Though severely damaged by the war and the chaos, Virginia retained a lot of potential for recovery. The large number of military and governmental centers in the state assured that some level of command and control survived the worst of the chaos, even if it was fractured and disorganized. Over time, these elements either dissipated entirely or joined together. Within a generation, a growing hold out of the federal government existed in northern Virginia. 150 years later, the "Federal Government" controls a sizeable chunk of northern Virginia and Maryland, operating from Mount Weather. This area has stabilized and numerous large communities trade and farm in the Piedmont. Throughout the rest of the state, however, conditions varied from thriving farming towns to complete anarchy, with the latter being more prevalent the closer to the North Carolina border you went.
Arlington, SS-17
Newport News, SS-18M2
Richmond, SS-N-8
Norfolk, SS-N-8
Redford Ammunition Depot, Pepper, SS-17
Quantico Marine Corps Base, SS-N-8
Discretionary nuclear targets:
Fort AP Hill, SS-18M2
Hampton Roads Naval Base, SS-18M1
Langley AFB, SS-18M2
The Government: The government of the USA is still nominally a representative democracy, with strong elements of socialism. Elections for public posts are carried out almost annually, with a President elected every four years. The system actually works better than expected, though the sheer number of elected officials constantly running for office can get annoying to the average citizen. The Government has numerous branches dealing with different aspects, including Security, Agriculture, Commerce and Public Health. The overseers of these branches are still called "Secretaries", though they are elected and not appointed by the President.
Technology: The technological level of the USA is roughly 1920s, more in some areas, less in others. Trains run on several tracks and the roads are in reasonably good repair, especially between the larger towns. There are still automobiles in use, mostly by government officials. Gypsy Truckers like to frequent this area because of the excellent spare part and machinery services offered. Up until just 40 years ago, there were a few ancient airplanes still flying in the USA. Wireless sets keep many people and officials in touch, and crude telephones are used in a few select areas.
The United States Army: The new US Army is really little more than a very strong regional militia. They are known as the "Old Guard", a heritage of the nickname of the 3rd Infantry Regiment. The 3rd IR was a ceremonial unit that helped the government evacuate Washington DC in 1989 and has stayed loyal to their pledge to protect the civilian leadership of America over the decades, being instrumental in ensuring that the fledgling Mount Weather enclave survived the first few decades of chaos. Today, the Old Guard counts about 3,000 men under arms, spread out in northern Virginia with a main base in Front Royal. There is a considerable amount of old pre-war military equipment remaining, including M1 Abrams, M60A3s, Bradley�s, M113�s and assorted artillery of the towed variety. There are even a few worn out fighter planes parked at various airfields (F-15C�s, F-16�s, and a few A-10 Warthogs) though none are in any way flyable anymore. The Old Guards soldier�s are armed with pre-war M-16 and M-14 rifles and the venerable Army .45 continues to soldier on after 230+ years in service. They are truly a force to be reckoned with. Much additional equipment has been salvaged over the years from the various military installations that dotted Virginia. Parties of soldiers still make occasional trips as far as Delaware and North Carolina searching for weapons and other goodies.
Relations with neighbors: The USA is strictly a regional power, despite its name. It has contact with the Free State in Kentucky, though it is mostly through middle-man traders. It is aware of the 1st Cavalry in Texas, and at times attempts to issue orders to that unit, claiming that it is a unit of the US Army still. Those orders are always denied and often ignored. Relations with the Carolina Confederacy to the south are cordial, with some coastal trade being conducted. A Carolina Confederacy ambassador has recently made the long trip to Mount Weather where he is being wined and dined. Most commerce is done with local towns, using the rivers and surviving roadways as trade routes. The unit of currency for civilians is still the "dollar", though now a uniform unit of silver or gold coinage. The Government uses chits almost exclusively within the empire but trades externally in stamped coins.
Mount Weather: The capitol of the USA since 1990, Mount Weather was the nation's premiere underground emergency facility before the war. Hidden in the carved-out innards of a heavily wooded mountain ridge, the site is on a 434-acre site on the borders of Loudon and Clarke counties near Berryville. Intended to shelter the nation's leaders in the event of a nuclear attack, Mount Weather was a self-contained city, with it's own power plant, TV and radio station, computer network, stores of dried, canned, and preserved food, underground reservoirs of drinking water, living quarters, offices and a direct link to the White House Security Room. Its original residents included computer programmers, engineers, fire fighters, security personnel, craftsmen, secretaries, and mostly importantly, bureaucrats. 150 years later, it still is an impressive place, though much of the sophisticated machinery within has broken down. The computers have been kept intact over the last century and a half by the dry and cool environment of the sealed complex, but the power requirements needed to run more than a few at a time limit their usefulness. Some 250 people live and work in the mountain full-time and the bulk of the political machine is run from here. There is the usual amount of bickering and pandering and the entire political institution now resembles the 18th century French court at Versailles. This is not a good thing, and is perhaps the main reason that the USA has stagnated as a local power for all these years.
