Category:The Republic of Cascadia

Posted by: #BuyMartMan, Atlantica/Albany Street Sales Gentleman

Hey, tomo, I hear you’re looking to make a buy. I got what you need. Just got in some primo Sticky-Icky. None of the state-grown hydro bullcrap, either. Straight out of the ground, no taxes, and nothing goes to the CEF.

What? You’re looking for, like, info and crap? Man, I ain’t no infobroker. Tony gave you the wrong number. Still, I hate to send a customer away empty-handed. Here’s what I got on Cascadia, what the generals in Olympia call “The Republic.”

You must be new in town, since this crap is what you can ﬁnd anywhere in the Global DataNet, assuming you know where to look. If anyone asks, you didn’t get this from me.

''#Spider-Bot17: Yeah, so, this ﬁle’s got some major errors in it, and is ﬁlled with the author’s biases. Still, it does have some useful stuff in it. Just don’t take everything as gospel. It ain’t that bad here. ''

''#Eriksen_W: And your slag against this piece doesn’t have anything to do with you wanting to sell your own work, amiright? ''

''#Spider-Bot17: Yes, I’ve got a guide to Cascadia for sale. [TAP ADDRESS SCRUBBED]. So what? ''

THE REPUBLIC TODAY
The area of the old United States known as the Republic of Cascadia owes much of its present status to catastrophe. Though largely spared a direct role in the ﬁghting of the Second American Civil War, the Paciﬁc Northwest and its logistical and air-support structures played a large part in various operations. With the breakup and balkanization of the American state, the Republic officially came into existence with the Treaty of Tokyo in 2068.

The economic effects of the war were enough of a problem for the ﬂedging Republic, and if the Juan de Fuca earthquake— which devastated much of the Paciﬁc Rim in the year 2069 — had been the only ecological disaster to hit, things might be very different.

In addition to the tsunami and loss of life that got so much media attention, the quake also set off Mt. Rainier, a volcano in old Washington state situated near the Seattle-Tacoma area. The volcano had been on the verge of eruption for decades, and when the thing went off, the explosion was very likely the largest natural disaster in human history.

''#Billy_Black_Eyes: Pure hyberbole. The volcano’s eruption was large, yes, but hardly the largest natural disaster in human history. Far from it. ''

''#Spider-bot17: This bit about the Rainier eruption being “the largest in history” is overstating the thing. ''

''#Eriksen_W: If you think that, you obviously weren’t in the area when the damned thing went off ami. There was clouds of ash and volcanic lightning everywhere. ''

SeaTac had been one of the largest population centers on the West Coast, a sprawling metropolis teeming with millions of people, hybrids, androids, sims, and who knows what else. The destruction wrought by the volcano was on such a staggeringly large scale that the ﬁnal death toll, which we’ll never really know, must certainly number in the hundreds of thousands.

#Spider-bot17: Note the not-so-subtle dig at hybrids, sims, and others as being different from “people.” 

''#Eriksen_W: Damnit, Spider. You know what he means. He’s not saying that hybrids aren’t people. Just that they’re not normal, ordinary people. You go looking for problems, and then have to invent them when they don’t exist. ''

''#Spider-bot17: So, you’re saying that hybrids aren’t “normal” people? That being a hybrid makes you something other than “regular folk”? ''

''#Eriksen_W: Ah, bite my crank, you freak! ''

GOVERNMENT IN THE REPUBLIC
People new to Cascadia often assume that the place is run much like the old US. This is not the case and the differences can, at times, bite people in the ass. Cascadia is a constitutional republic. The head of state is called the President, who is elected every four years by popular vote (see note on citizenship and voting below). The current President of Cascadia is Gabriel Ono, who is about as typical a Cascadian as you can get; he’s an emancipated combat simulacrum, with a law degree and military experience during the Second American Civil War and the ﬁghting that occurred in the aftermath of the Treaty of Tokyo. Ono’s one of the only simulacrum politicians to hold an office of this caliber, and many blame the tension between the Republic and the NAC on this fact.


 * 1) Spider-bot17: If you squint and look at this dig at Ono’s race sideways, there might actually be a valid point in it. It is true that there is talk within the NAC’s various media outlets that Ono’s not ﬁt to serve as a leader because of his race. It is also true that politicians within the NAC express a desire to free Cascadia from the dreaded simulacra President. However, painting this as Ono’s fault, instead of the fact that the NAC has enshrined sim-phobia as the Law of the Land, is one of those points where the author’s biased view of reality gets in the way of his objectivity.


 * 1) Eriksen_W: You’re acting like being objective is the author’s point, or even something worth chasing. What’s wrong with the author having a point of view on the subject? Lots of people think idea of a simulacra as president is wrong.


 * 1) Spider-bot17: The problem is that these “lots of people” aren’t trying to get others to think their ideas are legitimate and objective, when they’re anything but.

