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Origin Pre-War Post-War What Outsiders Know The Reality Population Territory and Locations 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 Morrow Communication Morrow Cryoberths Morrow Medicine Morrow Fusion Power Weapons and Military Equipment Communications Transportation Railways Aircraft Watercraft

 

 

old and current flags of Puerto Rico

 

     A large island in the northeastern Caribbean, along with some smaller surrounding islands.

Origin

 

Pre-War

     A territory belonging to the United States, with a population of 3.3 million. Some 400,000 people collected food stamps; nearly two-thirds lived beneath the federal poverty line.

     A large naval base (part of Roosevelt Roads Naval Reservation) existed at Vieques, an island just east of Puerto Rico.

     Hurricane Hugo struck the island just two months before the Atomic War ... as many as 300,000 people were left homeless by the worst hurricane in a decade. Most of the damage was on the north coast; 50 aircraft were destroyed at Luis Munoz airport. The National Guard was activated to guard against looters and to help with rebuilding.

     The U.S. Virgin Islands were hit even worse -- more than 90% of the buildings there were damaged, and 75% of homes there had lost their roofs. For weeks after the hurricane struck, waves of lawlessness had spread across the island; military police and Federal agents arrived in large numbers. 

     And the British Virgin Islands were damaged even more so ... 99% of the population were left homeless.

     Six U.S. Coast Guard cutters were part of relief operations in the area.

 

Post-War

     The navy base at Vieques was blasted by multiple atomic explosions. On Puerto Rico itself half-a-dozen warheads struck:

 

• Palo Seco power plant, 602 MW oil, at Toa Baja (north coast of the Island)
  

• the Roosevelt Roads naval reservation (east side of the island), which has a large runway
  

• the naval radio station at Sabana Seca (north side of the island, just west of San Juan)

• U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen (formerly Ramey AFB), in Aguadilla (northwest corner of the island) -- former SAC base with long runways and bomber dispersal areas
  

• the naval radio station at Fort Allan (south side of the island)

• Camp Santiago, a National Guard training camp

• Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (and Muniz AFB, a National Guard base), near San Juan. This caused the most casualties -- 100,000 people were killed.
  

 

     In all, 150,000 Puerto Ricans were killed on the first day of the Atomic War, and half-a-million were seriously injured. Fortunately, Ponce and most of San Juan were not much affected by the attacks, and the prevailing winds took the heaviest fallout out to sea. In the wake of the War, the island declined only slightly in population.

     Power generation and distribution, water supplies and medical supplies were still recovering from Hurricane Hugo; hundreds of thousands were left homeless.

     A Morrow Project reconstruction ship, the SS Fort McHenry, arrived in March of 1990, after months of no contact with Prime Base. The ship eventually anchored in San Juan Bay, and put its considerable assets to work assisting the population. Even so, a half-million people died that year, of injury, disease and starvation. By the year 2000, the population had dwindled to only a million persons.

     Independence was declared in 2012, though of course two decades had passed with little or no contact with the (mainland) Federal government.

     The last of the Morrow Project crew of the Fort McHenry died in 2022; 13 members of the crew are preserved in cryosleep berths, with incurable diseases or catastrophic injuries.

     In the early 2020s, contact was made with the Knights of Columbus along the Eastern seaboard of the United States. Some medical and technical aid was sent, but a number of serious contagious diseases appeared in Puerto Rico soon afterwards. While a direct link to the trips to the mainland was never established, popular opinion led to a ban on contact with North America for several decades.

     Starting in the mid-21st Century, migration and invasions from Española have caused several small wars, insurrections, and unrest. The last major invasion was in 2088.

     After the Long Winter, hurricanes have resumed their previous frequency; hurricane season starts on June 1st. The global sea level rise, averaging about 7 meters, has flooded some important coastal area -- most notably around San Juan and Ponce. The biggest hurricane of the 21st Century was Herbert, in 2084.

     A major earthquake occurred in 2092 just off the northwest shore of the island; the quake, and resulting tsunami, killed thousands of persons -- many of them Españolans.

 

The Morrow Project and Puerto Rico

The members of the Morrow Project aboard the Fort McHenry presented themselves as part of the Federal government. Available records don't reveal whether the island's government knew any differently. By 2140, any educated citizen has heard about the Morrow Project -- but it's about as well-known as the Marshall Plan, or the Commission for the Relief of Belgium during WW1. "They were helping, I'm pretty sure."      La Fundación Morrow was founded to take over the scientific and reconstruction efforts begun by the crew of the Fort McHenry.       Senior government officials, members of the Morrow Foundation, officers of the Shock Force, and various academics know that the Project was actually some sort of private attempt to alleviate the effects of the War. However, it's all ancient history to the island's inhabitants in either case -- equivalent to finding out trivia about the Pinkertons under Abraham Lincoln, or schemes by the Fenians to build a submarine in New York City.

 

What Outsiders Know

     Nothing is known of Puerto Rico in North America.

 

The Reality

 

     The medical and veterinary issues that affect human fertility and livestock on the mainland are not present on Puerto Rico -- yet. Other threats exist, however, most notably hurricanes, earthquakes, pirates, and a constant threat of invasion from Española.

     The nation has been expanding and improving for about a century

 

Population

     About 2 million people live on the island.

 

Territory and Locations

 

 

     Puerto Rico keeps Atlantic zone time year-round -- one hour later in the day than Eastern time.

     Major cities include:

 

• San Juan: the capital, population about 10,000 (including Miramar, Fort Buchanan, and the University). Old San Juan is an island, with strong walls around it, and ancient masonry buildings inside the walls. Most of the important government departments have their main offices here.
  

• El Castillo del Morrow:  the castle was used by the Morrow Project as a headquarters from 1990 to about 2040. It's currently a mix of museum, laboratory and storehouse, operated by La Fundación Morrow. The name gradually changed from "Morro" to "Morrow" over many decades.

