The Garden

Located in the mountains of Pennsylvania, the Garden is an isolated community founded by John Gardiner. It's also the place where you grew up, and where you've lived most of your life. The Garden has been a community for almost fifty years, and by now is well-established, stable, and safe.

The Garden is located in the hills above the town of Forkesville. The actual location of the Garden is an abandoned mining camp. The camp's buildings, old brick warehouses and workshops, have been converted into living spaces, storage, and garages with a broad common area in the center with a communal garden. The Garden is huddled under a steep mountain, accessed by two steep, rocky roads. Besides these natural defenses, residents have built lookout towers, walls, gates, and traps. Behind the Garden is the old mine shaft, which doubles as an emergency shelter.

Below the Garden, and about a mile away, is the town of Forkesville. It's abandoned, of course; the streets have long since crumbled away into lanes of grass while trees grow up between and through collapsed buildings. A stream runs south of town, and the people of the Garden have cut channels for irrigation to farmland northwest of town and west of the Garden proper. They've also established pasturage for cattle. They keep the entire area well-patrolled.

History
John Gardiner arrived at the place that would eventually become the Garden in the spring of 2063. Forkesville was out of the way, far from main roads, and had water, farmland, and even a few cattle roaming free. Gardiner recognized that the mining camp was easily defensible, even by a small number of people. The camp itself had some buildings in good condition that could quickly be converted to living and storage space.

So it was that John Gardiner led his small band, along with a few scrawny goats and handfuls of seed, to the Garden. Thanks to his strong leadership, organization, survival sensibilities, and commitment to their children's future, the Garden blossomed.

The people of the Garden try very hard to keep their community off the maps. Twice in recent years the Garden has come under attack by raider bands, and they had no choice but to make sure none escaped, lest the bandits come back and cause trouble later.

Other people have come, and a few gone, over the years. John Gardiner made a policy of accepting those who vowed to stay and support the Garden. As a result, the Garden grew and became more diverse over the years. Gardiner was especially happy to accept anyone with specialized, useful skills, such as doctors and teachers. He knew that the survival of the Garden lay with its children.

Society
The people of the Garden are friendly but no-nonsense. They don't have time for laziness when their survival is at stake. Furthermore, they take defense very seriously. Every resident is taught how to handle a rifle or pistol, and everyone takes turns running patrols through Forkesville and farther out.

Every day is hard work and difficulty, but the people of the Garden are happy to let off steam on special occasions, such as a birth or a wedding. They brew their own ale for just this purpose.

The people of the Garden are diverse. All come from different places and situations. As a result, there's little discrimination due to ethnicity, and many children are mixed-race.

Law
The Garden is too small to have crime of any note, but that doesn't mean bad things don't happen. John Gardiner and a couple other elders of the Garden usually handle wrongdoers and settle disputes. When a citizen does something very bad (which is rare), they're put in stocks in the center of the Garden, usually for not more than a few days.

Outsiders sometimes give trouble, and the Garden has a shed that doubles as a prison. Most outsiders that cause serious trouble are held for a time, and then led miles away from the Garden, blindfolded, and left with nothing but a little food and water. Everyone knows this amounts to a death sentence, but the people of the Garden look after themselves first.

Economy
The Garden is too small to have a real economy, and it doesn't carry on any outside trade. People trade what they need with each other, either goods or services. Food is communal, and everyone grows at least an herb garden. As long as everyone works at something useful, everyone is entitled to a meal.

Infrastructure
The buildings of the Garden are in good repair; building materials are plentiful. The Garden distills ethanol to use in ethanol-powered generators. In an emergency, they can supplement power with hydrogen fuel cells, though their supply is limited. The Garden itself has a communal well, and irrigates the farm fields with water from a nearby steam.

Outlook
The Garden continues to grows; the newest child marks the beginning of a forth generation. Thanks to John Gardiner's strong vision and leadership, the Garden has survived. Gardiner is growing old, however, and some wonder how the Garden will fare when he's gone. Others think the Garden should open up to the outside world -- it's been fifty years since the End, after all, and surely there are other stable communities nearby.

Perhaps most worrisome is the loss of almost all of the Garden's third generation. Gardiner planned on sending out five, in the hopes that this would give the Garden a little more breathing room. Five they did send out, but two days later, five more left. This worries some in the Garden -- how can it continue with almost no new generation?

Ah, the rest say, the Garden will find a way to survive, just as it always has.

Important Residents

 * John Gardiner, founder and leader of the Garden.
 * Other elders and prominent residents, including Howard Bilekki, Jason Stiller, and Dr. Gasteau.