(OOC: I've decided to retcon the United Municipalities' history and political organization to make it cleaner. The changes will be as follows -
- Hew never existed. Instead, the capitol is now Charleston, which I'll say was the largest city in the US not bombed during the nuclear war.
- Sonny and Veradux also never existed, although no one cares anyways since they only had a one liner in the old version of my history anyways.
- The ZPCI (and by extension, Doctor Herregods), still existed. It was taken down by uprisings in the region, ignited by the first one in Charleston. Also, because Sonny and Veradux never existed, the Seed was never destroyed by them. Instead, the launch was sabotaged by a team led by Roald when he was still younger.
- All of the names of the municipalities I've mentioned before are now different, based on actual cities now.
However, this will probably be pretty meaningless to most people so I'll just do the whole thing in timeline form. Also, I looked at the Fallout Wiki for some dates to make this whole thing consistent with the canon of the world.)
October 23, 2077: The War - USA nuked. A biological weapon which for lack of better words turned people into zombies is released somewhere in Appalachia due to an incident at a military facility. Thankfully, the disease was contained in Appalachia due to the relative isolation from the rest of the USA and the more severe nuclear radiation in other areas, killing the virus before it could spread there.
2078: Charleston, being the biggest city in the USA not nuked, which begins a process of expansion as refugees swarm into Appalachia, although it does suffer badly from fallout. The city becomes more isolationist as refugees overload the city and the threat of zombie hordes begin to approach the city. Defenses are scavenged from military sites to protect it.
2100: A group of mercenaries leave a fallout shelter somewhere else in Appalachia. Sensing a chance to gain wealth, and more importantly power, they begin offering protection to communities from the zombies in exchange for food. This allows many more cities to expand, and also caused more trade among the communities of Appalachia and beyond. These mercenaries eventually became incorporated as one corporation (not that it really mattered) - Zombie Pest Control, Inc.
2120: Almost every community in Appalachia was now under the protection of the ZPCI, which now are incredibly wealthy, powerful and influential. Gold currency is propagated by the ZPCI, especially with their (very difficult) reclamation of the federal reserve at Fort Knox. Meanwhile, the ZPCI begins to reclaim technology from a variety of locations in Appalachia and uses what they find as well as their wealth to begin to develop new technology. Fort Knox (now renamed The Knox) becomes the center of this development, and the development was housed right inside the old fort. The Knox remains the center of science and technology in the United Municipalities to this very day.
2170: The ZPCI discover that they are actually doing their job TOO well, with most of the zombies now purged from Appalachia and no new ones being created, due to the neutering effects of the radiation and the presence of a now very well armed population. The ZPCI now begins to release massive amounts of propaganda on zombies, perpetuating the fear of many. Still, some begin to doubt the ZPCI. Also, the ZPCI also begin top-secret research on recreating the infestation, which instead produced countless other horrors. One scientist used his research to develop functional immortality - Doctor Herodotus Herregods.
2245: The zombie threat was more or less totally eliminated. The ZPCI, having expected this, however, installed countless corrupt leaders into the Appalachian communities who paid the ZPCI to protect them (and pocketing some of the money used to do so as well). In any case, the ZPCI was now almost operating like the Mafia - forcing their clients to pay 'protection money'. Meanwhile, the first ZPCI prototype of a zombie creating bioweapon was created, codenamed 'The Seed'. Meanwhile, Roland Walker, a young scientist working on (and getting close to) a cure for zombiism was forced to flee north after a score of unexplained deaths of his researchers. In any cases, suspicion against the ZPCI have increased greatly, and most now question the need for the organization.
2260: A popular uprising in Charleston deposes the corrupt ZPCI backed Mayor and City Council. The ZPCI is about to use the Seed prototype on the city as a show of force, when a group led by Roald Walker (now leader of a new anti-ZPCI movement) infiltrates The Knox and sabotages the launch, causing the Seed to be released in the lab instead. ZPCI ground forces, however, now begins to head to Charleston and threaten to destroy it, but military aid comes form of militias from other cities who have now also overthrown their corrupt rulers. The ZPCI offense, despite outnumbering Charleston's defenders and the militias from other cities two to one, loses due to the better knowledge of the terrain possessed by the anti-ZPCI forces. The ZPCI begins to flee to the west as many more units of their organization are destroyed. Meanwhile, in the leadership void Roald takes power in Charleston and a union of many mostly autonomous communities is formed as a new nation - The United Municipalities of North America. He has no official title, but is de facto ruler of the nation as Generalissimo of the United Municipal Military, if somewhat unwillingly. He calls for the removal of any remaining corrupt ZPCI-backed rulers and his anti-corruption campaign is met with success, while he also begins an extensive incorporation and redevelopment effort that drastically expands the United Municipalities.
2280: The United Municipalities has expanded greatly and now is a major power in North America. Meanwhile, Generalissimo Roald, despite his popularity and support, is beginning to start the process of democratic reforms. He has already ceded much power to the Grand Council of the Municipalities, and it will be only a matter of time before he cedes leadership...
Subject: The History of the United Municipalities of North America (retconned version) 
Fri Mar 25, 2011 4:30 pm