North America

North America is the continent that serves as the battlefield for the Amtrak Wars. According to the official history of the Federation, North America is the only continent in the world, bordered on all sides by endless oceans. The Iron Masters know that their ancestral home is a distant island called Nippon, but believe it was completely destroyed in the War of a Thousand Suns, along with the neighbouring landmass of Asia, the original homeland to many of the other ethnic groups within Ne-Issan. The Mutes do not have any knowledge of any lands beyond North America.

The First Family is fully aware of the true extent of the geography of the world from Pre-H sources they have maintained in secret. It is unknown if they have made any efforts to determine if there are human survivors of the Holocaust on other landmasses.

Size[]

The North American continent occupies approximately 9,540,000 square miles of territory ranging from the frozen Arctic of northern Canada to the deserts of southern Mexico and between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

Nations/factions[]

The three dominant factions of the North American continent are the Amtrak Federation, who hold territory in the south of the former United States; the Iron Masters of Ne-Issan, who hold much of the east coast; and the Mutes (both the Plainfolk and Southern Mutes), who hold much of the continental interior. The Iron Masters also refer to the existence of a fourth group, the 'Fog People' who lurk beyond Ne-Issan's northern borders in what used to be eastern Canada. Little is known of these people, but their existence suggests that other, as yet unknown groups may also exist in remote parts of the continent.

Population[]

According to official censuses, the Amtrak Federation currently has a population of 450,000, whilst the Iron Masters are believed to number approximately one million. The population of the Mutes, on the other hand, is estimated at a startling 20-25 million. The population of other groups as yet unknown to the Federation is a mystery.

Geography[]

North America consists of an immense series of plains, known as the Great Plains in Pre-H times, stretching across the centre of the continent, with these plains giving way to desert in the south. The plains are bordered by mountain ranges on either side, the Rockies to the west and the Appalachians to the east, beyond which lie relatively cooler, more temperate coastal plains. In the north lies the Great Lakes, five interconnected bodies of water which help keep the continental interior temperate, a process also aided by a series of major rivers such as the Mississippi, Missouri and Platte.

The land beyond the Rockies is known as California and is a rumoured paradise that some Tracker renegades expend significant resources trying to reach. However, according to First Family maps, the territory is still held by hostile Mute clans.

Fauna[]

During and after the War of a Thousand Suns, the exchange of nuclear fire and the resulting nuclear winter seems to have resulted in an unexpected change to the process of photosynthesis, meaning that every blade of grass, leaf and fern on the continent has turned red in colour, ranging from blood red to flesh pink or fireball orange. The reasons for this process are unknown.

According to the Mutes' Talisman Prophecy, their saviour-figure Talisman will restore the land to its original green state as part of the fulfilment of the prophecy.

Animals[]

Despite the presence of significant overground radiation, animals such as bears, wolves, birds and snakes survive on the surface. Buffalo, once hunted near to extinction in Pre-H times, have returned to the plains and swelled to vast numbers, providing a fresh and constant source of meat. Horses are no longer found on the plains, but are commonly used in Ne-Issan. In 2991 an attempt was made to use horses captured from an Iron Master trading vessel to reintroduce the animal to the plains and to allow the Plainfolk to use them as transport and beasts of burden, but the long-term success of this endeavour remains unknown.