Southern California

Free State of Southern California is comprised of San Luis Obispo, Kings, Tulare, and lnyo counties and those further south. Monterey, Fresno, and Mono counties and points north seceded to become Northern California, an action for which they will forever be reviled by those in the south.

While Southern California is not completely covered by paved roads and skyscrapers, you could never tell otherwise by the state's actions. The Los Angeles Metroplex covers the entire coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and stretches as far east as San Bernardino. With the rise in temperatures, the eastern part of the state is all but uninhabitable, and everyone has migrated into the cities, leaving Death Valley, the Devil's Playground, and other such areas as empty wasteland, patrolled only by the occasional Nomad group.

The weather is by far the worst of the hazards in the metroplex. To quote Gary Stafford, L.A. residents must cope with "dense groundfogs mixing with smog to create an acidic, poisonous soup." Gas masks and air vendors are everywhere, and the Superfan chain of telephone-style air booths can be seen in every mall. Everyone in L.A. owns thin, hooded dusters and knee-high boots, each made of special acid-resistant fabrics. There is, in fact, nothing more dismal than downtown L.A. during an acid drizzle.

Needless to say, policing this mess is more than any cop would want to do. Through a series of threatened strikes, the Southern California Highway Patrol and the urban police departments have garnered some real power from the state government. The Highway Patrol has near-total power in the state. They are tough, mean, and aggressive. They have a covert operations section which amounts to a secret police force rivaling the Gestapo in reputation, though in reality they are not nearly so cruel. Outside of city limits, the CHiPs are effectively lord of all they survey. This power, combined with the lenient urban police regulations, keeps the SoCal government on top of the heap in a state dominated by disgruntled urbanites.

In short, Southern California is not a pleasant place. It is an urban hell, rotten with pollution and acid rain. What the population lacks in education they more than make up for in guns and attitude. In fact, the only thing that keeps the Los Angeles Metroplex from being more violent than it is, is the fact that everyone knows that everyone else carries heavy weaponry and will use it at the drop of a hat.