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Origin Pre-War Post-War What Outsiders Know The Reality Population Territory and Locations Soo Mackinaw Cheboygan Nouveau Asail Trent-Severn Waterway Organization Government, National and Local Justice, Social Control, Punishment Political Factions, Dissent Famous/Infamous Persons Relationships with Other Groups Culture Ethnic Groups, Immigration and Emigration Social Divisions and Castes Religion, Beliefs and Superstition Morality and Values Progress and Failure Family, Age, Sexuality and Gender Education and Language Environment and Agriculture Food Art and Entertainment, Music, Literature, Recreation Fashion and Appearance Urban and Rural Areas, Architecture Equipment and Resources Economy Science, Medicine and Technology Weapons and Military Equipment Communications Vehicles Aircraft Watercraft

 

the flag of the Republic.

The colors represent (from top to bottom) Canada/Quebec; the lakes; and the United States

 

     A small nation focused on fishing, operating the locks at Soo, and keeping the bridge across the Straits in repair.

Origin

 

Pre-War

     Ordinary residents of Michigan and Ontario.

 

Post-War

     Nuclear weapons detonated over Sault Ste. Marie; the Kinross penitentiary and the Chippewa county airport. For many decades, the southern border of the Republic has been defined by the fallout from the destroyed Big Rock Point nuclear reactor near Charlevoix. A nuclear weapon also struck the towns of Alpena.

     As the winter of 1989 extended to become the Long Winter, many of the locals died, or moved to warmer area. However, many inhabitants of Ontario migrated south to take their places. By 2010, only a few thousand people were still living with the year-round ice and snow.

     That same year, a Morrow Project engineering team, Eta, arrived over the ice from Lake Superior. They brought many useful supplies to help rebuild civilization. Between 2012 and 2047, a few more Morrow Project teams had arrived, summoned by team Eta or arriving on their own.

     Even now the Arcadian Republic considers the Project to be a force for good. The national emphasis on maintaining transport (the bridge, the Soo locks, the railway to Sag City and Lud) all stem from Team Eta activities a century ago.

 

What Outsiders Know

     Outside of the Great Lakes area, the Republic is unknown.

     In the Great Lakes area, they're a source of agricultural resources (including lumber and wild animal products), and the most sophisticated electrical components -- light bulbs and generators, for example.

 

The Reality

 

     Pretty much as outsiders know it.

     Most people -- especially in Soo -- have heard of the Morrow Project, but presume it was a government organization. Archivists, teachers, historians, etc. knew that in fact it was a private initiative. By 2140, the difference means nothing to most people.

 

"You mean Interpol isn't part of the U.S. Government? Huh."

 

Population

     About 10,000 people live in and near the Republic, including farms, lumber camps, and les Pionniers (the local term for frontaliers) north of Lake Huron.

     Less than half of the population lives south of the Straits of Mackinac.

 

Territory and Locations

 

a rough map of the Republic and areas nearby. Don't take the atomic strike markings as correct.

 

     The formal boundaries extend from the Mackinaw Straits to Manitoulin Island, and include the Soo Locks.The North Channel, Georgian Bay and Bruce Peninsula shores of Lake Huron are gradually being absorbed into the Republic.

     Communities include:

 

Soo

 

     Formerly Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and the city of the same name in the United States. The American city was especially hard-hit by the Atomic War -- a 600 kiloton airburst was targeted at the ship locks.

     About 20 years after the War, during the Long Winter, Morrow Project Team Eta arrived at the Soo Locks to survey them. After a few months of further surveys, they chose to settle here, and worked to stabilize the locks. Fortunately, Lake Superior's ice was several meters thick at the time, so building a dam was easy. The large docks were not returned to service, but much debris was removed.

     The smaller, old locks and canals on the Canadian side were instead placed in operation. By 2020, a network of electrical power distribution was established in each of the cities, with workshops in Soo building electrical equipment and components.

     Fishing, and trade with settlers on the Ontario shore of Lake Superior, are the other economic factors in the town's prosperity.

     A small museum is dedicated to Team Eta; their LCM is ashore, but the dive boat was severely damaged by ice and was eventually dismantled. There are more than three dozen descendants of Morrow Project team members living in this area.

 

Mackinaw

 

     Population 800, including workers on the bridge.

     Team Eta encouraged and rewarded maintenance on the Mackinac Straits Bridge; the town is almost entirely dedicated to keeping the bridge standing.

 

Cheboygan

 

     There are about 1000 people living in this port city; almost 4000 people live on the northern end of "the lower peninsula", between Emmet county and Rogers City.