• La Fortaleza:  this ancient palace is home to the Governor.

 

dotted orange line indicates trolley route; dotted black line is the 20th Century shoreline

 

• Miramar:  now also an island, connected by bridge and causeway to the mainland and to Old San Juan. Lots of commercial and business activity. The shipyard is located here.
  

• Guaynabo:  on the south side of what was once San Juan harbor; much of the town was flooded in the last century. Population 20,000. The large estates and best shopping district are here. There are two golf courses (private clubs) and a polo field. The big VHF direction-finding antennas are on the south edge of this town. 
  

• Ponce:  on the south coast. Population about 90,000. Patron saint is Our Lady of Guadalupe, around 12 December. The inhabitants are considered the heaviest partiers on the island.
  

• Bayamon:  south of San Juan, west of Guaynabo. Population about 100,000; the main industrial center of the island. The festival is the day of the True Cross on 3 May. Unions are particularly strong in this city. There's an airstrip here.
  

• Mayaguez:  on the west coast. It has been under Españolan control from time to time, but as of 2133 returned to Puerto Rican administration.

   

Organization

 

     The nation is technically La Mancomunidad de Puerto Rico.

 

Government, National and Local

     The Governor is more of a political "head of state", elected to embody his party's policies. His chief of staff, the Secretario, handles most day-to-day affairs. As of 2140, the Governor is Jaime Garcia (just elected in November of 1939, head of the Labor Progressive party); the Secretario is Jose Nieva.

     The government is a typical American democratic republic, with separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The various powers which the former Federal government performed -- defense, the postal system, production of currency, immigration control -- gradually devolved to the Territorial government. By the time independence was declared, in 2012, no Federal representatives (judges, U.S. Marshals, military officers, etc.) remained active in any government roles.

     The Army has 3,000 active members; the Guard (a militia organization) has 15,000 members. Major bases are at Fort Allen (on the south coast), and Fort Buchanan (near San Juan). The annual military budget is around 500,000 pesos.

     Naval forces are an army unit, with a couple hundred "sailing soldiers".

 

ranks in the Puerto Rican army
general	brigadier
coronel	colonel
teniente coronel	lieutenant colonel
comandante	major
capitán	captain
teniente	lieutenant
alférez	second lieutenant
cadete	officer cadet
brigada	sergeant first class
sargento primero	staff sergeant
sargento	sergeant
cabo primero	corporal
cabo	lance corporal
soldado	private

 

     Insignia are those used in the old United States army, more or less. There's only one general, Pablo Maria Iglesias.

     The firefighting corps -- Cuerpo de Bomberos de Puerto Rico -- is a nationwide organization, with about 3,000 members.

     La Fundación Morrow is the main scientific research arm of the government; it's based in el Castillo del Morrow. They have warehouses in Miramar with most of the remaining (non-functional) Morrow Project vehicles and heavy equipment from the Fort McHenry.

     The official currency is the peso, worth about $10 in 2140 North American currency. There are 1, 5, 10, and 20 peso notes, along with centavo coins (100 centavos = 1 peso). Besides various income and property taxes, there is a capital tax, la estadía, 1% per quarter. A stamp is affixed to a bill to verify that the tax has been paid; coins are called in and reissued with a deduction. Unstamped bills and "old style" coins are valid for a couple of years before they aren't accepted even by paying the estadia.

     Gold 1 and 2 peso coins are minted, but mostly used as gifts and prizes.

 

 

Justice, Social Control, Punishment

     The largest police agency is La Policía de Puerto Rico, known informally as La Uniformada. Within La Policia is Negociado de Patrullas de Carreteras, known informally as Transito -- the highway patrol; and La Oficina de Investigación Criminal, which deals with specialized and difficult investigations. Ranks are:

 

ranks in the PPR
superintendente	superintendent
commandante	commandant
inspector	inspector
capitan	captain
teniente	lieutenant
sargento	sergeant
alguacil	private
cadete	recruit

 

     Most patrols are made on foot, or horseback -- ethanol-powered vehicles are available for emergencies.Typically a small-town police station will have one (1) car or pickup truck.

     Typical uniforms are light-blue shirts and dark-blue pants with a black stripe, with black Sam Brown belts (including shoulder strap). Actual mounted police units -- mostly in the interior, and on the west coast -- instead have dark-blue pants with a yellow stripe, and riding boots. Hats are black stetson-style.

     Handguns are revolvers in .45 Long Colt caliber; longarms are various old pump shotguns. They have a lot of old S&W Model 10 and Model 28 revolvers stashed away, with no real ammunition supply.

 

La Fuerza de Choque

The Fuerza de Choque ("Shock Force") is technically the Tactical Operations Division of the PPR, with about 200 members. It performs crowd control and SWAT-type duties, and has a rough reputation among the population. Members have to be at least 1.8 meters tall, proficient in martial arts, patient and not easily provoked; they wear tan coveralls, black leather combat boots, and black berets -- the coveralls closely resemble Morrow Project Resistweave, and the unit may in fact have Resistweave coveralls available for serious incidents. The commander, a political appointee, holds the rank of colonel (just below superintendente of the PPR); currently this is Armando Sebastian.      The Shock Force has sufficient 20th Century firearms and ammunition to arm every officer -- 9mm semi-auto pistols, 12 gauge pump shotguns, and TMR Low Maintenance Rifles (with Stoner rifle magazines). Lately their old ammunition has been giving them trouble.      Any tactical Morrow Project vehicles that still operate are under the control of the Shock Force. This includes a V-150S APC, a V150 ARV, a couple of Commando Rangers, and a couple of XR-311s.      Their main barracks are at Old San Juan (in and near Morrow Castle), and at Fort Buchanan.

 

     The NIE, Negociado de Investigaciones Especiales, is separate from La Policia, and is the equivalent of the FBI and U.S. Marshals within Puerto Rico. It answers directly to the Attorney General.   

