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Origin Pre-War Post-War What Outsiders Know The Reality Population Territory and Locations Morgantown Cheat Lake Organization Society Equipment and Resources

     A raiding, slave-taking and conquest group in West Virginia.

Origin

 

Pre-War

     The area around Cheat Lake was sparsely populated before the Atomic War; 75,000 people lived in Monongalia county, and 65,789 in Marion county. The largest towns were Morgantown (pop. 27,605, of which 17,000 were students; it was the Monongalia county seat) and Fairmont (pop. 23863, the Marion county seat). Poverty rates were very high in the area. Monongalia county was one of the largest deep-mine coal-producing areas in the United States; but West Virginia University was the largest employer.

 

Again, this picture is from before the Atomic War ...

 

     The Morgantown campus of West Virginia University consisted of 142 buildings, with a million books in the libraries. It had doctoral degree programs in agriculture, biology, chemistry, geology, history, physics and physical science, economics, music, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, and law. Here's the 1986-87 undergraduate catalog.

 

the WVU campus at the time of the Atomic War

 

Post-War

     

     The only nuclear strike in the area was at the Fort Martin electrical generation plant 8.5 kilometers north of Morgantown -- an 800 kiloton blast detonated several hundred meters above the riverside coal-fueled power plant.

     The roads leading to the Monongahela Valley were deliberately blocked or destroyed just after the Atomic War. Heavy fallout blanketed the area for several weeks after the nuclear strikes; many people were killed or sickened.

 

notice that West Virginia received very heavy fallout from the strikes on the missile silos at the Wyoming/Nebraska border

 

     By the year 2000, only a few thousand people lived here. At the end of the Long Winter, the Point Marion, Morgantown, Hildebrand and Opekiska dams collapsed. Most of the rail and highway bridges over the Monongahela River were damaged or destroyed.along with the waterfront areas of Point Marion, Morgantown, Fairmont, and other riverbank towns. Only the Cheat River Dam remained intact, due to the efforts of a colony of engineers and other technical folk from Pittsburgh.

     This colony slowly prospered and grew in size for more than a century, mostly at peace until something terrible happened circa 2120 A.D.

 

What Outsiders Know

 

     Before about 2130, the mechanics and engineers at the Cheat Lake Dam were the primary group of "civilized" folk in the area. There were not aggressive, and traded minor industrial wares to various groups.

     After 2130, things began to change. Rogues and villains were recruited from the surrounding areas, and weapons were obtained from river traders and from East Broad Top.

 

The Reality

 

     General Vansart and a small crew of villains took over, circa 2128!

 

Population

 

     3,500 people live in the MVA territory -- 1,000 at Morgantown, 300 at Fairmont, 250 around the Cheat Lake Dam, 50 at the Mont Chateau lodge, and the rest (about 1100) in small farms and villages.

     About 500 of the people are in the Army; another 500 are free citizens. The other 2,500 are various kinds of slaves.

 

Territory and Locations

 

dotted line is railway and power transmission line; red/yellow dot marks an atomic blast

 

     An area of roughly 1000 square kilometers is within the MVA borders, which are about 150 kilometers long. The far north end of the MVA territory is at Point Marion, where the Monongahela River and the Cheat River run together. The southern end of the territory is Bridgeport.

 

Morgantown

 

     The largest town is Morgantown (pop. 1,000), along the banks of the Monongahela; the armories, training centers, and store houses of the military are here. As recently as 2120 there were several thousand inhabitants here; but the population has dwindled under the rule of the MVA. The remaining twenty or so buildings of West Virginia University (including the library) are now used as the headquarters of the MVA; the Authority maintains a caste of a hundred or so enslaved technicians (the College Crew) to maintain equipment. Besides the soldiers and the College Crew, about 300 dependents and camp followers live within the University walls.

     Surviving buildings at the University include:

 

• White Hall (the mineral industries building)

• the Wise Library

• the Chemistry Research Laboratory

• Clark Hall (home of the chemistry department)

• the Lair (the student union, actual name The Mountainlair), which is the MVU actual headquarters; the tall windows have been covered up with sheet metal.
  

• Stewart Hall (the old library)

• Colson Hall (the law school)

• Eiesland Hall (art studios, and theater stage)

• Hodges Hall (the physics department)

• Armstrong Hall (the mathematics department)

• Elizabeth Moore Hall (women's PE building, swimming pool)

• Brooks Hall (classrooms and science laboratories)

• Woodburn Hall (built 1876, it's the iconic campus building, and housed the history department at the time of the Atomic War)

• Chitwood Hall (the department of foreign languages)

• Oglebay Hall (classrooms)

• Martin Hall (the oldest building on the campus, home to the school of journalism)

 

     ... and a few others. The campus is surrounded by a wall of rubble; the former lawns are mostly planted with vegetables.

 

note that the railway line runs through the campus in the 22nd Century

 

the walled campus, seen from across the Monongahela River

 

     The Westover Bridge (built 1977) still stands over the Monongahela River at Morgantown. The former WVU Coliseum (3.8 km north of town) was used to stage gladiatorial games; now, demolition derbies, cattle and slave auctions, and other less-homicidal spectacles are presented for the entertainment of the townsfolk.