     The icebreakers Mackinaw and Acacia are based here; the only shipyard capable of building ships over 100 tons displacement or 20 meters length is here. The Mariners rent the dry dock from time to time.

 

Nouveau Asail

 

     The largest town on Manitoulin Island. Goods from Ontario arrive here -- lumber, pelts, etc. -- and are traded, sold, prepared, packaged and shipped out. There are a few sawmills on the island, three of them around this town.

     The 4,000 or so permanent residents of Manitoulin Island are divided about evenly between Ojibwe tribes and frontaliers (though they don't call themselves that).

     The Morrow Project's Camp Wobegon was established here in late 2140, with quarters for at least two dozen members of the Project.

 

Trent-Severn Waterway

 

Organization

 

Government, National and Local

     Legislative and budgetary power is held by La Conférence, a small body of elected representatives. They meet annually at Soo.

     The Governeur possesses primary executive power in most cases (there are some oddities in some communities about this).

     There are local courts headed by Magistrats, and three Tribunaux de la République (at Soo, Mackinaw, and Nouveau Asail) for serious offenses. Local courts can only deal in civil cases, or criminal cases in which a small fine or penal servitude of 1 month or less is the possible punishment.

 

Justice, Social Control, Punishment

     Law enforcement is carried out by the Gendarmerie Républicain, although Soo and Nouveau Asail also have city constables.

     Criminal trials are very quick. Death penalties are automatically reviewed by the Governeur, who can reduce the sentence or issue a pardon. The usual punishments for crime:

• for first degree murder, rape:  death by hanging
  

• for other serious crimes:  1 to 30 months of penal servitude

• piracy is typically punished with 24 months of servitude

   

Political Factions, Dissent

     The frontaliers and pionniers are somewhat discriminated against, and viewed as rowdy, illiterate woodsmen.

     There are fears that the Mariners secretly control la Conference.

 

Famous/Infamous Persons

 

     Blah blah ...

 

Relationships with Other Groups

     There are strong commercial ties with most of the cities along Lake Michigan (Sentinel, Bastion, Lud, and Haven). The Republic is worried about the recently-established Canadian government, but the few contacts so far have been peaceful.

     The Morrow Project is well-regarded, though it is "history" -- sort of like "ah, yes, Brazil fought alongside us during the Second World War." Anyone who attended school in the Republic has heard of the Project, but they may have forgotten by now.

 

By 2141, the Project is well-known again.

 

     The Anishinaabeg are well-regarded, especially the Medicine Society.

 

Culture

 

Ethnic Groups, Immigration and Emigration

 

      Many of the inhabitants are descended from Quebecois refugees and Ojibwe aboriginals. 

 

Social Divisions and Castes

     Blah blah ...

 

Religion, Beliefs and Superstition

     Blah blah ...

 

Morality and Values

     Blah blah ...

 

Progress and Failure

     Blah blah ...

 

Family, Age, Sexuality and Gender

     Blah blah ...

 

Education and Language

     The Republic pays for schoolteachers, a situation the Learned are displeased about. There is a "normal school" in Soo that trains schoolteachers; there are no colleges.

     Doctors take on apprentices, serving as "nurses"; starting in 2141, a medical school is begun. The Medicine Society of the Ojibwa and Chippewa tribes provides some support.

     English, French, and Chippewa languages are taught; most of the population will know two of these.

 

Environment and Agriculture

     Blah blah ...

 

Food

     Unsurprisingly, a lot of fish feature in Arcadian cuisine. Wild game are also common menu items.

     The frontaliers, pionniers, and Anishinaabe villages raise elk and moose for dairy products and meat.

 

Art and Entertainment, Music, Literature, Recreation

     Blah blah ...

 

Fashion and Appearance

     Blah blah ...

 

Urban and Rural Areas, Architecture

     Blah blah ...

 

Equipment and Resources

 

Economy

     Trade rating:  Rich, Agricultural; technology level, E.

     The primary export is lumber, along with foodstuffs, animal pelts, liquor, lead, nickel, sand, bricks, copper and farm produce. The only "technical" products are glass, light bulbs, electrical wire and switches, and crude generators -- all due to the influence of the Morrow Project after the Atomic War.

 

Science, Medicine and Technology

     Blah blah ...

     Among the relics of the Morrow Project in the Republic are the fusion reactors from the various teams that made it here.

 

• Team Eta LCM-8:  2 Mk I generators
  

• Team Eta dive support boat:  2 Mk I generators

• Team Eta "civil support" generator:  1 Mk 2 generator
  

• four propulsion units for pontoon craft -- 4 Mk I generators

• Recon and Science team vehicles -- 3 Mk I generators

 

     These are all set aside for important functions ... most importantly, all of them ganged together can operate the icebreaker Mackinaw at full power. The more efficient Mk 2 generator is normally used to operate the Mackinac at 26% power.

