Cascade Free State

Population: 13 Million (Search +3)

Environment

Terrain: Hills, Mountains.
Appearance: Attractive
Hygiene: +2

Culture And Economy

Language: English, Spanish, Chinese
Literacy: Native
TL: 9 (10 in some areas of biotech and cybertech)
Wealth: Average
Status: -2 to 7

Political Environment

Government: Representative Democracy
CR: 3 (Corruption -1)
Military Resources: $1.1 Billion
Defense Bonus: +6

History

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Cascade comprises the former states of Oregon and Washinton and seceeded from the U.S.A. in 2023, just as the plagues were hitting. The former states had always been leaders in ecology planning and in biotechnology and that carried through into the new nation, with considerable additional impetus. As Cascade expanded rapidly, through immigration from the new American badlands and from across the Pacific, it kept tight rein on urbanization and on public health measures which blunted the destructive capacity of the plagues. The new state was also fortunate in that climate change affected it least negatively of all the former U.S. constituent parts. Rising temperatures in most of Cascade simply meant a little less snow in Winter, a little more rain in Summer and a slightly longer growing season. Sure, rising sea levels cut away at the historic hearts of its major cities, Seattle and Portland – but that simply meant the new state could rebuild its urban heart with modern materials and modern eco-city planning. Cascades suffered, but it suffered less and bounced back more.

Today

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Today, Cascade sticks to its principle of “cluster cities” where 80% of the population live, severely limiting urban growth beyond certain fixed boundaries and mandating that any building done outwith those areas should be low-impact construction that fits the natural landscape and has minimal impact upon local ecosystems. The young nation is renowned for three things – green building, creative industries,and high tech – and has links to the continent (via high-speed monorail lines and airships), Canada (via Vancouver, which has often looked like it might simply up and join Cascade) and Asia (via the ports of Portland and Seattle). the entire nation is linked by its own high-speed monorail system, and the need for personal transport or expensive air transport is far less than elsewhere. Outwith the urban clusters, much of the nation is still mountainous wilderness, and tourism is still an important part of the economy.

Cascade is a small nation in population terms, and is careful to stay on good terms with its larger neighbours – but it also has its mountains and technology base as a deterrent and would be a tough nut to crack. It’s social-democratic leanings keep it on decent terms with Canada to the North, but it looks warily towards deseret in the East – the most likely external threat. Luckily for its size cascade has very well equipped armed forces, including a sizeable naval force which is the keystone of the WESTPAC naval alliance with SoCal, NorCal and Hawaii; a modern airforce based around AV platforms best able to hug the steep local terrain while moving fast; and a ground force based upon a Swiss model of mobile defense from the mountainsides.

Locations

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Portland
Seattle