Harrisburg

A city on the Susquehanna River, former state capital of the state of Pennsylvania prior to the End. Harrisburg is an old city rich with history, but its time of long neglect after the End left it suffering. That age of decay came to an end when Albert Penny and Dick Gentry arrived eleven years ago to rehabilitate the city. They've had some success, though modern Harrisburg faces new challenges severe enough to put its future in doubt.

History
The Harrisburg area was an important center of trade and intertribal contact for Native Americans for thousands of years. The first European settler, a trader named John Harris, Sr., came to the area in 1719. His son chartered the town of Harrisburg in 1785. Harrisburg became the state capital in 1812, and remained so until the End, when its population had grown to 60,000, or 650,000 in the greater Harrisburg metro area.

During the Decade of Descent, the city faced threat from chemical weapons and was completely evacuated. As a result, most of its infrastructure and buildings remained intact through the End, although the hills west of the Susquehanna have suffered some fire damage.

The city remained mostly empty, aside from the odd scavenger or band of raiders, up until its resettlement in April 2100. The effort was spearheaded by Albert Penny and his friend Dick Gentry, leader of the Pennsylvania Republican Army, who provided the majority of the manpower for restoring the city. Penny, also known as the Magistrate, envisioned a revitalized Harrisburg that could serve as the capital for a new state of Pennsylvania.

Progress has been slow but steady. As word spread that there was security to be found in Harrisburg, thanks to the PRA, people gravitated to the area. Isolated farmers, self-sufficient but formerly cut off, began coming to the town to trade surplus food for supplies. The PRA extended its protection into surrounding areas, further encouraging the growth of farming.

Penny began restoring the state capitol building and set up his son Farrington Penny as administrative head, and formed Harrisburg Security with his younger son  Reginald as its chief. His sister's husband Edward Schumacher created a merchant board, and with Penny's cooperation the capitol building issues trade notes to facilitate trade.

Things were going well for Penny and Gentry until one year ago, when a new militia, Red Talon Force, moved into the area. They set up on the west side of the Susquehanna, across the river from Harrisburg itself, where the PRA presence was weak. The wild irregulars of the RTF and the lack of cooperation of their leader, Violent Feng, has brought trouble to the city.

Society
Although the city of Harrisburg itself, at its peak, was home to 60,000, today its population totals around 6,000. About 1,000 each are part of the two armies, and the rest are merchants, craftsmen, tradesmen, clerks, entertainers, salvagers, and others, along with their families.

Some farming goes on within Harrisburg's city limits. Land is plentiful, and most families have a vegetable garden to supply some of their food needs, and perhaps some hogs or chickens. The rest comes from farms in the surrounding area. Those farmers come to Harrisburg to sell their produce, or come partway to trading posts (such as the ones in Duncannon, Marysville, and Dauphin), where their produce continues on to Harrisburg.

The role of the two militias is primarily to help transport these goods and make sure they’re secure from bandits. They also guard the farms themselves. In return, the armies are guaranteed a certain portion of the produce. It’s an imperfect system, and most farmers think the armies take more than their fair share and provide only minimal protection. They say the militias are only good for, at best, deterrence, since patrols can't be everywhere at once and communication is too spotty for them to quickly respond to a bandit attack.

Law
The Magistrate has some law education and acts as combination judge and major for Harrisburg. He holds court daily and keeps the city under strict rule of law. The police deal with acts of thievery, assault, and other offenses as swiftly as communication permits, though there is certainly an element of corruption. It’s rumored that a significant portion of the police force receives ‘gifts’ from Feng and his cronies.

No individual is allowed to carry weapons openly in the city without a permit. Practically speaking, only the police go armed. In normal situations, the soldiers of the PRA and  RTF aren’t allowed to carry their weapons within the city except in the grounds of their compounds -- daily security in Harrisburg is the responsibility of the police. In the event of an external attack, this restriction is lifted.

Economy
Harrisburg has a solid economy, thanks to the guidance of Alice and Edward Schumacher and their efforts with the merchant board. Trade is based on agriculture from farms surrounding Harrisburg on both sides of the Susquehanna River. Farmers trade their produce and animal product (including meat, milks, eggs, leather, and wool) at the Station Market in return for Harrisburg trade notes, which they then trade for supplies, equipment, and services. Trade note circulation is brisk, and the Booker keeps a close eye on it.

The main challenge Harrisburg's economy now faces is distance. Trade with more distant settlements is sparse and difficult, thanks to distance and treacherous roads. Furthermore, Harrisburg's trade notes are only good within the city itself until some sort of larger government connects towns under a single law and currency. Farrington Penny has some ideas to expand Harrisburg's economy, but progress is slow until transportation and communication is easier. Unfortunately, that won't happen while two rival militias eat up the Magistrate's time, preventing him from bringing greater stability to the region surrounding Harrisburg.

Infrastructure
Harrisburg's infrastructure is largely intact, undamaged by the wars of the Decade of Descent. Of course, fifty years of neglect has led to decay, and not every building is salvageable. Most roads are broken, and a few are impassable. The main roads and roads near the center of the inhabited area have been cleared and are now dirt tracks. The bridges over the Susquehanna River can be crossed, though they probably wouldn't stand up to heavy traffic.

The city does have power thanks to two still-running bottle reactors, one at the Pennsylvania Republican Army  campus and one at the New Cumberland Army Depot across the river. Both reactors are nearing the limits of their fuel, and Albert Penny dreams of restarting the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor, both for Harrisburg's power needs and to provide valuable energy resources that can be traded to Pennsylvania towns. However, he realizes that Harrisburg lacks both the expertise and manpower to return Three Mile Island to operation.

As far as other infrastructure, Harrisburg has no working communications aside from battery-operated radios. A simple system of above-ground pipes and pumps brings water from the river to the city's residents, and pipes sewage back into the river farther downstream.

Outlook
The general situation in Harrisburg is tense. Violent Feng has become more and more powerful, mainly through occupation of territory west of the Susquehanna River, including the reactor at New Cumberland Army Depot. Most people think it’s only a matter of time before he directly challenges Gentry’s  Republicans. The Magistrate seems able to control Feng only with great difficulty and coercion.

Worse, the Magistrate’s power has waned. Dick Gentry believes in the power of trade and security to attract citizens. The Magistrate believes in strong government and forceful rule, and that only by taking action in the region can they increase Harrisburg’s influence. Feng has proven himself effective in suppressing raiders, more effective than Gentry has been in a long time. The Magistrate wonders whether Gentry is growing soft in his old age (his new wife hasn't helped matters). Gentry thinks that Penny is abandoning Gentry for Feng. A long list of concessions to Feng deepens Gentry's suspicion of his old friend, even though it was necessary to keep the peace.

The chief traders and craftsmen keep close watch on the situation. They’ll be happy to aid anyone who can help resolve the situation in their favor.

Important Residents

 * Albert Penny, the city's Magistrate, founder, civilian leader.
 * Dick Gentry, leader of the Pennsylvania Republican Army.
 * Violent Feng, leader of Red Talon Force.
 * Alice Schumacher, Penny' sister and councilwoman on the Harrisburg merchant board.
 * Edward Schumacher, Alice Schumacher's husband and member of the merchant board.
 * Farrington Penny, called the Booker, elder son of Albert Penny and civil administrator at the state capitol building.
 * Reginald Penny, called the Biker, younger son of Albert Penny and chief of Harrisburg Security.
 * Jackson Jones, known as Black Jack, arms merchant for both armies and owner-operator of Triple-A Emporium and Black Jack's Tavern.
 * Lady Masha Killane, owner and operator of Scarlett's, house of vice.