 

Weapons and Military Equipment

     Blah blah ...

 

Communications

     Within Soo, Mackinaw, and Cheboygan there are telephone systems. 

      A newspaper, the Weekly Courier and Shipping Report, has been published in Soo since the 2070s. 

 

Vehicles

     A very few alcohol- or biodiesel-powered motor vehicles are around; horses and wagons are far more common.

     The rebuilt railway to Sag City has been only operating intermittently in recent years. Steam locomotives are difficult to maintain, and the remaining 20th Century diesel-electric locomotives (converted to biodiesel) are wearing out. Morrow Project Team Eta provided fusion reactors to run locomotives, but the Republic has found better uses for them.

 

Aircraft

     None.

 

Watercraft

 

     Note that the Sault Ste. Marie canal has a limit for vessels of 77 meters length, 15 meters width, and 3 meters draft. The Trent-Severn Waterway was limited to vessels less than 25.6 meters length, 7 meters width, and 2 meters draft (specifically, the dimensions of lock 45 at Port Severn -- the first lock you'll meet if entering from Lake Huron).

 

Flatboats

 

    Flatboats are built from green lumber on the north shore of Lake Huron, filled with goods, and sold to the Mariners. Their construction is supremely crude and un-nautical looking; very few nails are used, and the side and stern planking is sometimes vertical.They're built by loggers, farmers, etc. along the Ontario rivers -- there are no professional flatboat builders. Most of them are dismantled when they reach their destination (such as the city of Bastion).

     A typical flatboat is 17 meters long, 5 meters wide, has a draft of about 1 meter when loaded, has a loaded displacement of 85 tons, can carry 65 tons of cargo, and costs $5 per meter ($85) when new. A really small one might be only 1.5 meters wide and 5 meters long, with a displacement of 5 tons and a capacity of 3 tons; the biggest ("scows" or "barges") are 7 meters wide and 30 meters long, with a displacement of 200 tons. The largest ones need a pilot and 4 crew if being floated downriver, or sailed across the North Channel; only a single crewmenber if being towed or pushed. They can be fitted out with cabins, gun-ports, sturdy roofs and doors, fireplaces, etc. if being lived in; when carrying basic cargo, or livestock, a simple fabric or shingle roof is fitted.

     13 meter oars are fitted, two on each side; and a steering oar, along with a short front oar -- the "gouger" -- to help with steering. A well-equipped flatboat will have a hand-operated winch to help with hauling. When the winds are favorable, simple square-sails are fitted for the short voyage across the North Channel to the Manitoulin Island ports.

     In a given year, about a hundred flatboats set out from the Republic, bound (mostly) for Lake Michigan. If paying cargo is carried, the owner will charge $0.50 to $1 per ton -- higher rates for fancier cargoes needing more speed and care.

    

Ferry Boats

 

     Various small ferries connect the Republic's communities. They charge $0.75 for an ordinary 4-wheel automobile, and $0.25 for a foot passenger. They can carry at most eight automobiles, or 8 tons of total vehicle.

     Three ships from the 20th Century are in service -- more or less -- with the Republic.

 

MS Norgoma

 

• 750 tons displacement, could carry 200 tons of freight, with a length of 57 meters, a draft of 4.6 meters, and a beam of 11 meters. Her original steam engines were replaced by a diesel engine before retirement.

• The last ship built for overnight passenger service on the Great Lakes, launched in 1950, retired in 1974 and became a museum at Sault St. Marie, near the Soo Locks, in fairly good condition. The Republic can manage to make enough bio-diesel fuel to keep this ship in part-time operation. She serves on Lake Superior.
  

 

USCGC Mackinaw

 

• Morrow Project Team Eta got this icebreaker working on fusion power within a few months of waking up (in 2010). It was kept in good condition, but wasn't used much until the icepack on Lake Huron broke up in 2017. Two twelve-ton capacity cranes are fitted (for buoy handling). The ship was essentially unarmed when in service, but some small cannons and machine guns are fitted now. It is still based at Cheboygan. (WAGB-83)

• 5336 tons displacement; three propellers, six diesel engines, three electric motors, ~7500 kW total. Commissioned in 1944.
  

 

USCGC Acacia

 

• The area around Charlevoix was heavily contaminated by fallout during the Atomic War; this ship was recovered in 2011, but had been damaged by weather and neglect. It's "in reserve" at Cheboygan. (WLB-406)

• 1041 tons displacement; seagoing buoy tender and icebreaker; two diesel-electric engines, two props, 5400 kW total. Commissioned in 1944.