Port Oasis
Rising skywards from low wetlands and bordered by the glassy expanse of Lake Esperance, the capital of the Southern Republic is as majestic as the lands it rules. Divided into three areas - Old Port, Villeneuve and the Launch - Port Oasis is a sprawling metropolis that covers a hundred square kilometers.
Founded in TN 492 as a way station for inbound Terrans, Port Oasis quickly developed into a den of pleasure and vice, as organized crime branched out onto Terra Nova and seized at the new opportunity. Cluttering the shores of Lake Esperance with hotels, brothels, and casinos, they catered to every whim of their clients, and soon incalculable wealth flowed through the city streets. Though forced out in TN 801 by Concordat troops, these crime lords are rumored to have left riches vaulted beneath city streets that still await discovery.
Port Oasis faded from prominence as her remaining citizens purchased the city, and established their own vision of a Romanesque paradise, a tradition fiercely maintained by the city planning council. Through the council, currently chaired by Louise deRouen (the daughter of Prime Minister deRouen), the city is kept clean and imperious by an artfully forged agreement between architects and city workers.
Port Oasis' integration into the Southern Republic was a smooth marriage of convenience that the city used to propel itself into the highest strata of power. The actions of ten Oasians, renegade members of the unified council, epitomize the ruthlessness with which the city has risen. Their conspiracy secured Port Oasis a place in history, and the descendants of these ten continue to shape the legacy of their city.
The fall of Marabou was actually engineered by a group of Unified Councilors headed by Dimitri Nemen and known as the Order of the Falcon. The group of councilors used their positions to gather first-hand intelligence on the defenses of Marabou and helped muster support from disgruntled members of the Port Oasis defense forces. Order then took over the Republic and has been at the center of the powerful bureaucracy ever since.
The present city is no less dangerous or tangled. An even blend of Republican patriotism, political opportunism and carefully concealed resistance to oppression, Port Oasis is a city alive with a sense of its own importance. Little is done in the Republic that has not received the tacit approval of an Oasian faction and even the SPFI are rumored to have supporters inside these city walls. These complexities are accepted as facts of life by the citizenry, who view the elaborate games between rival powers both as traps best avoided and as simple facts of life in the capital.
Demographics
Capital Life
The eyes of the Southern Republic are turned to Port Oasis for guidance and inspiration, or so some Oasians fervently believe. Inflated egos and superficial personalities seem to crowd the walled city. Money and power are artfully crafted together form the city‘s backbone, and animosity lurks just under the surface of the capital, like a water viper ready to strike. Seen as a private playground for major Republican leaders, Port Oasis’ reputation paints it as the South’s capital of dishonesty and abuse of power. In a typically Republican contradiction, this reputation shares space with the view of Port Oasis as a shrine for art and culture. Indeed, with its position as a city afloat in money firmly established by the time of the Second Unification Campaign, Port Oasis turned to the arts to gain the credibility that few other city-states actively seek. Now renowned as major trendsetters, Oasian artisans produce few unsuccessful styles. The city’s multitude of theaters, fashion halls, and other social venues teem with those seeking to enhance their personal status. Many younger Oasians, buoyed by dreams of importance, work their days away feverishly so that they can turn around at night and spend their earnings. In Port Oasis, image is everything.
It would be unfair to categorize all Oasians as self-inflating megalomaniacs. Many citizens live with the dubious reputation of their home as an uncomfortable fact of life, and some actively avoid the trendy cliques that others deem vital to their social well being. The reality is that hard work and dedication to one‘s circle characterize many Oasians regardless of wealth or personal power. Oasians are proud citizens of both their city-state and of the Republic, and see no reason to compromise one or the other. While distressed by the undercurrent of violence that seems to have gripped the city, most citizens simply avoid the afflicted areas, sticking to the quiet neighborhoods of western Old Port and Villeneuve. Unfortunately, they can do little but watch as their neighbors claw their wav to the top.