The Lost President: On War Day, while President Bush, the First Lady and select staff were winging away on Air Force One, Vice President Dan Quayle was hurriedly taken to Mount Weather to assume his place as back-up to the chain of command. The Secret Service ushered all of the available command personnel (Joint Chiefs, a few Senators and Congressmen, and staff) to the super secret Cryo-Stasis level in the bowels of Mount Weather. The off-target airburst that sent Air Force One careening out of control into the wilds of West Virginia, instantly made Dan the de facto Commander in Chief of the devastated and suffering nation. Unfortunately, Dan had never been updated on all of the inner workings of the Emergency Command Council; having often ducked the meetings for personal diversions (usually food related). As he had neither the strength of character, willpower or intelligence to fulfill his duties, this tragic oversight spelled his doom. The fact that he was often crying, wailing like a little girl, and babbling incoherently about Revelations and other Biblical dogma did little to inspire the men under his command. After a hurried meeting, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs ordered the Secret Service detachment to tranquilize the President/Vice President and stuff him in a cryo tube, with the intention of awaking him when the situation stabilized. His tube was located in sub-annex D-7, a deep bunker where long term survival supplies were kept. The agent in charge of this vault and its contents was killed in a freak accident that same afternoon, and the �President� was soon forgotten. He is still sleeping down there to this day, amongst piles of molding crates and other refuse, awaiting a chance for glory that may well never come.
Winchester: The administrative capitol and the largest city in the USA, with some 10,000 citizens. Some surprisingly large-scale manufacturing industry operates here, with a crude coal-fired power plant providing electricity. This utility has been kept on for the last 150 years, mostly based on the utilization of century-old equipment and handed-down knowledge.
Front Royal: The military center of the USA, with the Army's training grounds and vehicle pool located here. There are some 6,000 civilians here, mostly farming and serving the military's needs.
Culpeper: Home to 1,000 people, known for a great flea market.
Charlottesville: A farming town of 3,600 people.
Fredericksburg: Home to 950 traders and fishers, this town serves as the main port of the USA, with considerable traffic moving up and down the Potomac River. Shallow draft ships from the Carolina Confederacy often arrive, loaded with a manner of goods.
The ruins of Norfolk: The Norfolk-Newport News-Hampton area was pasted by about a dozen nuclear weapons. The biggest was a 25 megaton city buster which was mistimed and actually smashed through the deck of a tugboat before exploding at nearly sea level in Hampton Roads. Despite this, the very large mega tonnage of the warhead ensured the end of the city. The hits at all the military bases reduced the city's population from 300,000 to 300 in a few hours and destroyed what ships of the US Atlantic Fleet that were still in port. 150 years later, the urban area is just a flattened rubble field. The Hampton Roads channel all the way over to the mouth of the James River was once totally obstructed by shipwrecks sunk by the blasts, but salt water, corrosion, strong currents, storms and tidal action have reduced these wrecks to little more than scattered lumps of iron on the sea floor. Unfortunatally, current radiation levels make the Norfolk area a dangerous place to stay the night and travelers are very rare. The Highway 13 causeway connecting Norfolk to the peninsula of Northampton was severed in three separate locations, though a few segments still poke up out of the water. Once again boasting the best harbor on the East Coast, it would still take a monumental effort to clean up the radioactive debris to make this port productive again.
The ruins of Richmond: A nuclear warhead 150 years ago demolished most of the downtown area, leaving little but charred rubble north of the Chippenham Parkway. The ruins are still very dangerous, especially the pools of toxic chemicals that breed mutant animals. The few inhabitants here make a living either farming small plot gardens and sifting over the rubble for overlooked bits of salvage. They are not affiliated with the USA, though traders from the north often come to the area.
Petersburg: South of Richmond, this town still supports a varied population. The southern suburbs are home to a small community of about 450 Latino farmers and hunters, descendents of the city's large pre-war Hispanic population. As well, the "Peters" have a large enclave in a block of low-rent apartments in the Colonial Heights area. They number around 300 people, but are considerably poorer and more desperate than the Latinos. The Peters and Latinos have been mortal enemies for a century, constantly fighting each other, raiding turf and taking women. This conflict has more to do with survival and food than any ethnic dislike, though rhetoric on both sides would lead one to believe that race is the main issue.
Palmer: At the mouth of the Rappahannock River, this once quaint, little town is now the current equivalent of a minor metropolis. Dusted with radiation from the coastal city nukes and swamped with dying refugees, the town was initially abandoned. With a decade, however, it was obvious that the area was safe and people started to return. Today, with a population of almost 2,700, Palmer now boasts a vigorous fishing industry, as well as some coastal trade in Chesapeake Bay. Though not an official part of the USA, most of Palmer's trade comes from that empire, both coastal and overland. Because of Palmer's wealth and location, they have been able to sign a series of very favorable trade deals with the USA.
