In the coming days of the new millennium, Pittsburgh had been left to rot. The new economic age that gifted TeraCom and Orion Industries was not as kind to US Steel and the city that produced it.

During the years that led up to the new age, the US based international conglomerate US Steel had suffered multiple hardships that ultimately lead to the downfall of the once great industrial powerhouse. During the mid-80s, as the Terracom Corporation grew to be one of the largest economic entities in the world, it spread out into every major market available. As the Terracom conglomerate powerhouse grew, its hunger to consume competition became insatiable. Terracom began to view every other economic mogul as a direct competitor in obtaining resources.

Even partnered companies that still held contracts with Terracom were viewed as competition instead of economic allies. It was obvious Terracom didn’t want to be the largest industrial commodity manufacturing/defense contractor/ power-provider/ agricultural facilitator/ raw-mineral extraction and processor conglomerate in the world. Terracom’s goal was to be the only mass-manufactured provider of anything. Terracom didn’t want to corner the market, Terracom was going to become the market.

Terracom’s first ecenomic target was power. This was an easy but slow venture to conquer for Terracom industrialists. It was done over time, with effort and patience. As Terracom advanced and grew, they soon became the single largest consumer of energy. Terracom’s strategy was as simple as building their own power plants to supplement themselves and lower the market rate to a point where other power providers could no longer compete, quietly shutting down the other companies in the region until the only remaining option was Terracom provided power.

Advanced nuclear power plants were constructed in New York City under Terracom Corporation authority, prior to NYC’s full transition in the greater economic area known as TeraCom City. Terracom was able to hemorrhage money when necessary. The conglomerate’s ultimate goals were to remove competition, not profit from any one specific sector such as providing power. Within a year after the last TeraCom reactor went active, almost every competing power company had been run out of business by lack of demand. By 1993 Terracom had become the sole provider of power for the eastern seaboard and northern Midwest.

During the early days of Terracom’s expansion, it was quickly realized that consistent lucrative contracts to the same companies could anticipate their growth and facilitate further competition in new potential markets. In other words, Terracom had become such a large consumer itself, particularly in areas like resource extraction, Terracom executives developed a strategy to essentially “pump and dump” major corporations by flooding them with business for extended periods of time and then cutting the contracts once replacement facilities were acquired.

The biggest company in the crosshairs of CEO Jim Mackory was US Steel. With the constant expansion of TeraCom’s industrial complex it wasn’t long before Terracom became US Steel’s largest customer.

US Steel would eventually come to rely on the business of Terracom as the corporation was simultaneously crushing and replacing every other large consumer of US Steel products. Terracom’s growth was booming. Every other industrial bastion was slowly but surely consumed one after the other by the conglomerate superpower that was the Terracom Corporation. The remaining companies like US Steel that had once been the flagship of American manufacturing were now left on life support, propped up by their remaining deals to provide raw resources to Terracom.

Das Terracom

During the years of expansion, CEO Jim Mackory had been looking into alternative sources to satisfy Terracom’s ever growing need for iron and steel. He found what was needed in some underdeveloped regions of the Soviet Union.

Due to harsh sanctions imposed on almost every other nation at the time, most of the developed world had been pushed to the brink of economic collapse. China and The Soviet Union were some of the nations to suffer the worst. To compete with the US, many of these nations had crashed their own economies trying to under bid United States sales. Some nations attempted to impose restrictions of their own to save their desperate markets, but the greed of humanity is insatiable.

Businessmen and investors around the world sold out the fortunes of their respected nations for temporary wealth that would soon become worthless. It wasn’t long before disputes erupted resulting in multiple small scale combat situations and proxy wars between subordinate nations; almost ultimately culminating in WW3. It is more than likely that this war would have erupted within the following decade if not for the actions of the A.I.

Another Spectre

By the early 90s, The Soviet Union had fallen under serious threat as internal struggles engulfed various regions. Many different fringe powers representing multiple causes and ideals revolted against the established authoritarian rule. Cries for independence were chanted by rioting masses in the capitals of previously conquered federations, unhappy with the communist rule. The upheaval in these Eastern European nations eventually led to full scale rebellions culminating in a partial breakup of The Soviet Union. By 1995, with influence from the United States and TeraCom developers, The Berlin Wall was completely torn down and the communist hood over East Germany was soon lifted.

In the nations of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, TeraCom bought up as much mineral rich land as it could buy from the destitute states. Refinery plants for steel and iron were constructed in a few short years. Already accustomed to harsh impoverished living, and welcoming to the concepts of capitalism, the local workers were accepting and non-contentious of TeraCom’s typically deplorable conditions. With these new facilities TeraCom was able to import its own materials eventually removing the need for US Steel altogether; devastating their reliant competitor in the process.


Pittsburgh

In 1996, TeraCom had bought its last piece of US Steel. By 1998 the former industrial giant that had forged the alloys that built a once great nation, US Steel had gone completely out of business. When the fires went out in the last lit forge, the heart of Pittsburgh stopped beating.

US Steel had been under the control of President Mark Saugus and his small board of wealthy shareholders for almost 30 years. Now the committee found themselves exposed to the same cold chill of destitution they so easily imposed on the thousands of laid-off workers sentenced to death for decades. With almost 100% of the entire region’s means of employment forced to a halt, contemporary society collapsed. Pittsburgh had already become a violent depraved city over the recent years as constant wage cuts and labor reductions left most of the workforce penniless.

