On Matters of Government

Shrugging off the remnants of the Civil War, the united government looks westward, imbued by a sense of expansionism and Manifest Destiny. With the chance discovery of the mysterious caverns, and the potential for riches hiding in the vast network of tunnels, the United States government tears into the area, establishing a dominant hold over the growing town.

The harsh landscape of the Utah region, surrounded by treacherous mountains and arid desert forces the government to rapidly expand its railroad network to the West, having to rely on stage couch travel for now but urged forward by the first rumors of riches struck by lucky miners and entrepreneurs. Deciding the potential for trapped minerals and riches hiding in the Rocky Mountains outweighed the environmental danger of the region, along with the potential for yet more resources further west, a committee is established and decides to further encourage the growth of the settlement in the area, funding migrations groups to settle out there.

But with time came the worrying calls from different religious factions and tormented miners about the true nature of the winding network of tunnels and vast caverns. Wildly varying stories describing the nature of it reached out to the East, describing the underground as both hot and cold, light and dark, open and confined. These few but varied stories worried the committee, no real consensus getting established, prompting them to deploy a portion of their now restless standing army.

Upon reliable communication establishment, the committee learned the people had named an entrance off to the distance ‘the Hellmouth’, an entrance to Hell itself. Religious zealots either praised the portal into the earth or condemned those that dared venture in. Dozens of mining groups had ventured forth into the Hellmouth, yet few trundled out, laden with treasure.
Hearing of these zealots and fearing future income loss due to the danger of the caverns, the committee ordered the construction of a military fort close to the city, extending its reach to clamp down on needless violence that might cut into its profit margins.
Dozens of municipal buildings pop up seemingly overnight, a government overreaction to protecting its people, but is nothing more than a guise to protect its interests in the area. Doctors, saloons, banks, and whore-houses, all bankrolled by the US government further develop the area, attracting people to the burgeoning settlement. A greater security of life had people calling the new area their home, the government providing the start-up capital but turning a blind eye to the more seedier activities growing and scheming away from the public eye.

Their interests lay in the exploitation of resources hidden in the Hellmouth, not in the petty squabbles on people. Though keeping track of who enters the Salt Lake region with hawkish eyes, most personal security is kept tied to the arriving bureaucrats sent to manage the government’s affairs and prevent crime against them. This security is further extending to visiting magnates, the government looking to attract their prospecting interests and sign contracts to mine the region for elusive resources, be they precious metals or working metals. With soldiers patrolling the more influential areas of the city, most notably the areas filled with the upper class and government official, crimes conveniently finds itself drawn to more seedier quarters, not keen on drawing the monstrous reach and power of the US military.

The areas of the city not held in direct attention of the patrolling military are split between the many different religious factions all vying for attention from the common populace (see Culture). The rule of law is kept up by the hand of these factions, yet without the support of the military or law enforcement, there is little to none compared to the richer areas, but religious fanaticism holds some in line. These religious factions are also a large source of social services in the area, receiving a good chunk of the incoming government capital. They offer housing and food for purposes of conversion, ensuring good will for those willing to venture into the Hellmouth.

Those areas of the city not everrun by religious zealots are held in the hands of the first settlers, the Mormons, the majority of the population. First moving here about four decades ago, they remain entrenched in their beliefs. Though they have no qualms with the encroaching government, they frequently have to deal with the Hellmouth’s influence on the populous, content with their own beliefs but wanting nothing to do with the far flung directions of the different religious factions. They keep their population under control through their own law enforcement, uncaring of the military presence in the city. Most of the law enforcement in the city is devoted to ensuring nothing heinous is done, yet they also fall in line to the military, not willing to tangle with the empowered force.