Government
Business, Big and Small
As the capital of the Southern Republic, Port Oasis is a city steeped in politics. Almost 11% of its population is employed by the government and even more are indirectly dependent on state employers. Government-owned companies employ another 7% of people in this city where the head offices of such companies as the SR postal service, the national airline and several monitoring agencies are located. Another 55% of people are employed in the service industry. Many of these are involved in business management (including banking and investing). The fact that shopkeepers and independent businesspeople are considered part of the service sector, however, serves to inflate the numbers disproportionately. The remaining citizens are employed in the few heavy industries established around the city. With this eclectic mixture of professions, Port Oasis produces very little that its citizens actually require, so it thrives on selling what people want. High fashion, entertainment and investment moneys flow from the city, making Southern life, while not necessarily utopian, certainly more pleasing than it would be otherwise. I n return for these outflows, Port Oasis receives raw materials for manufacture, foodstuffs and other necessities. Demand for Oasian specialty products i s high around the Antarctic, and exists to some degree over the whole of Terra Nova. Most local citizens point to this as a sign that they are doing something right that others should strive to emulate, while many on the receiving end of these sentiments think that Port Oasis should produce more and talk less.
A number of the non-government manufacturers in the area are in very narrow niche markets, but make a tidy profit nonetheless. A prime example of this is Mouraissault, a maker of custom glassware. Their products range from optic lenses made to fill laser producers' subcontract work to elaborate and complex parts for sculptors or specialized multi-element bulbs for experimental lighting units. The company's prospectus has improved greatly over the last two cycles, and its stock offering (expected for next Winter) has received some sample prices 15% higher than their asking price.
Despite Port Oasis' reputation for being dominated by the service industry, there are several important manufacturing and resource extracting firms with headquarters and facilities in the capital. I n fact, the top three members of the antienvironmental corporate group known as the Coalition for Rightful Environmental Exploitation(Deschamps Mining Affairs, Lloyd's Nuclear Consortium and Tetsuhama Trans-National) are based in Port Oasis. Deschamps and Lloyd's are both involved primarily in resource extraction and energy production, but Tetsuhama is highly diversified. Founded by Mekong expatriate Reo Tetsuhama, TTN is involved in a wide variety of heavy industries, including steel mills, vehicle manufacturing, mines and oil wells. Even in industrial sites not owned by TTN, Tetsuhama machinery or components are very common. In the last twenty cycles, TTN has also moved into the consumer market with a range of tools and other lightduty construction equipment.
Current Concerns
Steeped in noxious and demoralizing pursuits, principally the quest for power, Port Oasis is a city gripped amidst a silent and pernicious tug of war. On the surface reigns a calm facade as the Port Oasis citizens' council organizes and maintains the capital. Oasian Peacekeepers, supplemented by SRID agents, patrol their sectors and ensure a relative level of security. This has not, however, stopped a rash of murders in the harbor area, (sometimes blamed on the Traveling Man, a notorious serial-killer) or a string of well publicized robberies. Local authorities claim to have the situation well in hand, but Louis Philippe deRouen has dispatched personal resources to solve the problems plaguing his city.
Few realize that these incidents are part of a dangerous game being played by hidden powers within Port Oasis. The Rostov Family, the largest and most vicious crime syndicate in the Republic, spins an intricate web of activities throughout the city. By establishing concerns ranging from Mekong slaving rings to smuggling high technology Humanist goods, Andrew Rostov has carved a niche of power for his family. The Rostovs control the Blue Strip in eastern Old Port. Encompassing a two dozen block radius, this collection of simple Romanesque structures hosts illegal activities of all kinds, and to walk through the area without the family's consent is to invite disaster on oneself. Blackmailed SRID assistant directors ensure that little is done about the problem.
Vicious and uncompromising, the Order of the Falcon holds considerable sway over the capital. Born from the cabal of unified councilors that destroyed Marabou and brought Dimitri Nemen to power after the First Unification Campaign, the imperialist Order has long counted many powerful politicians and business leaders among its secret membership; that which fails to meet their approbation rarely survives within the city. The Order has arranged the downfall of past Prime Ministers, had its hand in the creation of the AST, and has recently been counseling its pawns in the Estates General to raise a voice for war versus the North. To date, even SRID has been unable to identify a member of the order, though some have accused Maia Landling of membership.
The Order has been in decline since the rise of Louis Philippe deRouen, who viciously eliminated much of its leadership in the early days of his arrival on the political scene. Since then, the major conflict has been between the Prime Minister and Jacques Molay, Lord Protector of the Allied Southern Territories. This unprecedented conflict - made possible by the each man's cooperation in rising to power through immoral means has repercussions across Port Oasis. Various powerful bureaucrats and politicians have tried to align themselves on one side or the other of this battle, or have used the conflict as an opportunity to expand their own power. Intrigue has reached an all time high in the capital and many are beginning to believe that the doctrines of honor and patriotism are being forgotten in the process.