With the final collapse of US Steel, the city descended into complete chaos. Boarded up or burnt-out buildings, looted store fronts, trash, broken glass, burning cars, all common sights on the streets of Pittsburgh in the days prior to the Blackout. President Mark Saugus and his Board members used some of their remaining wealth to buy off the local police force for personal protection. The over worked and under paid officers were more than happy to accept the offer from the aristocrats.

During the two years after the collapse of US Steel, leading up to the new millennium, the city and most of its residents had been relying on emergency aid of which the strict government was reluctant to expand.

No one within hundreds of miles of Pittsburgh was shielded from the ecological devastation. The entire region had been so badly ravaged by pollution from the coal plants and refineries that had burned for a century prior, that the ground had become completely barren. When the Blackout occurred, it didn’t take long for the food stored away to run out.

Within a few weeks the ever-present fear in the back of everyone’s mind had become an undeniable reality, they were all going to starve to death.
Mark Saugus and his committee, with the support of the still present Pittsburgh PD, took it upon themselves to gather the remaining residents to form a bond in the darkness. They stood together as a group, under burning torch light, thousands of people scared of the horrors that might come.They had already witnessed hundreds in the early days suffer, those who were too carless with their provided rations or who squandered and gambled away their food stamps, unaware their previous meals would be their last.

Under the night sky and glow of the oil lamp torches burning in the city square, with the committee standing behind him, Mark Saugus addressed the survivors. He gave them a heartfelt speech that was listened to by eager ears waiting to hear an answer, a glimmer of hope from those who had once been the providers of prosperity before. Hope was promised and absolutely assured but the cattle and livestock were all but gone in every county; the farmer’s crops had withered years ago. There was only one viable source of meat left. The Committee had already made the decision. Those who had died would be ground up and preserved for food.

The Committee formed a new government under the leadership of Saugus and the protection of the Pittsburgh PD. This new ruling power calls itself The Carnegie Society and they promised to bring the city back to a stage of affluence and beauty that would surpass anything they had seen before. Mark Saugus took on the title of Mayor and the city was renamed The City of Steel by The Carnegie Society.

Within days the streets were cleaned by a massive, organized effort. The bodies of the dead were ground up into pies and pounds of raw beef that were passed out on a weekly basis. After reconstruction began, the local workforce and economy was somewhat revitalized.

After securing a stable food source, the next priority was turning on the lights. This was quite easy for the residents of The Steel City. Coal power had been the number one source of energy in the region since the prevalence of the early modern era. Despite being improved wit advanced systems, the core process is still basic and had remained virtually unchanged for decades. It only took a few crews working around the clock for just over a week for one major coal plant to be reactivated. Within another month every coal power plant necessary was up and running again providing ample power.

Much of the city was redesigned and refurbished. Fortunately, the former steel factories and forges were plentiful with resources. The aristocrats of The Carnegie Society used what remaining wealth they had to bolster the workforce that was building and revitalized the city. A laborer’s wages were typically spent at various meat pie shops and opulent bone marrow bars setup around the county by The Carnegie society.

Money began to flow through the city and as other civilizations began to spread out, trade and commerce was on the rise. Various independent industries began to pop up within The City of Steel adding to its allure, all paying their share of taxes to the scrutinizing Carnegie Society.

The only problem presented to outside traders is the complication of exchanging currency. The Steel City is one of the last remaining markets to still use preblackout American currency. Businesses and residents of The Steel City are strictly forbidden from accepting TeraCom credits, forcing travelers and traders to exchange their currency at drastic rates.

What troubles the residents in the new city are the same problems that troubled them before. There’s just not enough meat. Nowadays, importing from farms in the Sovereign States is possible but it’s expensive. Some of the land has been rejuvenated in recent years but most of the crops remain infertile. Greenhouses have been constructed but the greenhouses don’t provide enough for the masses. There’s just never enough meat. The remains of the dead would only last so long.

Fortunately for The Carnegie Society, new solutions for the meat problem had presented themselves. The pollution had become so bad over the recent decades that many children were being born with Anencephaly, a rare condition that causes children to be born without large portions of their brain. It’s rumored that Pittsburgh PD Officers stand watch at the medical centers for the sole purpose of confiscating these children to be later used as filler for meat.

Another more available solution for the problem was necessary though slightly more difficult to create.
The Carnegie Society needed more bodies. With the temporary resurgence in the economy people were doing well and crime was low. It was decided that the prices of food, once mostly supplied to residents at no charge, would now have a fee raised to fit the current supply. Within a few weeks, desperation led to increased criminal activities; arrests were made.

The local jails only have room for the lowest level offenders and the worse replenished the meat supply. High levels of crime can cause the cost of meat in The Steel City to decline. In recent times of prosperity, it is even rumored that to prevent dire fluctuations in the meat market, The Carnegie Society has even gone as far to hire kidnappers to capture drifters and are willing to pay for any quality meat, no questions asked.

Within a decade after the initial days of the Blackout, The City of Steel had looked better than it had in generations. The beauty and elegance of the new architecture was only contrasted by the stark inescapable presence of pollution, deprivation, and filth. Lavish ornate bridges cross crimson red rivers that flow through The Steel City lined by iridescent sludgy banks below elegant brick and steel architecture. Stories of this decadent city entice travelers from across the continent, everyone wants to witness the illustrious City of Steel, just heed this warning if you decide to pay a visit. Always obey the law and don’t go wondering off alone, or you just might find yourself quenching someone else’s very specific appetite.