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| Map of the Tri-Metro by Phil Meadows Click to see full-size image |
The Tri-Metro is comprised of three small, independent villages that developed into major cities and finally coalesced into a megalopolis. Due to their geographical separation during the first several centuries, each city has its own unique flavor that continues to this day.
New Athens is a shining center of culture and science, and due to the rampant superhero battles that take place on a weekly basis, construction jobs are plentiful. Colonial Delport, abundant in museums and national treasures, was re-christened Libertyville in 1876 to honor the important role it played in the founding of the U.S.A. Bud City was originally named just Bud, as its founder Captain Reeves hoped the small colony would “bloom from the gravid Earth into a robust seaport!” It did bloom, now serving as a major commercial port and a substantial naval base as well.
Though an English colony, Greek immigrants were drawn to the city in the mid-1800s due to the name. After the Great Fire of 1871, the city fathers rebuilt with an emphasis on ancient Greek architecture, marble surfacing and statuary. In 1882, the port of Bud City built a gigantic lighthouse named “New Pharos.” Furious that the hick town across the bay would presume to recreate one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, New Athens set out to duplicate the remaining six. The Library of Artemis covers two city blocks and contains millions of books. A humongous park at the center of town was named The Hanging Gardens, and it features the Zeus Bowl. The city’s founders were exhumed from their paupers’ graves and entombed in the new Mausoleum. In 1899, Greece gave America the gift of a Colossus Statue that greets incoming ships to this day.
During the Great Depression, the swampy peninsula south of New Athens became the site of a massive W.P.A. project. A new river was excavated, the swamp drained and colossal retaining wall stones put in place. The new island thus formed was dubbed Giza Island, in tribute to the Great Pyramids of Giza. After World War II, a veterans’ hospital was constructed at the center of the island; Metro Med now stands in its place.
Historical markers are so common in Libertyville that it would be cheaper to indicate which buildings are not historic. Thin, twisting, one-way streets designed for horses have not changed much in two centuries, so the Libertyville town council has declared historic downtown “pedestrian only.” The area is also peppered with National Parks, Civil War battlefields, Revolutionary War battlefields, cemeteries and nature preserves. It would be easier to open a Starbucks in the Statue of Liberty’s armpit than to get permission to build within Libertyville city limits. Rent in the remaining areas became so expensive that the town council enacted rent control, a boondoggle that sent landlords fleeing. The only people who can afford to live in Libertyville live in mansions; everyone else commutes an hour or more. High society flourishes in Libertyville, though this tends to attract costumed criminals. Charity balls are held every week to benefit the victims of the previous charity ball.
Bud City is a major employment center, with ample commercial, industrial and military jobs due to the seaport. Nevertheless, the policies of Libertyville have caused overcrowding, traffic jams and a steady crime rate. The numerous guilds and unions are rife with corruption and mob influence. Through it all, the citizens of Bud are salt of the Earth types, trying to raise their families and improve their noisy, polluted, crime-ridden neighborhoods. Patriotism is high in Bud, which may explain their 107% voter turnout. Bud is overwhelmingly Democrat, but they’re the types of Democrats who will help hold a flag-burner so a Republican can get a better shot at him. The upcoming mayoral election threatens to shake things up in Bud.