Williamsburg: The low-tech industries and crafts of colonial Williamsburg would logically be in demand in the chaos after the war. However, the town was nearly completely destroyed by refugee riots and wildfires in the first year after the war. Just a small population of farmers lives here now. Their leader is a Fundamentalist preacher with hidden aspirations to be a king. He would prefer not to be messed with and has turned away traders from the USA for the last year. This has served only to cripple the already slight economy of the town.
Site P: There is a secret Snakeeater base located on the expansive grounds of Fort A.P. Hill military reservation, which was nuked hard during the war. The base was one of the largest in the country and was designed to serve as a command and control center for awakened teams. The top levels were totally destroyed by the nuke hits, concealing the entrance in a huge pile of rubble. Parts of the interior of the base are slightly radioactive, and has cracks have let in water to destroy much vital equipment. About half of the frozen Command Team and the associated Green Berets are still alive, though it is questionable if any outside activation signal can get through. The base holds a considerable stockpile of weapons and ammunition, as well as vehicles and even aircraft. It would take a monumental effort to unearth the base, however, and its location has long been lost to memory.
Quinby: Out on the Delmarva Peninsula, this small town has been quiet for generations. It has a small permanent population, just a few dozen local fishermen operating out of the old harbor there and a couple of craftsmen who produce rope and netting for the fishers. Recently, an Emdee from Pennsylvania moved into the area and is providing medical care and is even acting as an impartial learned judge to settle local disputes. The only problem is the man's constant sleeping with everyone's wife.
Pirates: The scattered islands and bays along the east coast are known to be a haven for a group of pirates. They prey both on local communities along the Atlantic coast, as well as the incoming and outgoing trade traffic through the Chesapeake Bay entrance. They are based on the island where the old Cape Charles lighthouse still stands, having converted it into a fortress. They have a shipyard of sorts on the mainland where their boats are built and repaired. The pirates are led by "Shark-Killer Tim", so named because he supposedly killed a huge mutant shark with just his knife and his hands. Tim has received word that the Carolina Confederacy, not happy with their tradeships being ambushed off the Virginia coast, are planning on sending one of their ironclad monitors up to smash the pirates. Tim would dearly love to capture this ship, preferably before any battle at sea.
Roanoke: Following the nuclear strikes, the Virginia National Guard unit in this city declared marshal law and armed the police department with stocks from the armory. Thus, order was maintained better than in most similar sized cities. It couldn't last and by the spring, the city had fallen into anarchy. Still, Roanoke refused to die. The people scratched and clawed against the gathering darkness and maintained a semblance of civilization. 150 years later, Roanoke is a prosperous trading center of some 6,000 people, with another 4,000 living in the surrounding farming communities in a 20 mile circle. The city's main commerce comes by selling food and manufactured goods north up the Shenandoah Valley and south along the New River Valley. The USA is a major buyer of goods from here, as are communities further south in North Carolina.
Rockbridge County: Home range of a local white supremacy group called the "Thomas Jefferson Legion". They are well-trained, militant and virulently xenophobic. They are led by several former US Army officers who deserted when they were reprimanded for being too racist.
Danville: A very productive agricultural region, most of the population lives on self-sufficient farms and trades only limitedly. Local farmers are armed and very independent minded, and nothing more organized then an occasional posse ever develops. Crimes are usually dealt with by civic minded individuals who hunt down and lynch the persons accused. The actual town of Danville has just a few dozen inhabitants, most people living in the rural area.
Galax: Galax is home to a small monastery run by a group of monks. It is known that the monks keep a large quantity of gold and silver in their complex, gathered from unknown sources. No firearms are allowed in the complex, but the raiders somehow keep their distance. It is rumored that the monks have some sort of "mystic powers" to keep violent people at bay, as well as heal the wounds of locals.
Hillsville: A few months ago, this large farming town was smacked by a huge tornado that came in suddenly and without much warning. The twister caught the settlement unprepared, and killed numerous people and flattened most every large building in the town's center. Perhaps because of the strain of this disaster, or maybe something else, the town's mayor has gone a bit batty. Always taking his appointment a little too seriously, he has now declared himself the "President of the United Commonwealth of Hillsville" and has become even more driven to protect his people and "his country". He has suggested that a series of high towers be built around the town to watch for any future incoming tornadoes. This actually is a good idea, but far beyond the means of the people of Hillsville, especially in the wake of the devastating storm. The monks in nearby Galax have been strangely silent about this confusion lately.
Lebanon: After decades of poor crops, the population had stabilized at about 100 hunters and gatherers. Then came a horse-mounted bandit gang from North Carolina, who beat the town's small militia in a series of skirmishes this summer. The bandits kidnapped the mayor and his family and are now harassing the citizens. The remaining locals, while outnumbering the bandits three to one, are disorganized, demoralized, and mostly unarmed.
People who have contributed to this entry:
John Raner
Karl Zohler