Municipal States of the Pacific (1983: Doomsday)

The Municipal States of the Pacific (MSP) is a loose confederation of city-states centered around what was once Northern California and Southern Oregon.

Doomsday and after
The area of Northern California and Southern Oregon was spared the worst of the nuclear attack on Sept 26, 1983 because of its small population. That did not save the area from the aftereffects of Doomsday such as radiation, disease and general lawlessness. Today the current population of the region is only half of what it was pre-Doomsday.

Those few population centers that managed to survive did so by fortifying themselves within "city walls" and imposing draconian measures against refugees that attempted to find food and shelter inside them. In 1985, a rogue U.S. Marine unit terrorized the area stealing food and kidnapping people to be servants (or more often food) for them. They were eventually stopped when several towns petitioned a group of Hells Angels to stop them. These Hells Angels took up protection of several cities of the area, attacking brigands in exchange for food and "comfort women" from the city-states. Eventually these Hells Angels became the core group of the Pacific Coast Police Unit (arguably their influence may be why members prefer to travel by motorcycle).

1990s
In 1991 the USS Benjamin Franklin visited the area and came in contact with several of the surviving coastal towns, sharing with them information about what was going on with the rest of world. This marked a major change in outlook of the survivors in the area as survivors gave up any hope that the United States government would do anything to save them. Various city-states adopted new constitutions referring to themselves as "Republics" or in some cases declaring themselves the new government of the United States. Attempts by the American Provisional Administration to establish a presence in the area were rebuffed, sometimes violently. In 1995, when word spread that President Bush announced the end of the United States and said Americans should become a part of Australia, it was generally ignored in MSP.

Meanwhile the cooperation that existed among the city-states post-Doomsday ended as the city-states began fighting amongst themselves over the remaining resources, with the Hells Angels taking the side of the highest bidder. The city-state governments degenerated into petty feudal dictatorships, any vestige of democratic government gone.

2000s
By the turn of the century, life had become unbearable in the area. Years of fighting and diseases led to dissatisfaction among the lower classes. Several attempts were made in different cities to overthrow their tyrannical governments. After a successful attempt in Yreka, California led to a democratic government, several fearful governments enacted reforms to quell the demands of the populace. Meanwhile the power of the Hells Angels began to wane as nomadic "clans" challenged them for control of the wilderness making travel between the cities almost impossible.

In this atmosphere a "Congress" was called at Port Orford in 2004 and attended by representatives of several of the more powerful city-states. After much debate the leaders agree to finance an expedition to Hawaii to ask for aid from the international community.

Formation of the MSP
The MSP was formed in 2006 when the fortified cities along the U.S. Pacific coast, facing desperate food supply, agreed to accept the conditions set up by both the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand and South American Confederation: creation of a national government with its main task of coordinating the distribution of the humanitarian aid and unifying the cities' security forces in order to secure the humanitarian transports and infrastructure is fulfilled.

Port Orford became the official capitol of the MSP and also the center of the aid shipments after a World Census and Reclamation Bureau base was built near there. The "Pacific Coast Police Unit" was formed from the remnants of the Hells Angels and volunteers from the populace. Armed with foreign weapons they immediately began securing strategic points within the MSP to protect food/medicine shipments from nomads, brigands and rogue city-states.

Contemporary era
Interest in the interior of the old United States with increases in radio signals and word of mouth from nomads about survivor communities in the Great Plains. In one of the greatest act of cooperation among the city-states since the founding of the MSP, an expedition was created in 2009 to explore the interior of the United States. Made up of members from the PCPU and a few foreign observers, the expedition hopes to get into contract with anymore American survivors and bring back any resources the MSP will be able to use.

Also in 2009 the Committee to Restore the United States of America opened their first mission in Port Orford. Currently they hope to encourage a stronger central government among the MSP, but have played down their ultimate goal of reestablishing the United States.

Many city-states have attempted to clean up their image and offered lucrative contracts in an effort to encourage skilled foreign immigrants to settle in the area. So far only a bare few have taken the offer as the image of the MSP continues to remain low across the world.

Government
Most of the power in the MSP is held by the leader of the local city-state. Each member of the MSP, however, sends a delegate to the Central Committee located in Port Orford. The Central Committee coordinates humanitarian aid shipments and other projects between the member cities, but each member cannot make any decision without express authority from their city-state. Each year the Central Committee elects among its members a Chairman to head the committee.

The Chief of the Pacific Coast Police Unit is also chosen by the Central Committee for a life term, unless he or she resigns or is impeached. Within the "neutral zones" (territories that no city-states claims) the PCPU has absolute authority, including summary execution.