Ba Sing Se

All classes and ethnicities are represented in Ba Sing Se. Prosperity continues to decline outwards to the point of absolute poverty. Some groups increasingly have some kind of bender in their ranks, but most people are non-benders, whether consciously or not.

The city is administered by the city council. This consists of elected representatives, although the majority of the city does not have the right to vote. Reasons such as a lack of ID, insufficient assets or income are often used as justification. The city council is headed by the mayor, who has belonged to the Beifong Family for many decades and does not even attempt to conceal the obvious corruption and corporate affiliation.

The ancient city walls have lost their original purpose in times of FSMs, drones and missiles. Instead, they now serve numerous ground-to-air weapons and shields. The airports have military ranges for armed FSMs, drone hubs and missile launchers. Various security companies, especially those under Beifong Steelworks, have numerous armored vehicles, artillery, infantry and other military equipment.

Every major corporation produces in Ba Sing Se. Production is spread across the outer rings and extends from towering buildings deep into the earth. Even remnants of the city's once flourishing mining industry remain to extract the last reserves of luminous crystals. The city thrives on the import of raw materials from around the world and the export of weapons, cyberware, technology, food and every commodity imaginable.

Ba Sing Se has the largest road network in the world, which connects buildings and factories over several levels. The quality varies greatly depending on the region and the average income of the area.   The city has an extensive elevated railway network that was considered unique even in ancient times. Today it connects all rings except the upper ring and can be used by all residents, depending on the route and class. Most of the time, the elevated train is a means for workers to travel from the outer districts to work in the middle ring. Corpos rarely use this means of transportation.   Alternatively, subway trains can be used, which are similarly equipped to the elevated train. Both rail networks are operated by Beifong Railways.   The city also has airports and connections to the Earth Republic rail network.

The Upper Ring is home to corporate headquarters, luxury buildings and everything the super-rich corpo needs. It is restrictive and heavily guarded and protected by various security companies and private armies.   The Middle Ring is reserved for the rich population, who are usually also part of corporations, but are not rich enough for the Upper Ring. The Ring is less heavily fenced off, as important infrastructure such as Ba Sing Se Central Station, Kyoshi Airport used by airships and Flying Satomobiles, as well as factories, offices and other services could be found. The streets are full of workers, wage laborers and corporate slaves who are shunned by corpos, who can often use their own elevated tubes and vehicles to keep out low-income earners.   The Lower Ring is populated by the 'richer' underclass. Workers who have their own ID and are not wholly owned by a corporation can rent minimally sized unit apartments. However, crime is no lower than in the Agricultural Ring and some mega-buildings are subject to anarchy. The Lower Ring is doted with factories, automated production facilities and Beifong Railways maintenance sheds.   The Agricultural Zone has a confusing name at first. However, this section was used for agriculture in ancient times. In times of synthetic food and vertical farms combined with the housing shortage, this ring was designated for housing. Many of the original buildings still stand hundreds of years later and are dilapidated but cheap enough to provide housing for the poorest. The police are completely overwhelmed here and try to stay out of the gangs' business. Some factions and organized crime control entire levels of mega-buildings or disused factory buildings to produce drugs, extort protection money and engage in all sorts of other criminal activities.   Even the Agricultural Zone is also overcrowded these days and cannot accommodate all its inhabitants. People who cannot find an apartment or access to the city gather outside the outer walls. Most of the inhabitants have given up hope and live in a sprawling slum, struggling to survive. The nomads trade and barter necessary goods for what little people can find. The slum city gained its own name: Juewang.

Numerous companies do business in Ba Sing Se. Among them are (selection):

• Beifong Steelworks
• Beifong Railways
• Future Global Industies
• Cabbage Corp.
• Fire Inc.
• Kenkō Soshiki
• Bōka
• Ba Sing Se Police Department (BSSPD)

  The most notorious gangs in the city are:

• Red Dragons
• The Judged

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