     The main prisons are at Rio Piedras (north coast, roughly, not too far from San Juan) and Ponce.

 

Political Factions, Dissent

     The two main political groups are El Partido Conservador and El Partido Laborista Progresista. A century or so ago, the Conservative party was opposed to the declaration of Puerto Rican independence; it's no longer an issue now. 

     Minor political groups include the Frente Socialista, and the Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores. The Bacardi family are a major player in international politics, strongly opposed to Communists everywhere. 

     The Conservatives, Labor Progressives, and the Socialist Front all participate in the legislature, and are also associated with particular soccer organizations. The Revolutionary Workers' party rejects participation in the government (and isn't associated with soccer, either); every so often they conduct some sort of illegal, disruptive act. 

     Before the Atomic War, 3% of the population belonged to a union; now, about 15% belong -- about half of the "employed" people. Unions are a major political force, often in opposition to the government; and as might be expected, they mostly support the Labor Progressive party. Strikes are fairly common.

 

Famous/Infamous Persons

 

• Carl Russell -- captain of the Fort McHenry from 1984 to 1999 (the date of his death).

• Jerry Ries -- next captain of the Fort McHenry after Carl Russell. Born 1960, died 2015.

• Holly Barrowman -- chief of the science department aboard the Fort McHenry during the Atomic War. Died 2019.

• Jaime Garcia -- Governor, and head of the Labor Progressive party. Born 2092, age 48 in 2140.
  

   

Relationships with Other Groups

     The Quisqueyan Republic, on Española, is a reviled, distrusted nation. "Lo mismo que un Español" is a common term for sneaking, untrustworthy, rapacious people.

     The Virgin Islands are also considered "wild", but the inhabitants are very unsophisticated and not considered much of a threat.

     There is trade with AMAL on a regular basis -- "regular" being once every six months or so.

     The United States of the 20th Century is sort of in the same status that Great Britain has with the RL United States:  respected for their achievements, but nobody wants to go back to being part of it. The United States of America (on the other side of the Atlantic) will puzzle a typical Puerto Rican; some government officials and radio researchers know about it.

     Everyone knows that the Russians started the Atomic War; among conservatives and the upper class, the connection between Russians, Communism, and Cuba are well-known. Local socialists or revolutionaries point out that the United States, or some other group, could just have easily have started the Atomic War. The friendly socialism of AMAL is distrusted; "it's the old Communists up to new tricks."

 

Culture

 

Ethnic Groups, Immigration and Emigration

 

     The Puerto Ricans have had a century and a half to blend their racial types. There are some families with "old Spanish" ancestors, and others with "blanquito" or "afro-latino" backgrounds; but it's certainly less of a divide than in the past.

 

Social Divisions and Castes

     The important class is not "rich people" (though of course they have money) but "professional people":   doctors, scientists and other well-educated types. Women have a better representation among professional activities than in more industrial or rural groups.

     In the more remote (mountainous) rural areas, there are people who self-identify as "Taíno", the pre-Columbian natives. They're pretty well mixed with Spanish and African ancestry, though.

     Cubans, Irish, Italians, and other Catholics immigrated in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

 

Religion, Beliefs and Superstition

     At the time of the Atomic War, 85% of the population were Roman Catholics; almost all the remainder were Protestants. There was one synagogue, in San Juan.

     The Catholic church is divided into five dioceses, controlled by the archbishop Pedro Alajar at San Juan. The four bishops and the archbishop form the Conferencia Episcopal, which sets policy, doctrine, etc. The church operates two high schools, one in San Juan and one in Bayamon.

     Proper women don't make prolonged eye contact with men they don't know.

     Siesta is usually one hour (two in summers) starting around 2 p.m.; it's usually a lunch and nap.

     Superstitions include:

 

• A rural belief holds that left-handed people aren't allowed into heaven. Even in the cities, public and private schools teach left-handed students to write with their right hands.

• Don't look into mirrors at night!

• A hat left on a bed is unlucky.

• Staring at babies (by strangers) is bad manners ... it might be the evil eye!

• An upside-down broom behind or beside a door will get rid of unwanted visitors. To some extent it works because visitors usually know what it means!

• Knives are an unlucky present; they will kill your friendship.

• Sleeping with a dog or cat in the bed will cause infertility.

• La chupacabra! 

 

     In rural areas, brujería (witchcraft) is still blamed for misfortune or accidents. Jokes about witchcraft are bad luck. It's not clear if there are any persons who actually consider themselves witches. A brujo or bruja would own black chickens, black dogs and/or black cats, in popular belief -- this doesn't stop people from owning black animals, though.

     There are, however, spiritistas -- they specialize in healing, and in removing curses. Prayer, and leaving donations at churches and shrines, are common "anti-brujería" methods. The Catholic Church denounces belief in both brujería and the powers of spiritistas.

     The tiny coquí tree frog is a national symbol.

 

Morality and Values

     The valued trait is respeto -- the individual's dignity that should not be transgressed. As a child learns of respeto, they develop the values of obedience, industriousness, and self-assurance.

     Directness, especially criticism, is considered bad manners. Critical comments about a person are stated using relajo, an indirect, often humorous way of speaking.

 

Progress and Failure

     There's a lot of prestige and value in owning your own home, and in educación -- being a literate and well-educated person.

 

Family, Age, Sexuality and Gender

     Large, multi-generational families live together quite often. Support for ancestors, descendants and even siblings is legally required (sort of like "child support" in 20th Century America).

     Birth control is just about unknown on the island. Condom production occurs, but it's entirely sub rosa.

 

Education and Language

     State-run schools provide compulsory education through high school; the government also provides a widespread, free daycare system. Many people, especially the older generation, prefer children to be looked after by relatives. About fifty Catholic primary schools, and two Catholic secondary schools, also operate on the island. Higher education is available, through the Universidad de Puerto Rico and a few private institutions. UPR has a nursing and medical program, an engineering program (considered secondary to "the Poly"), and a few other doctorate offerings. The UPR has campuses at San Juan (including the medical program, and the famous School of Tropical Medicine), Bayamón, and Ponce; their mascot is the Bantam.