Industry & Trade
- Finance
- Entertainment
- Politics
Districts
Old Port
Surrounded by a thick blast wall, Old Port is a snarl of roads and alleyways divided by two main thoroughfares. Le Grand Processional cuts the city into eastern and western halves, while Le Grand Boulevard bisects the Processional. More than physically divided, Old Port is split into two distinct personas. Oasians that "Feast in the East" and "Rest in the West" is a common saying that accurately depicts this reality.
Beautified by a profusion of Greco-Roman structures, and tree-lined sanctuaries, the east is where Oasians and visitors come to play. A palace for the senses, amphitheaters, fine restaurants, trendy fashion houses, casinos, brothels, and blood fighting rings can be found around almost any corner. The east is so saturated with enterprise, even residents have trouble naming every store. The latest fads in style and form pour from eastern boutiques and galleries to sweep across the South, and sometimes even the North. Even the crime-fraught harbor districts display an opulence infrequently encountered in other city states. Unfortunately only the truly rich, or important, can squeeze the fullest decadence from the winding streets. Vivacious and impressive, this half of Old Port nevertheless hosts the most serious business of the land. Money flows through the marbled halls of eastern Old Port, where most financial institutions and the Banque Republicaine are headquartered. Complimenting this fiscal might is the political power of the Estates General, the Curia, and the Republic's working councils. While media attention shines on eastern Old Port luminaries, few forget that Southern life is shaped by her controllers.
The western half of Old Port is a mixture of sprawling palatial homes and high-rise apartments that house one third of Port Oasis' population. Oftentimes sacrificing style for function, western Old Port nevertheless maintains an air of dignity. While convenience stores and discount marts serve citizens who are not the social elite, even these are presented with a splendor that is typically Oasian. Parks nestled amongst the buildings and a selection of schools give western Old Port an excellent reputation among young families.
Buried under the west are the emergency housing quarters that all residents of Villeneuve maintain. These "coffin houses" are little more than cramped spaces where people sleep, and are infrequently used, except in times of emergency testing.
Villeneuve and the Launch
Radiating for six kilometers from the fortified walls is Villeneuve, home to over two million Oasians. Here the haphazard design of Old Port is replaced by simple grid patterns. Tens of thousands of independent homes, multilevel living complexes and industrial production centers hug the landscape, in a display of highly utilitarian civic planning.
Villeneuve is an authentic residential paradise with policing, fire prevention, sanitation and maintenance provided by suburban councils. Numerous community parks, libraries, pools and even an ice rink, distributed throughout the breadth of Villeneuve render it an attractive living space.
Home to the space port facilities of the Southern Republic, the Launch is the showpiece of the Republic. From this heavily defended locale, the Southern Republic sends satellites and the occasional manned vessel into the vastness of space. Citizens are welcome to visit the facilities, although they are guarded and must remain in carefully monitored security areas, and the Launch has as many visitors annually as any location in the southern hemisphere.
Albigen
Often referred to as the capital region, Albigen is home to Port Oasis. Many communities in the Albigen Region are crop farming interests. The land is damp, yet laced with rich nutrients that support a variety of local delicacies and staples that feed the Southern Republic. While not the backbone of the Republic's food production, Albigen plays a role in supplying many items that cannot be produced elsewhere. Some farms have recently supplemented their crop growth with livestock, where land types permit.
Albigen is home to over seventy small communities, whose populations range from 1,000 to 100,000 people. Five of these communities are small cities that serve as suburbs for Port Oasis. Five more are actually large farmsteads, run by families of close to three hundred people. Small independent neighborhoods and mining concerns exist, but these isolated communities draw support from the rest of the region to survive.
Most Albegenians are connected either directly or in a supporting role to the agricultural activity of the region. Some towns serve as areas from which farmers draw their supplies and necessities, including farmhands who often reside off the homesteads. The suburbs of Port Oasis are urbanized cities that produce heavy equipment to work the farms.
The people of Albigen are, unfortunately, caught in a paradox of their heritage and the obvious importance of their location. The fact that the government would subsidize them immediately to prevent hardship, is a disquieting proposition to these hard working industrious people. From the farmhands to the packager/distributors, Albigen is a complex weave of people, all intent on serving their region and keeping it strong without outside help. There are those who have come to the region to take advantage of government subsidies. These outsiders are ostracized by Locals, but are becoming numerous enough to be a serious drain on the national purse.
Maps
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Port Oasis
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