The government is structured like the old US: three branches oversee the function of the government. The legislature consists of a single house, known as the Senate, and is made up of representatives from districts across the Republic, and a five-member Supreme Court oversees the judiciary. However, there are several important differences. Given the near-constant threat of invasion from the NAC, the Republican Army (a combined navy, air, and infantry force) holds a great deal of sway over the function of government.

FRANCHISE AND VOTING RIGHTS
The process of gaining a franchise (that is, official citizenship and voting rights) is lengthy, involved, and ﬁlled with corruption. In general, only the rich are citizens, and the system is designed to keep undesirables from having too much say in politics.

These measures are spun as necessary evils to deal with the threat of the NAC. The belief is that, given the porous nature of the borders, anyone can get into Cascadia but they can’t gather in numbers to undermine security without undergoing extensive scrutiny and thorough background checks. While there is some truth to the supposed threat, the system keeps the poor and disenfranchised in their station, making crime the only way to improve the lives of most of those who live in the Republic’s borders.

''#Spider-bot17: This is one of the few places where the author is right, and, as per usual, he’s only half-right. There was a much-publicized case a few years ago where a supposed “terrorist cell” was arrested, attempting to set off military grade explosives at Pioneer Courthouse Square. These men and women were said to be members of the Curbstompers, and claimed to have received covertops training from the NAC, and, in an astonishingly convenient encounter, where all were gunned down trying to escape from custody. ''

''#Eriksen_W: Man, this sort of crap happens all the time. We’re always hearing about the cops or the army nabbing some lone whack-job sneaking across the border. ''

For most of the wealthy and inﬂuential, when their children reach the age of maturity (18, with some exceptions for particularly bright children), citizenship is a matter of paying a fee and passing a written exam about the Republic, its history, and the function of government. This is the sort of thing all children would learn, if there were public schools.

The only other fast-track to citizenship is military service. The army is so eager for recruits that it offers citizenship upon honorable discharge, as well as money, equipment, access to high-grade medical care, and a host of other beneﬁts. A term of enlistment is a real path out of poverty, and is pretty much the only way out of squalor for most of the people who call Cascadia home.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Even with the effects of the Death still rampant in some sections of Cascadia, one thing has remained true: the climate here is ideally suited to growing certain types of plants. This is why you’ll see rose bushes, azaleas, and rhododendrons all over the place here, and why encroaching ivy and other invasive plants continue to be a problem. More in keeping with our topic, large sections of Cascadia are ideal growing conditions for Sticky-Icky. It grows so well here that just about any seed dropped will sprout, growing, well, like a weed.

Since the country makes so much money on drug sales, they’ve had to search farther aﬁeld for the bulk of their supply. To that end, Cascadia has developed a variety of lucrative trade treaties with the drug kingpins of the Southern Badlands, who ferry mass amounts of Cascadia’s drugs of choice through the CDZ, up the I-5 Corridor, and into the Portland-Olympia area. These caravans are heavily armed, armored, and regulated by both countries to make sure that the ﬂow of goods goes uninterrupted.

The ugly underbelly of the drug policy is the sad fact that Cascadia has a huge problem with addiction. The legislature that established the DCB stores originally had amendments that put education, awareness, and treatment programs in place, but these were removed by lawmakers who speculated that the programs would be too expensive. They also downplayed the impact a population of addicts would have on the ﬂedgling country’s infrastructure.

''#Spider-bot17: Well, the wealthy can afford treatment when their addictions become problematic. Private detox facilities have sprung up all over the Republic, typically in isolated sections of forests that used to be parklands. ''

''#T1mb0: Plus, if a bunch of hybrids, sims, and poor regular folk die from crippling addiction, it’s not like the powers-that-be are losing votes, right? ''

THE SPOKANE DMZ
The Treaty of Tokyo established much of the borders in what was North America, and, by and large, the nations involved keep to them. However, the border between the NAC and northern Cascadia is one notable exception to this. The NAC claims territory as far west as Spokane, while Cascadia says the Treaty puts its eastern border past Coeur d’Alene, (pronounced “core duh-lane”) Idaho. Both cities are along a relatively major highway system, and, as such, are hotly-controlled territory.

The land between these two cities, not more than a few miles at its largest, is called the Spokane DMZ, and what’s left of the cities is the site of an ongoing struggle between the two nations, as each pushes against the other in a bid to take the cities once and for all. The DMZ has seen some of the dirtiest, most bitter ﬁghting in the modern age, made all the more tragic by the very worthless nature of the contested ground. It’s largely symbolic at this point, but don’t tell that to the families of those who have fallen here, or those who continue to ﬁght over it.

RURAL CASCADIA
Due to the depopulating effects of both the Death and economic hardship, much of Cascadia’s rural areas have the remnants of civilization, but are otherwise remote and isolated. Ghost towns galore exist, being slowly reclaimed by nature. And the “nature” that’s doing the reclamation sometimes doesn’t look like something from the history books. Weird mutant ﬂora and bio-horrors often ﬁnd their way to isolated ghost towns, free from natural predators and human intervention.