     The Polytechnic University, in Miramar, has several hundred students in engineering, architecture, and other technical subjects. Their mascot is the Castor (beaver).

     The main language is Spanish; the literacy rate stands at about 80%. People in technical roles will often know English; all nurses and medical doctors know English.

 

Environment and Agriculture

     For much of the 21st Century the government advised against eating seafood; it has not yet regained its former popularity.

     Swimming in rivers or lakes is considered unlucky -- and with the presence of schistosomiasis, it probably is. Urban water supplies are filtered or boiled, but rural tap and bath water might be hazardous.

     Rubber is cultivated for tires, insulation material, etc.

     About half of the land is used in agriculture. Cultivated foodstuffs include coffee, bananas, pumpkins, pineapples, papaya, olives, mangos, lemons, guava, grapefruit, coconuts, avocados, barley, corn, rice, rye, wheat, oats, various beans and peas, cassava, potatoes, taro, yams, asparagus, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, oranges, limes, and lots of sugar cane ...

 

Food

 

     Fishing isn't very productive around the island; some cod, mahi-mahi, snapper and tuna are caught, and various molluscs and shellfish are being harvested again -- after years of prejudice against them. Marlin fishing is a rich person's sport.

     Cattle, goats, pigs, and rabbits are raised for food and dairy. Poultry produce meat and eggs. Iguanas run wild all over, and are considered a pest (they eat crops); their meat is known as gallina de palo ("tree chicken"). The government knows there are diseases on the mainland that kill some livestock; there's a strong embargo on bringing goods into Puerto Rico that can't stand being boiled or otherwise thoroughly cleaned.

     Senepol cattle (reddish-brown) represent the main breed present on the island; there are over 250,000 head of cattle. Five million chickens are being raised by Puerto Ricans, and 200,000 pigs. 22,500 tons of pork meat is produced per year, and 9.700 tons of beef.

     Many varieties of ron (rum) are produced, of course. The major distilleries are Bacardi (at Cataño; the pricy stuff; February 4th is Founder's Day, the family and company holiday), Castillo (the cheap stuff), and Serralles. Añejo is a designation for longer-aged premium rum. Red wines are produced, but aren't considered very good on their own. The following aren't exact recipes, but rather general indications of ingredients:

 

• ponche:  rum, citrus juice, cane sugar, and water or tea

• daiquiri:  rum, lime juice, and cane sugar

• piña colada:  rum, pineapple juice, sweetened cream of coconut 

• cuba libre:  light rum, lime juice, Atomicola ...

• mojito:  white rum, cane sugar, lime juice, spearmint, sparkling water
  

• sangaree: red wine, chopped fruit, cane sugar, and some seltzer water, sweet soda or brandy

• calimocho:  red wine and Atomicola 

• cubanito:  a rum-based version of a bloody mary

• coquito:  an egg nog with coconut milk (or cream of coconut), white rum, cinnamon, condensed milk ...

   

     Several lagers, IPA beers and malt liquors are brewed. Some of the beers have odd flavor components -- ginger, lemon peel, cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, tamarind, cinnamon, yams, etc.

     Various soft drinks are available. Some popular brands are Tink and Limonada (citrus flavor), Atomicola (cola flavor), Kola Champagne (a very sweet cream soda, vanilla flavored), Coco Rico (coconut based), and Colonia (grape and pineapple varieties).

     Cheeses produced include queso blanco and other fresh, white cheeses -- they only last a few days without refrigeration; quesa de papa, a Colby-type cheese for cooking and melting; and hard, crumbly aged cheeses such as duroblando, a salty, smoked cheese.

     Chicken dishes:  chicharrones de pollo (fried chicken), asopao de pollo (chicken gumbo), caldo gallego (chicken broth and ham soup, with onions, sausage, beans, spinach and potatoes).

     Egg dishes include mallorcas (ham and egg sandwiches), pastelón (beef lasagna with egg noodles), ensalada de papa (potato salad), huevos benedictos

     Beef dishes include sancocho (beef stew with corn and yucca root), alcapurrias (fritters stuffed with spicy beef), picadillo (spiced ground sirloin)

     Pork dishes of note:  lechón asado (whole roast pig -- a 25 kilogram carcass will serve 30 people), pernil (roast pork shoulder), mofongo (slow roasted pork served with mashed bacon-and-plantain, and a citrus vinaigrette), jamón con piña (baked ham with pineapple sauce).

     Desserts include arroz con dulce (coconut rice pudding), bienmesabe (coconut pudding), and tembleque (coconut milk pudding).

     During Holy Week, a special seafood soup caldo santo is made; many people fast during that period.

 

Art and Entertainment, Music, Literature, Recreation

     Festivals, holidays, and fairs are common. The following are seen all over the island:

 

• 1 January:  Año Nuevo -- fireworks and parties in the evening

• 6 January:  Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings' Day) -- children receive gifts on this day, not so much at Christmas
  

• Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter. Carnaval runs for 1 week, until the day before Ash Wednesday; Lent runs from Ash Wednesday to the Thursday before Good Friday. Schools are closed between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday; many people fast. For some reason, Ponce is regarded as the "party town" to beat all others during Carnaval.
  

• in 2140, Ash Wednesday is 17 February; Palm Sunday is 27 March; Good Friday is April 1st; Easter Sunday is April 3rd

• in 2141, Ash Wednesday is 8 February, Palm Sunday is 19 March; Good Friday is 24 March; Easter Sunday is 26 March

• 22 March: Día de la Emancipación

• last Monday in May:  Recordatorio de los Muertos de la Guerra (Memorial Day)

• 23 June:  Fiesta de San Juan Bautista -- the patron saint of Puerto Rico. It's especially wild in Old San Juan. At the end of the parties, people walk backwards into the sea, or fountains, in honor of the Baptist.
  

