Bethany
Founded in TN 1094 by Nagasaki Industries, Bethany was little more than a glorified lumber outpost. Dirty and over industrialized, the city had a poor reputation as a plunder zone for natural resources, most of which were shipped offplanet. For 175 cycles Nagasaki violated the few environmental treaties and non-pollution agreements that protected Terra Nova and soiled the once beautiful valley of Bethany - turning it into an industrial pit that billowed foul fumes. It was not a surprise when the Concordat confiscated Nagasaki’s holdings on Terra Nova and fined the corporation heavily.
For 24 cycles, the Bethany valley lay empty. That was until Malcolm Grey, a disgruntled business tycoon from Caprice, came to Terra Nova in search of possible business ventures. Discovering that most of the damage to the valley was superficial, he bought the land and revitalized it. Grey soon found he had a passion for the great sapa forests. Relocating his millions to Terra Nova, he established the largest sapa harvesting factory on the planet. He insured that any trees that were cut down were replanted, a legacy which survives to present day in the city. Bethany quickly became a bustling city known for its sapa industry and its beautiful location in the heart of the Southern Alps.
Malcolm Grey died in TN 1314 and the city nearly died with him. Because Grey had been running the city almost singlehandedly, very few were aware that the city’s economy was being influenced by massive inputs of capital directly from Grey’s accounts. When he died, Grey’s wealth was inherited by a remote cousin back on Earth who had assured him that his interests on Terra Nova would not leave the planet. Less than 3 weeks after his death, however, every credit he had owned was sent back to Earth and never heard from again. Bethany’s economy collapsed and 30% of its population emigrated to other cities. Those who chose to remain were faced with the daunting task of building a city with little real capital other than the sapa forests nearby and what little money the residents possessed themselves.
Surprisingly, it took less than 10 cycles for Bethany to regain its footing. The newly elected government, through a brilliant marketing and propaganda campaign, managed to relaunch the Bethany economy, and in TN 1324, the city once again prospered: it was during the next hundred cycles that Bethany grew into the city it is today. The vast expanses of sapa fern near the city guided local industries towards their present-day concentrations. The presence of so much sugar shaped the peoples‘ tastes towards sweet dishes, and the use of sugar in alcohol led to still more recipes being produced. As a result, Bethany is considered to be one of the culinary capitals of Tera Nova. As a secondary industry, Bethany processes fuel grade alcohol for both internal use and export to the rest of the League.
Demographics
City of Sapa
The city of Bethany is divided into six neighborhoods, called sextants. The first sextant is called the Core, where all the city's administrative buildings are located. As its name implies, the Core is the heart of Bethanite culture. The finest restaurants and boutiques can be found inside the brightly tinted high-rises which also house Bethany's business elite. The second and third sextants are home to the majority of Bethany's citizens. Houses of all shapes, sizes, colors and smells can be found here. Bethanites express their individuality in their residences and are often happy to entertain so they can show off their abode. Large, elaborate homes occupy the second sextant, while the third sextant is crammed full of single story houses that, while colorful, appear strangely uniform. An observant tourist will note that each street is laid out exactly the same as the one six blocks from it, Bethanites take comfort in the familiarity of their surroundings. Small parks, lined with numerous benches and areas for sitting, can be found all over town, often overflowing with Bethanites seeking a break from the pressures of daily life. Here one can also find numerous curio shops and exotic restaurants filled with culinary delights.
The fourth, fifth and sixth sextants are purely industrial sectors. Many of the planefs largest sapa processors are found here, and over half of Bethany is employed by the sapa industry. The sapa fern tree is such a fixture in the local culture that many Bethanite oaths mention either sap or sapa. "May the sap run freely through your veins," for example, is a common get-well saying. Bethany's passion sapa is also reflected in its most popular hobby: gourmet cooking. Nowhere else in the Southern Republic can one find such unilateral devotion to the delicious art of feeding oneself. Always warm and friendly, the locals love to welcome visitors and tourism in Bethany is booming. The delicious food, colorful buildings and a very welcoming attitude have all contributed to giving Bethany a reputation as the perfect place for a peaceful, relaxing family vacation.
Bethanite Culture
Many outside observers remark thatthe citizens of Bethany have an inordinate amount of time on their hands. Bethanites, according to these critics suffer from a lack of motivation and drive and have developed an unhealthy bovine attitude. Most citizens of Bethany, on the other hand, see their way of life as highly preferable to the constant nerve jangling that so many of their neighbors must contend with; it is common practice to do nothing for a part of the day. Although it is rarely enforced, most citizens adhere to the rules of the ancient TN 1389 codex. This codex established the hours between 14:OO and 18:OO as leisure time and further made it illegal for anything but the most urgent of business to be conducted during these times. Bethanites see these periods as times for gathering with circles of friends and eating, drinking and enjoying themselves.
Although often slandered as slackers, properly motivated Bethanites can be the most resourceful and helpful people in the Republic. A perfect example is drawn from the period when Earth abandoned her colonies. Bethanites went out of their way to help others in need during these difficult times. Many Bethanite transports hauled supplies to isolated communities in the region and the citizens gave generously to their developing sister cities, earning Bethanites a good reputation during those dark times. This generosity is one of the reasons that Bethanites enjoy slightly more personal freedom than the average Republican, and also why they are not generally driven to work longer hours by executives from other cities; people tend to remember past deeds. Similarly, it is common for Bethanites to create ingenious devices and processes to save on labor and other input costs.
Government
Industry & Trade
- Sapa harvesting and processing
- Tourism
Maps
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Bethany
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