#SpiderBot 17: [ ERROR VID 403: AT TACHMENT SASQUATCH-TROOPSEASIDE.TVM SCRUBBED] 

THE I-5 CORRIDOR
I-5 was the main interstate road for the west coast. It ran all through California, Oregon, and Washington State. During the Second American Civil War, the highway was extensively used as a logistics thoroughfare for military operations all up and down the West Coast, and from there, the rest of the world via Joint Base Lewis-McChord. After the Treaty of Tokyo created the Republic, the interstate and the towns around it became even more important to the ﬂedgling nation. The ﬁnal element that has shaped the interstate is the earthquake that created the CDZ. Due to lack of resources, much of I-5 in Cali fornia has fallen into such a state of disrepair that it’s little more than occasional stretches of crumbling tarmac, pitted with potholes that get bigger every spring.

However, the road between Portland and Seattle does get some attention, as the Republican Army makes extensive use of it to move troops and equipment to various parts of the Republic, not to mention ferry ing incoming trade from Portland to other nearby places. In a very real sense, I-5 is the lifeline that keeps the blood of the Republic ﬂowing, and its maintenance and upkeep is a constant concern for those responsible for the Republic’s defense and livelihood.

''#Spider-Bot17: The author’s right about how much attention I-5 gets from Portland to Seattle, but he overstates the conditions heading south from Portland. Yeah, the road’s seen better days, but it isn’t until you get pretty close to San Francisco that the roadway starts to go from “bad” to “useless.” ''

''#T1mb0: And if they can ever finish re-linking I-5 North and South in Portland, the Republic’s ﬁnances are going to really take off. That is, of course, assuming that those in control of the rampant graft and corruption on the construction crews are willing to actually let it happen. ''

PORTLAND
Though the ecological damage done to Portland isn’t as dramatic as what the Mount Rainier eruption did to Seattle, the city was no less disrupted. Most of Portland was at one time situated where the Columbia and Willamette Rivers met before ﬂowing to the Paciﬁc Ocean. Due to the change in sea level and the tsunamis associated with the Juan de Fuca earthquake, the water level in the Rose City rose to the point where a great deal of what used to be central Portland is now under water. This includes the once-vibrant downtown districts and Portland International Airport, once one of the largest travel hubs on the West Coast.

While the ﬂooding was unstoppable, it was also slow enough that steps could be taken to minimize the damage done. As the water level of the Columbia and Willamette rose, dikes were put in place to allow people and businesses to relocate to other, higher por tions of the city. These all eventually failed, sometimes in spectacular fashion, though the loss of life and productivity could have been much worse.

''#T1mb0: The word in the recesses of the Global DataNet is that a whole crapload of organized crime rings use the shipping situation to keep the demand for imports high enough that the black markets in Bridgetown are as proﬁtable as possible. If you happen to be in Old Downtown at night, you’re almost certain to see a ﬁreﬁght between rival gangs, motoring around in cheap Toyota Super-Specials. ''

The central area of Portland, called Old Downtown by the locals, can be quite a sight. The waters of Lake Portland are 40 to 50 feet deep in some places, and even the shallower places have enough water in them to utterly ruin any transportation besides small runner-craft and VTOL vehicles, which the most wealthy and inﬂuential use if they can get them. Skyscrapers poke up out of the water; modern buildings have been adapted to rest comfortably with foundations set in the lake-bed, while older buildings have either collapsed from water damage, or are designated to be demolished when/if funds and attention warrant. Some sections of Lake Portland are shining examples of modern architecture, in what some describe as a modern-day Venice, while other parts are creepy, water-logged ruins where the ghosts of old buildings seem to beg for release.

Since the formation of Lake Portland, the city has generally expanded westward, ﬁlling the formally rural Willamette River valley with buildings, businesses and factories. Portland always had a reputation for computer and other technological developments, and this trend has continued in the 2090s. SAGEIT owns major production facilities here, and Nike, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Belarusian Steel, continues to market footwear, through its major lines are military-style boots (to better advertise for the Republican Army) rather than athletic shoes.

In recent years, Central Belarusian Steel has been quietly buying up media companies in Cascadia, which is a little odd for them. Though they have ﬁngers in a lot of pies, the media purchases are frequent and located mainly in Cascadia and neighboring countries. No one’s really sure why they’re doing this, though supposedly there are people willing to pay to ﬁgure it out.

CULTURE AND OUTLOOK
One major element that sets Cascadia apart from the NAC is that the Republic is very welcoming. Anyone, regardless of beliefs, appearance, or political views, can feel safe here. Hybrids and sims are quite common, though baseline humans and human 2.0 make up the bulk of the population. Zeeks have a surprisingly large presence, especially in urban areas where they have a better chance of going unnoticed or banding together for mutual support and protection.

''#Billy-Black-Eyes: I would feel bad if I didn’t mention that Cascadia isn’t as friendly to zeeks as this article suggests. They stand a better than average chance of getting nabbed by the military, and are often pressured into undergoing training for black ops against the NAC and other nations. ''

#Magpie: Maybe in Cascadia Proper, but if you get up into the Emerald City, you’ll ﬁnd that isn’t the case at all.