• 15 July:  birth of Luis Muñoz Rivera, the most famous advocate of independence

• 19 December:  Día del Descubrimiento de Puerto Rico (Discovery Day)
  

• 24 December:  Nochebuena (Christmas Eve)

• 25 December:  Navidad (Christmas)

• 28 December:  Dia de los Inocentes -- parades, parties and playing tricks on friends. The dedicated partiers continue their festivities till New Year's Day

• 31 December:  Año Viejo -- parties and fireworks

 

     Towns honor their patron saints, usually on the Sunday nearest to the saint's day, with a parade and fiesta.

     Popular musical genres are:

 

• jibaro, aka tipica:  guitar, bass and bongos. The popular 'rural' music, for singing and dancing.

• bomba:  a call-and-response singing style, accompanied by drums, sometimes with a solo dancer. This style is mostly seen in remote towns and villages.
  

• plena:  folksongs, with almost any simple instrument. Not really meant to be danced to; if there is a Puerto Rican Pete Seeger, this is his style.
  

• salsa:  various styles such as the mamba; entirely a dance music, played by a band, mostly in the cities and larger towns. This is the usual music heard on Puerto Rican radio stations.
  

 

     Most households keep various pets -- cats and dogs, of course, but also parakeets and parrots. Rabbits are about the only "pet" animal that is also used as food.

     Iguana hunting is a popular pastime in rural areas.

     Soccer is the main sport; baseball and boxing also have large followings. Notable teams in the Liga de Fútbol are Academia FC (associated with the University; red and white), Atletico FC (San Juan; blue or yellow; associated with the Conservative Party), Bayamon FC (Bayamon; blue and yellow; associated with the Labor Progressive Party), FC Leones de Ponce (Ponce; black and red; the usual joke is "associated with the fiesta party"), and the Mercury FC (Guaynabo; green and white).

     There are golf courses near San Juan, Ponce and Guaynabo; they're mostly private clubs (except the one at Fort Buchanan -- Scotty).

     Horse races and some other equestrian events are seen, mostly near the urban areas.

 

Fashion and Appearance

     Clothing isn't too different from the 1980s:  trousers, hats and loose shirts for men; blouses and skirts, or dresses for women. Hats are worn outdoors by everyone. Semi-formal wear for men is white-embroidered white shirts; at very formal occasions jackets are worn. Ties are unknown.

 

Urban and Rural Areas, Architecture

     In the cities, especially Bayamon, cement is used to make houses.

     Around the UPR, Bayamon's outskirts, and on the Morrow Castle grounds are the remains of thousands of inflatable concrete shelters, erected in 1990 by the Morow Project. Those that remain are used only for storage -- unimportant storage at that, since they're cracked and sagging.

 

Equipment and Resources

 

Economy

 

     Puerto Rico is Technology Level B; the trade category is Rich. The GNP for 2140 was 24 million pesos (about $243 million).

     There's a page with some prices for goods and services.
     There are no coal or petrochemical reserves on the island; some small hydroelectric plants were constructed (with Morrow Project assistance) after the Atomic War. They vary from 5 to 40 megawatts output each.

     Ethanol is produced in large amounts, primarily as fuel for motor vehicles. 10 mills/refineries produce about 180,000 tons of sugar each year, which mostly goes to produce about 25 million liters of ethanol. About half of that is used as motor vehicle fuel. The biggest mills/refineries are Cambalache, Guanica, Aguirre, Mercedita, La Plata, and Coloso & Roig.

     Biodiesel production is increasing; the proper "oily" plant hasn't quite been identified. Big trucks and buses are the most common biodiesel vehicles.

     There aren't any worthwhile amounts of metals to be mined on the island; scrap metal, including imports from AMAL, provides raw materials. There's a busy cement industry; cement production is focused at a small plant (5,000 tons annually) near San Juan (originally built in 1970), and a larger (25,000 tons annually) plant near Ponce (built in 1941). Both plants are "wet process", and their kilns use a lot of energy -- for example, the plant at Ponce needs about 6 megawatts of electrical power.

     At the time of the Atomic War, there was a busy biotechnology industry in Puerto Rico, but most components and compounds came from outside of the island. In the wake of the War, this industry collapsed, putting tens of thousands of people out of work.

 

Science, Medicine and Technology

 

Dr. Walter Vega

Born October 3, 1948 in San Juan, Puerto Rico; received his M.D. at Johns Hopkins University 1974. Conducted research at the Cambridge University Laboratory of Molecular Biology 1978-1986. Joined the School of Tropical Medicine at the University of Puerto Rico in 1986.      During the terrible years of famine and disease after the Atomic War, Dr. Vega was able to use the amazing medical computers of the Morrow Project to develop several useful processes for feeding and healing the Puerto Rican people. With the support of Governor Gonzalez, large greenhouses and gardens were filled with genetically-modified plants -- especially yams, which the doctor considered the Emperor of Vegetables ("Batata, el emperador de las verduras"). Some produced vitamins, others were ordinary foodstuffs that excluded dangerous fallout, some gave greater yields or resisted pests, and useful medicines could be extracted from others.      As the farms of the nation gradually grew, strange vegetables never seen on the island were planted widely. Seeds and cuttings of his plants were sent by ships to other islands, and even to the mainland.      Dr. Vega died in 2025 of heart failure. A bronze statue of Vega stands in front of the UPR administration building, erected in 2045 by a grateful nation.

