Ruins Of Atlanta (BB2e) FR:Vivre dans les Ruines

Dès la poussière retombée, Master of Destruction ou plus simplement MOD, super-vilain à la triste gloire, se précipita dans les ruines pour secourir des décombres blessés et prisonniers, et porter aux réfugiés eau et nourriture. Paragon était alors toujours une menace rodant dans les environs ; la nation et le monde avaient d'autres désastres à gérer, d'autres incendies à éteindre, et les ressources de chacun étaient au point de rupture. Des civils de Géorgie et des états voisins, financés par de riches célébrités et entrepreneurs, vinrent à Atlanta pour aider aux opérations de secours tandis que MOD faisait le plus dur du travail. Des centaines de milliers purent êtres évacués. La FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) prit des jours pour organiser son intervention, et lorsqu'elle fut prête, MOD lui refusa l'entrée. "Tous ceux qui voulaient quitter Atlanta l'ont fait." Dit-il. "Ceux qui s'y trouvent encore ont choisi d'y rester, et je ne vois pas en quoi amener le gouvernement par-dessus leur facilitera la vie."

Ce fut l'origine du "Compromis d'Atlanta" : le blocus des ruines par MOD, en interdisant l’accès à toute agence fédérale ou d'état. Les particuliers par contre peuvent y accéder, et ces dernières années, beaucoup l'ont fait. Il n'y a toutefois nul processus coordonné de reconstruction ou de préservation du squelette de la cité. La vaste majorité d'Atlanta a été abandonnée, bien que quelques foyers de civilisation aient surgi – ou survécu – et que de petits groupes de survivant nomades parcourent ses routes comme les figurants de quelque film post-apocalyptique.

The three largest and most well-known factions in the ruins are the Atlanta Regional Commission, the town of Terminus, and the Pyramid. The Commission, or ARC, claims to be the official government of the city and is led by the former Attorney General of Georgia, who survived Paragon’s attack. ARC controls Downtown and includes many of Atlanta’s former police, fire, and other emergency workers, as well as those who used to staff governmental buildings. Attorney General Montgomery has turned his police force into an army (something which, in the 21st century, isn’t actually very hard) and is slowly expanding his influence and control in the ruins, citing the authority of his office when the cruelty of his tactics come to light. His critics argue he’s more interested in building a little kingdom inside the ruins than rebuilding the city, and Montgomery’s only quibble with this accusation might be the word “little”.

The Pyramid is the headquarters for a mysterious corporation which moved into the ruins soon after the Fall. Its employees dwell entirely within the Pyramid itself, which has been constructed on the former site of the Georgia Dome, and use remote-piloted drones to gather salvage from the ruins. The Pyramid is a self-contained civilization, a high-tech world which caters to its highly stratified personnel and its enigmatic CEO, Stephanie Hatsu. Pyramid has access to the most advanced engineering and construction facilities in the ruins, and it has been stockpiling resources and conducting R&D for years, but to what end? No one seems to know.

But the real city inside the city is Terminus, which began as a refugee camp but slowly expanded as more survivors decided to stay in the ruins and forge a new life free of governmental interference. Terminus is well known in the United States at large, though there are many misconceptions about it, and it is portrayed in the media as a kind of libertarian utopia where guns are every man’s right and recreational drugs are cheap, where there are no taxes, no governmental regulations, and no laws. This has even drawn immigrants to Terminus, American citizens who decry the state of the nation and pursue an idealized free society. The truth is a lot harder, and life is brutal in Terminus, where resources are few and nothing is guaranteed except want. Nevertheless, thousands choose to live here, under the nominal leadership of Mayor Martha Johnston, a former school teacher and writer.

Electricity and water are scarce and unreliable inside the ruins. Established factions like the ARC and Terminus have regained access to city water (which is supplied from Lake Lanier) and partially restored their power grids, but only the Pyramid has secure cellular reception and wireless access. Other survivors in the ruins live off of supplies looted from stores and gas stations. While bottled water, batteries, and gasoline cannot be replaced, the number of survivors inside Atlanta is so small that groups are able to live by staying on the move. A single grocery store can keep a refugee group fed for months – or until a larger and better-armed group kicks them out.

After all, not everyone can make it in Terminus or the other settlements, and not everyone wants to. Groups of refugees, called Reject clans, eke out a life day to day as nomads in the ruins. Teams of scientists comb the rubble looking for lost secrets and collecting data. Religious fanatics have proclaimed Paragon to be the Scourge of God and Atlanta to be his Chosen City. Young people have rejected the flawed society that has caused such destruction and built a new law for themselves. And, deep below the Centers for Disease Control, a mad genius breeds a race of monsters.

Welcome to the ruins.

The Secret Of The CDC

When Paragon attacked the city of Atlanta, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were his first target. Although the state and federal government, as well as a few other organizations and individuals, have figured this out, it’s not entirely clear why the CDC earned this distinction. Moreover, because Paragon’s attack on Atlanta was the beginning of the nihilistic rampage that ended in his death, it’s possible that the CDC was somehow connected to Paragon’s fall in the first place.

Bulletproof Blues does not offer an official explanation for Paragon’s fall and his decision to target the CDC in Atlanta. Instead, we offer a half dozen potential reasons. As a GM, you can decide which, if any, of these is accurate, and you can use it to inform other aspects of the Kalos Comics setting. Investigating this secret might be a major plotline for players to pursue, or it might be irrelevant to current events, as you choose.