Alpha City

Alpha City was an IRC-based free form role-playing game that was active beginning in 1994 and ran until 2003.


 * Addresses:
 * Website: ???
 * MySpace: http://groups.myspace.com/alphacity
 * Ran from/to: 1994 - 2003

History
Alpha City was run by QuyetPawz, Dark_Wolf, and a number of channel operators. Much of the setting and artwork was contributed by players. For a short time before the game was officially closed, it was moved to Esper from the RPGWorlds server.

History of Alpha City
The fictional history of Alpha City began with the vision of a feline politician, Miriam Raas. Raas envisioned a virtual utopia, where citizens of all species and cultures would pool their resources and all work together for the common good; other city-states were often ruled by greedy, neo-feudalistic rulers.

After gaining support and being elected leader of the new project, Alpha City, a large city-state comprised of nearly three dozen minor cities and towns, was founded. With funding going into science funding and social projects, along with the massive immigration of scientists of all kinds, the city grew into the most scientifically advanced city in the world.

Downfall
The city's prosperity was not to last. Crime lords and people with powerful underworld connections began to flood into the city, coveting its vast amount of wealth. Raas was unprepared to deal with this; she barely managed to keep her elected position for a fourth term by agreeing to the plan of the new "Lupine League" party to form a new branch of the police force dubbed the "Canine Law Enforcement Division", or CLED.

With the help of the CLED, crime rates dropped drastically. Most of Raas's advisors and assistants transferred to the Lupine League, and by next election it was apparent that Raas had been reelected as a matter of tradition rather than her ability to govern.

A short time after the election, several changes by the Lupine League went into effect. A wall of steel and concrete over a hundred feet tall was built to surround the city. Immigration became difficult for everyone but canines &mdash; felines, especially, were discouraged from entering the city.

With the help of false newspaper reports, the Lupine League managed to convince the populace that the decreasing crime rates were correlated with the decrease in feline immigration, rather than the increase in CLED funding. The once-equal society of Alpha City deteriorated.

Although Raas continued to serve as mayor, all but a scant few of her assistants were members of the Party for Law Enforcement, or PLE, which had been formed as the new Lupine League. The PLE increased in popularity even as feline public perception decreased drastically.

Soon, Alpha City became truly segregated. Slums formed in the shadows of the great wall due to land values rising as the city's growth was impeded by the barrier. Thousands of people, mostly felines, were rendered homeless. They were often driven to crime to survive.

On the other hand, the inner city prospered. Due to outcry by canines and upper-class citizens, electronic gates were erected around the area, and heavily armed CLED guards were stationed to make sure no one without a special pass was able to enter. Although all species were theoretically still equal, only canines ever qualified for a pass.

Much of the city's income was spent on the wall. This caused the previously prosperous city to go from the world's leading scientific community to a backwater within a matter of years.

One mid-winter, pending the mayoral election, Miriam Raas died in a suspicious falling accident. Feline press raised cries of murder; canine authorities pointed out that Raas's personal retainers were all feline. No formal trial was held, and they were never seen again.

A black wolf named Raeth Karr was elected as the new mayor. The votes were never counted.