 

Morrow Communication

 

     A couple of years ago, VLF signals were detected by Polytechnic students investigating old Morrow Project comms systems from the Fort McHenry. Eventually an antenna array (three 40 meter tall antennas, arranged in a triangle 6 kilometers on a side, connected to radio circuitry, a simple oscilloscope and other equipment) was arranged to get a direction -- across the United States. It's difficult to get a good bearing on VLF signals, and their low attenuation (good for communications) makes it hard to guess at range. A 3 degree error in direction is good; 5 to 15 degrees error is alas common. The antenna isn't too complicated, but receiver circuitry, pickup coils for the delay lines, and the jury-rigged signal analysis stuff fills up a small room. 

 

 

     The signals cross the US east coast around the Georgia / South Carolina border.

     The signals are ASCII gibberish (it's encrypted). There's not a transmission every Sunday -- a few have been missed. Usually six separate two-minute messages are sent each Sunday, about 200 chartacters each, on any of ten different VLF bands. The hundreds of messages are not identical (well, the researchers didn't record all of them, but they're pretty sure each one is different.

     The Morrow Foundation monitors some of the old Project shortwave channels, from time to time.

 

Morrow Cryoberths

 

     Aboard the Fort McHenry were several dozen cryoberths, including a few for future use. All of them are now deep inside Morrow Castle, with thirteen of them occupied by people who had major medical problems between 1990 and 2000. While the instructions for preparing people and equipment for cryosleep can be found in Project Bio Comps, nobody feels it would be very safe now.

 

Morrow Medicine

 

     A good number of MP Med Kits and CBR Kits, and several Bio Computers and Med Units still exist. Their displays died long ago, and have been replaced with grain-of-wheat bulbs, or hooked up to old IBM Selectric typewriters. Most of the Med Kits and CBR Kits are assigned to doctors by the government; a rural GP or urban hospital will have one (there aren't enough for every doctor). The display is about the size of a portable television set, or an electric typewriter.

     Researchers discovered in the 1990s that the Morrow Project Bio Computers contained information not found in any 20th Century medical texts.

 

Morrow Fusion Power

 

     After 70 years, one of the reactors aboard the Fort McHenry wasn't able to be restarted after being refueled. The remaining one still produces 3 megawatts of electrical power, and is installed in the warship Marlin.

     A filter plant at Morrow Castle extracts boric acid from seawater; it produces 727 grams per day -- which means 120 grams of boron (both isotopes). A single Fusion Generator Mark 1 powers the plant, filtering 600 cubic meters of fresh water (fed to the city water supply, and in fact most of the water supply in Old San Juan).

     Of course the Project fusion reactors need the ¹¹B isotope of boron, which is about 80% of naturally-occurring boron. The ¹⁰B isotope causes the fusion reactors to overheat, and in fact they'll shut themselves down if fed too much of it. The Polytechnic University can separate the isotopes with chemistry, but the process depends on a lot of chemicals and equipment not available in industrial quantities in Puerto Rico. Instead, they're raising many hectares of purple cornflowers ...

 

boron isotope separation methods
Chemistry skill 40%	Small amounts -- less than a gram per day -- can be separated with Liebig condensers and other lab table-top equipment. The Puerto Ricans know about this, but it's a very inefficient and expensive method of separation. Much of the time and expense are in the creation of the reagents, solvents, etc. used in the process; and some very tedious, thorough cleaning of glassware.
Chemistry skills 60%	Industrial fractioning columns are expensive and non-trivial to make (lots of complicated welding of Monel, for example; and corrosive fluoride compounds are involved), but the science is "all written down".
Chemistry skill 80%	Basically the same as the previous, but better efficiency, lower cost, safer procedures (pick two).
Chemistry skill 90%	The purple coneflower, found in the eastern and southeastern United States, performs isotope separation of boron naturally. 10B is enriched in the flowers, seeds and leaves, while 11B is enriched in the stems. This information, while not generally known, is in the Morrow Project computer files. A single mature plant, 120 cm tall and 25 cm wide, weighs about 1 kg, of which half the mass is the root and stem, containing 0.1 gram of boron; another 0.1 gram of boron ends up in the flowers, leaves, and seeds. Each year, the stems of the mature plants would be removed, chopped up and the boron would be extracted, which would then be applied to another generation of plants in soluble form -- usually boric acid, 17% boron by mass. In five or ten years, depending on weather conditions, etc., the boron isotope in the stems would be sufficiently pure that the Project reactors wouldn't reject it.      To produce 3.5 kilograms of 11B per year requires a plantation of 50 hectares (8 million cornflowers). Hurricanes, slugs, and iguanas threaten production; thus, 4000 square meters of greenhouses protect the final generation of cornflowers.      As a side benefit, the island has lots and lots of boric acid:  used as an antiseptic, insecticide, flame retardant, neutron absorber, or precursor to other chemical compounds.

 

Weapons and Military Equipment

     Smokeless powder is not produced on the island; firearms nearly all use black powder. The Army is equipped with 11mm bolt-action magazine rifles (the RR-55), and .45 caliber revolvers; a hundred or so M2HB machineguns exist in working order, but have rather pathetic performance with black powder ammunition. They're usually operated as belt-fed single-shot weapons.

 

RR-55

A bolt-action, box-magazine rifle, firing 11mm lead bullets from brass cartridges. The box magazine is detachable, and holds 5 cartridges. It weighs 4 kilograms loaded. A knife-bladed bayonet can be fitted to the muzzle; a leather sling is usually fitted. Possible malfunctions include an easily-damaged rear sight, and a brittle firing pin.

 

     A few breech-loading 3" guns are employed by the Army (there's no separate Navy) against pirates.

 

Puerto Rican 3" RBL

A simple breech-loading, bag-cartridge-firing black powder artillery piece. The rifled barrel is 163 cm long; the gun, complete with pedestal mount, weighs 180 kg. The rate of fire is about 8 rounds per minute. The gun has two recoil pistons forming a hydraulic buffer. A simple fuze on the base of the projectile detonates the charge after 1 to 13 seconds (set with a wrench before loading).      A horse- or truck-drawn version for land use, with pneumatic tires, weighs 280 kg.      The "shell" projectile weighs 6 kg, and contains a 1.6 kg black powder bursting charge. Muzzle velocity is 350 meters per second, and effective range is 4500 meters. The range is somewhat limited by the very basic sighting system and artillery tables, plus the 'burning fuze' ignition system. A "buckshot" shell is available for close-range defense of the gun (especially under 200 meters).      This weapon was developed during the Españolan invasion of 2088. Its actual military designation is 7.62cm RC Modelo 1.

