamaicans have provided over the last two generations, Cuba is a strong and healthy nation once again. In mainland Cuba, manufacturing has returned to a state similar to the 1880s. Amongst other things, they specialize in producing indigenous bolt-action rifles, which are of such good workmanship and quality that the Jamaican force currently in Louisiana is mostly armed with them.

Spring Hill: Home to a small settlement of some 100 Jamaicans and Cubans, who arrived here just a year ago. They are farming the plains and fishing the Gulf. They have made some contact with the Cubans to the west, but have not made any arrangements yet. A few fishing boats from Gulf Breeze have stopped by, but they also seem uninterested in them.

Lakeland: Home of the “Nationals”, descendents of pre-war Cuban Freedom Fighters settled in east of the ruins of Tampa. They are about 500 strong and are armed with a mixture of pre-war weapons (both civilian and military, including some heavy weapons) and black powder rifles. They are in limited competition with the Cuban Expeditionary Force located to their southeast. This group has had some contact with the Jamaican-led Cubans along the coast, but are unsure what to make of it.

Avon Park: Home of the oddly-named “Cuban Expeditionary Force”, descendents of a Cuban invasion force into southern Florida. They are 800 strong and are armed with black powder rifles and several pre-war weapons. Despite their military-sounding name, these peoples have been in the area close to 100 years now, and have long ago become farmers and grazers with very little remaining military heritage. They have an uneasy truce with the Nationals to the northwest, though it is more economic than cultural.

The ruins of Tampa/Saint Petersburg: The Tampa Bay area was devastated by seven nuclear warheads and largely demolished. 150 years later, the Gulf of Mexico has encroached far into the bay, widening it and flooding out much of the charred rubble. A few people still live in the northwestern edges of the area, fishing the Gulf and farming small plots of land. Even these populations are living on the edge of starvation most times.

The ruins of Sarasota: Destroyed by thousands of rampaging refugees in 1989 and then swamped out by numerous Gulf hurricanes, Sarasota is almost completely destroyed. Much of the beach area is now underwater, and the polluted waters of Sarasota Bay are known for sharks and mutant rays. Occasional salvagers and traders prowl the ruins searching for trinkets and loot, but little is to be found anymore.

The ruins of Orlando: Orlando was hit by a nuclear weapon in the final round of the exchanges, a ground burst in the southeastern portion of the city. The arc of total destruction from the ensuing firestorms extended eight miles into the city, loosely in a line from University Boulevard and Rollins College in the north, to Orlo Vista to the northwest, and to nearly Highway 435 in the west. The northernmost suburbs have retained a steady population throughout the last 150 years, now numbering about 250.

Winter Haven: This town is now home to a bandit clan with technology ranging from clubs and knives to firearms and motorcycles. This is the only bandit clan of any note in the entire state, and as such have a monopoly on violent crime. They can often be found ranging throughout central Florida on raiding missions against scattered settlements and farms. The clan totals around 100 all together, though about half are women and children. Major looming food shortages will no doubt lead them to kill each other off or move further north. The Cuban communities to either side are hoping that they do it fast.

7) SOUTHERN FLORIDA
Now known as the "Great Swamp", the Everglades have expanded over the last 150 years thanks to the crazy weather patterns caused by the nuclear war. The actual area of swamp shifts north and south every season, sometimes by dozens of miles in a single year. At this point, the Swamp's northern boundary can be defined as a line drawn from Port Charlotte in the west, northeast to Avon Park, and then east across to Vero Beach on the Atlantic coast. South of here the land is mostly waterlogged and marshy. All the cities and towns have been flooded out, many along the coast being nearly completely washed away. The Miami Strip, Fort Myers and Naples are all half-sunken ruins. This quagmire is home to a wide variety of fauna and flora, many species mutated beyond belief. There are large numbers of mutant gator, some three times the size they once grew to and swarms of giant mosquitoes which can suck a man dry in minutes. There are also Smother snakes and Snapper turtles, both of which have been known to attack and kill humans. There are rumors of settlements of Seminole Indians in the depths of the Swamp, but no one has ever dared to find out.

The ruins of Miami: Nuked by several warheads, Miami burned furiously for weeks after the war until little was left. Over time, the general erosion of the beach and the encroachment of the Great Swamp have left most of Miami waterlogged. All of what was formerly Dade County is in a century-long medical crisis with mosquito-borne diseases including malaria, typhoid, encephalitis, and even dengue fever rampant.

The ruins of Fort Myers: A ravaged ruin, burned by fires, smashed by hurricanes, tornados and storm surges, and nearly taken over by the Great Swamp. Less than 50 people still live in the area today, most inbred for generations.

Venice: Venice, on the Gulf Coast, is now one of the largest settlements in all of South Florida. Protected from the hurricanes by a seawall and from the marauders by sheer isolation, this town has survived quite well and is now home to some 1,200 people. Fishing boats from Gulf Breeze can be found here often.

The Florida Keys: During the night of November 18, 1989, the Naval Air Station on Key West was the target of a Soviet SS-N-8 SLBM. The warhead was on target but turned out to be a dud. The Keys suffered many deaths from the fallout cloud from far away strikes, however, forcing operations at Key West NAS to be severely curtailed. A massive hurricane in the spring of 1992 nearly flattened the base and destroyed most every aircraft and vehicle still there. Worst of all, the US Highway 1 bridge was cut between Summerland Key and Ramrod Key by the hurricane, making travel from Key West to the mainland nearly impossible. After that, the military completely abandoned the Keys, leaving it to the few surviving locals and fishermen. Over the next 150 years, the eastern islands of the Keys were depopulated under the poundings of storms and refugees, eventually leaving just Key West and a few other islands inhabited.

Key West: Home to about 75 fishermen and small-plot farmers. Fishers from Gulf Breeze are frequent visitors to the island, stopping here to rest and fix nets. They have also received visits from Cuban fishermen, who normally only come by in the summer. The SS-N-8 warhead is still on the island, just a rusty cylinder of metal now under three feet of sand in a cypress grove north of the city, still leaking radiation at low levels.

The Jamaicans: The old abandoned Dolphin Research Center on Vaca Key is now home to a small outpost of Jamaicans. These twenty men were dropped off by the main Jamaican expedition as it passed through the Straits of Florida to Louisiana (see Louisiana for a complete account). Since arriving here, the men have tidied up the main buildings and sent out patrols to the neighboring islands. So far, they have found people only on Key West. They have, however, met some mutant mosquitoes and what they believe to have been a sand crab the size of a Toyota.