     Much of the former town south of the University campus has been struck by major floods several times since the Atomic War, and is mostly in ruins; a few sturdy buildings are used as warehouses or shops, and about five hundred people live in the town (i.e., outside the University walls).

     A fort is located on top of Dorsey Knob, 3.5 km south of the town; a team (60 soldiers) is always posted here.

 

Morgantown circa 2140; gray stippling denotes ruins.

The road to Cheat Lake passes by the dairy farms.

 

Cheat Lake

 

     The senior officers have a private lodge and secondary treasury on the banks of Cheat Lake near Interstate 68, northeast of Morgantown, West Virginia -- the Mont Chateau lodge. It's about 12 kilometers upstream (south) from the dam.

     Cheat Lake itself was formed in 1925 by a concrete dam just before where the Cheat River meets the Monongahela River.

 

 

     The Cheat Lake Dam is still producing power, though only one of the four turbines is in operation (all four are in working condition, though; each Westinghouse generator can produce 12.8 megawatts of power). The switchyard has two 25 kV transformer banks (a third 132 kV bank was for interstate power transmission, and was torn down decades ago). Power lines follow the Monongahela River to Morgantown and Bridgeport.

 

Organization

 

     The MVA has five military ranks:  General, Kern, Major, Sarge, and Soldier. The General and four Kerns form the "Command Staff" of the Monongahela Powerhouse. There are a dozen Majors, a hundred or so Sarges, and about four hundred Soldiers.

     The General (and founder of the MVA) is Colton Vansart, age about 40 years; the four Kerns are Archie Haggar, Chevy Hollywood, Gerald Tinmouth, and Mister Leather (who doesn't use his military rank for some reason). The Kerns are among the few survivors of the men who helped Vansart take over the Monongahela Valley.

     Usually, four Soldiers form a Crew, and are led by a Sarge. Fifty Soldiers and ten Sarges (12 Crews) form a Team of 60 men, led by a Major and a Sarge. There are eight Teams, plus some Soldiers and Sarges on special duty.

 

• Cheat Lake Dam

• Mon Chateau

• Morgantown

• Dorsey Knob

• Fairmont

• Bridgeport

• patrol

• training and spares

 

     As might be expected, advancement is by guile and violence. In theory, one of the Kerns will advance to the rank of General once Colton Vansart dies or retires.

     The Powerhouse Crew are a hundred or so semi-enslaved skilled workers, who keep the Cheat Lake Dam working, and build things for the Army. The College Crew do housekeeping, keep the lights working, etc. at MVU.

 

Society

 

     Not much has been learned by the Project about the society, but a few things are known:

 

• the soldiers and officers are about equally renegades and exiles from East Broad Top, or from tribes in the area. The EBT soldiers are more technically capable, and are likely to be literate.
  

• the free citizens and slaves are the remnants of the population from before General Vansart and his army arrived

• the MVA finances its weapons and vehicles by selling loot in East Broad Top

 

Equipment and Resources

 

Ordnance and Field Gear

 

     Most of their weapons come from East Broad Top. The Soldiers carry bolt-action Federal rifles; Sarges, couriers, guards, etc. carry machine carbines (grease guns) or 4-shot 16 gauge shotguns. Pistols are mostly revolvers, with some .45 caliber M1911A1 semi-automatics thrown in.

     They don't use hand grenades, mortars, or artillery (except in scrap tanks).

     Sarges wear old M1 steel helmets; Majors sometimes have old body-armor vests -- usually Class II, but deteriorated by age (thus armor value 8). The General and the four Kerns have nice pre-Atomic War gear. Majors often have interesting or unique 22nd Century weapons.

     Some "zip flare guns" are available, and can also be used for starting fires (they're basically fireworks).

    

Watercraft

 

     There are some rowboats, motorboats, and a few cable ferries on the Monongahela River, Tygart Valley River and the Cheat River.

 

Vehicles

 

     The Soldiers and Sarges normally ride horses. A team (60 men) will usually be supported by a diesel truck, for supplies, and an armored car or scrap tank. A couple dozen automobiles or four-wheel-drive vehicles are employed by the Kerns and Majors.

     A half-dozen armored cars, and a half-dozen scrap tanks, back up the mounted infantry. Each Team normally has an AFV; the other four or five are usually at the Cheat Lake Dam, Morgantown, the Mont Chateau lodge, or at Bridgeport.

     Seven M41 Walker Bulldog light tanks, an M42A1 Duster anti-aircraft vehicle, two M7B2 Priest self-propelled artillery were gathered from parks, National Guard armories, etc. in the area and traded off to East Broad Top a few years ago for credit. None of them were in running order. There's an M60A3 at Morgantown still ... it was too large to be moved to East Broad Top; it's non-functional.

     Several dozen motorcycles -- some powered by gasogen engines -- are used for courier and scouting work. Scout bikes will often have a siren with a "dead man switch" fitted -- if they release the handle, the siren starts going, powered by a small air tank.

     60 kilometers of railway tracks along the Monongahela River have been rebuilt; short trains drawn by very simple steam locomotives use the tracks.

     There are several ferries -- for example, at Bridgeport; where I-79 crosses the Tygart Valley River; where US 50 crosses the Tygart Valley River; and on Cheat Lake. There's a bridge across the Monongahela at Morgantown, and well upstream on the Cheat River.

 

Aircraft

 

     None.