 

     Army vehicles are all essentially transport; there are no armored vehicles remaining in service. Four batteries of field artillery exist, with 3" guns pulled by pickup trucks; more of the 3" guns are installed in forts at San Juan and Ponce, and aboard the Marlin and some small gunboats.

     Private ownership of guns is unregulated, and fairly common in the western end of the island. Except for the government, firearms must be owned by individual persons, not companies or unions.

 

Communications

     There are half-a-dozen AM radio stations, operating between noon and 8 p.m.. Three of them broadcast music (mostly salsa) and other light entertainment; the exceptions are WKVM (operated by the Catholic Church), WRTU (operated by the UPR, with educational programs), and WKAQ (public affairs, weather reports, and news). WKAQ produces 1,000 watts of transmitted power from its antenna near Fort Buchanan, the others are 500 watts or less. After sunset, WKAQ can be heard a thousand kilometers away over the sea to the north; the other stations, only about 300 kilometers. Keep in mind that Puerto Rico is on Atlantic zone time, one hour later than Eastern zone time. Thus their radio broadcasts end at 7 p.m. EST. In late March of 2140, sunset in San Juan is around 6:37, and civil twilight ends at 7 p.m.

 

notable WKAQ programming as of 2140 AD

noon:  Noticias - general news  2 p.m.:  Noticias  Agrícola - farming news and advice. Often listened to during siesta in rural areas.  3 p.m.:  Noticias - general news  4 p.m.:  La Voz Nacional - politics and opinions 5 p.m.:  Reporte Medico - medical and public hygiene news 6 p.m.:  Informe Deportes - sport news  7 p.m.:  Bureau Veterinario - livestock news and advice

 

     A few hundred thousand AM radio receivers are in use.

     About 7,000 telephones are in service; outside of San Juan, Ponce and Bayamon, they're mostly located in post offices, police stations, and other government sites.

     A daily newspaper, El Mundo, is published in San Juan. A few other papers are published in Bayamon and Ponce. There are many weekly newspapers, political bulletins, union fliers, subversive screeds, parish notices, etc.

     Mail is delivered Monday through Friday by the postal service.

     While phonograph records exist, and can be played, there's been no market for making new ones. Radio stations are the main users of phonographs.

     Military use of radios is mostly simple AM ship-to-shore, or by the two larger aircraft. The armed forces do not monitor radios regularly.

 

Transportation

 

     Common automobiles are rebuilt, repaired and rebuilt again -- Toyota Corona, Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Ford Courier, Ford Bronco, Ford Escort, Ford Ranger, Ford Tempo, Dodge Aries, Plymouth Reliant. There are about 40,000 cars and trucks in use on the island, using about 12 million liters of ethanol per year as fuel. They're usually brightly-painted, with lots of modifications over the years. In the rural areas, vehicle ownership is about 1 per 40 persons.

     About 1,000 agricultural tractors are in use.

     Ethanol fuel costs a half-centavo per liter at a gas station; biodiesel is about centavo per liter. An ordinary, new car tire costs about 6 pesos, an inner tube costs 3 pesos.

     Ethanol-powered motorcycles and scooters are fairly common.

     Repair shops have auto scrapyards with a quarter-million broken cars to choose from. Some items are difficult to come by:  headlamps and batteries, especially.

     Plenty of horses are ridden, or are pulling carriages, or are used to pull wagons on sugar-cane railways.

 

Railways

 

     Besides a trolley system in and around San Juan and Bayamon, there is a meter-gauge electric system which entirely encircles the island. Speeds are slow, however -- the Tren Expreso Postal might manage 50 kph, and can travel entirely around the island in a day (12 hours plus time for stops), carrying the mail and less than a hundred passengers. The fare from San Juan to Ponce, one way, costs 40 centavos. Dozens of short branch lines lead inland from the coastal mainline, but only a couple of those have passenger service; most are used to carry sugar cane.

     Some industrial lines use steam engines (burning agricultural waste) or internal combustion engines (burning ethanol or biodiesel); but the main lines have overhead power lines providing AC power at 16,000 volts. Some electric motors on the mainline trains are old Morrow Project vehicle motors.

     Roughly speaking, a mainline locomotive in operation is using a megawatt of electrical power.

 

Aircraft

 

     The international airport at Ponce (Mercedita Field) was the only large airport left after the Atomic War (and Hurricane Hugo). The main runway is 2100 meters long; as sea level rose, it now is only 2 meters above the sea. The terminal and most other structures date from 1955.

     A dozen or so aircraft were based at Mercedita Field when the War happened:  4 helicopters (2 from the island police, 2 commercial), 4 single-engine aircraft (2 of which were air taxis), a DC-3 aircraft, a DH.114 Heron passenger turboprop, an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 passenger jet, and a CASA C-212 Series 200 Aviocar twin-engine transport (used for skydiving at the time).

     By 2140, there are half-a-dozen single-engine aircraft (none technically from the 20th Century), the DC-3 and the C-212 still in operating condition. The DC-3 and C-212, along with two of the single-engine aircraft, belong to the Army; two of the other single-engine aircraft are used exclusively for training private or military pilots. The other four serve as air taxis, mostly traveling between San Juan and Ponce -- a seat on those half-hour flights costs 2.5 pesos.  A dozen or so formal airfields exist around the island: Mercedita and Fort Buchanan are where the repair and rebuild facilities are at.

     The Morrow Project ship Fort McHenry brought a few gyrocopters, but they all crashed decades ago.

 

Watercraft

    

     After the Atomic War, a half-dozen Coast Guard cutters survived near Puerto Rico:  two Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters (the Dallas and the Gallatin), two Cape-class cutters/patrol boats, and two Point-class cutters. By the summer of 1990, a dozen sea-going vessels had sought shelter at San Juan and Ponce, including the Princess Cruises' TSS Fair Princess and TSS Dawn Princess, each with a thousand tourists. They were originally built as the Cunard vessels RMS Sylvania and RMS Carinthia, of 25,000 tons displacement.

     By the end of the 21st Century, all of the 20th Century vessels were sunk or disabled. The Hamilton-class cutters had cracked propellers, non-responsive pitch systems, entirely defunct turbine engines, cracked diesel engine blocks, rusty hulls, failed electrical generators, broken controls and communications systems, weapons without ammunition, non-functional radars, etc. ... they were scrapped in 2070 and 2077.

     The Fair Princess and Dawn Princess were moored as hospitals, and never left San Juan harbor. The Dawn Princess caught fire in 2015 and mostly burned out; after salvage of useful components, she was towed out to sea and sunk afterwards. Hurricane Herbert in 2084 capsized the Fair Princess, and the hulk was gradually scrapped on the mudflats.

     The turbines and boilers of the Fair Princess, Dawn Princess (both by John Brown) and Fort McHenry have been stored for possible use; the electric motor of the Fort McHenry (5.4 megawatts, or 7200 horsepower) has been installed in the only large self-propelled warship in the Caribbean -- the Marlin.

 

El Marlín

Laid down in 2088, she was launched in July of 2089, and completed in March of 2090. The ship is 68 meters long, with a 7.2 meter beam and a 2.25 meter draft. The hull is made of steel, with a displacement at full load is 620 tons. A Morrow Project Mark 2 fusion generator and six Mark 1 fusion generators provide power to a 14.5 ton General Electric three-phase 2300 volt motor, which drives a single propeller; top speed is 20 knots (37 kph) -- mostly limited by hull length and shape. A seawater cooling system keeps the reactors and motor from overheating; electric motors operate the steering gear, seawater pumps, etc.. By Puerto Rican standards, the ship is very "high tech":  electric lighting, washing machines, telephones, etc. It's fitted with a tactical radio (equivalent to a PRC-70, but weighs several hundred pounds), an AM radio receiver, plus three CB radios (two of them can be sent ashore along with a 12 volt battery). There are two ship's boats, each can carry 30 men.      Armament is four .50 caliber machineguns, and three 3" cannon. The hull is mostly 13mm of mild steel; there is 200mm of armor forming a conning tower, around the reactors, and as simple (flat) gun shields. The crew numbers 48 men (the engine room crew is remarkably small). In theory the ship can get underway with just two people:  someone at the wheel on the bridge, and someone in the engine room.      While the ship is 50 years old, her engine is in fine shape. The Army has considered building a replacement, perhaps with more guns, more armor or higher speed.   captain (Capitán Donald Lopez, as of 2140 AD) executive officer (Teniente Benjamin Torres, as of 2140 AD) 2 deck officers (one alférez, one cadete) bosun (sargento primero) 3 able seamen (usually on the helm) 11 ordinary seamen (lookouts, machine gunners) 2 gunnery officers (one alférez, one cadete) 15 gunners  chief engineer (alférez) 3 engineers 3 artificers/oilers electrician radioman 2 cooks steward armor values:   hull and deck 16 points; gun shields, conning tower and reactor box, 53 points

 

     Given the higher efficiency of the Mark 2 generator, the Marlin is usually tied up next to an electrical switchyard at Miramar, providing power to the island's grid. Fortunately, the ship can get underway as soon as the electrical connections to the shore are dropped. When at sea, she usually patrols the Mona Passage, west of Puerto Rico.

     There are lots of small fishing vessels, either sailing boats or ethanol-powered motor boats. Some of them are issued CB radios by the military, to report suspicious events (or emergencies). The army has a dozen gunboats:

 

Puerto Rican cañonero motorizado

A dozen have been in service since 2090; they're named CM1, CM2, etc.. They are 24 meters long, with a 3.7 meter beam and a 1.1 meter draft. Wooden-hulled, they have a displacement at full load is 37 tons. They are powered by two 225 HP six-cylinder engines, each turning a 1-meter diameter propeller; top speed is 19 knots (35 kph) for any length of time -- a bit more can be coaxed from the engines for a few minutes. On one engine, top speed is only 13 knots. They're fitted with a CB radio, an AM radio receiver, electric interior lighting and a couple of small searchlights, along with a 4-man rowboat and half-a-dozen liferings. The fuel tanks hold 7000 liters of ethanol; at full speed this gives 400 kilometers range, at 24 knots cruising speed the range is about 800 kilometers. A small auxiliary engine is present, to run pumps and electrical systems in an emergency (or when the main engines aren't needed, as when tied up in port).      The CMs are considered to be excellent sea boats, but their short range restricts them to within a few hundred kilometers of the coast of Puerto Rico. The engine exhausts are very noisy, and the old engines break down fairly often. The only armor are small gun shields, 13mm thick, and a chest-high bulwark of 13mm steel around the bridge.      Armament is a single 3" gun, and two .50 caliber machineguns. The crew numbers 9 men.   captain (with the Army rank of teniente) mate (Army rank usually alférez) master gunner (sargento) 4 seamen/gun crew bosun (sargento, acts as helmsman in combat) engineer armor values:  16 points for gun shields and bridge sides;  hull, 6 points.

 

     Smaller patrol boats and harbor launches have only a machine gun and a 4 man crew (sargento in charge, plus a helmsman and two gunners). At least one in each major harbor will have a CB radio.

     Puerto Ricans don't have much experience with deep-sea sailing, or large boat building.