By Glen Hattrup
The sign whizzed past. "One mile to speed zone," Mad Mikey said to his Gunner. "Speed zone?" the gunner asked. "Yeah, a big, bad speed zone." Mikey laughed. Another sign shot by "65 MPH." Mikey's foot never touched the brake.
"Bingo. Punk doing 95 in the zone," the cop spoke into his microphone. He sighted down the road ahead, and as the offending car appeared, he triggered the laser cannon. For once the cannon failed to strike centerofmass, hitting the tires instead 0 But the end result was the same. The car flipped several times before slamming into the ditch.
As Mikey slowly crawled from the wreckage, he found himself
facetoface with five heavilyarmed men in blue spiked armor.
"Just who the hell do you guys think you are?" Mikey
asked. "Overland Park Police Department, " one replied.
"You're under arrest for speeding inside the city limits.
Overland Park survived the food riots by a fluke. They had a mayor who considered himself psychic, and guided the city by his dreams (the public was not aware of this until his personal papers were released upon his death). His powers may have been real, for in several dreams the mayor foresaw the food riots, and increased the size of the police force and stockpiled food in the city vaults.
As the riots began, the mayor had another dream of a tall,
strong wall around the city. Incoming refugees were put to work
on the wall. Those who worked were fed; those who didn't were
shot. After the wall was completed, the new citizens were drafted
into the civic defense force. The mayor was seriously injured
during a skirmish with bikers during the riots, and died shortly
after, but his precautions were enough to get his city through
the worst of the riots, and the 20' tall, 10' broad wall he built
still stands as the center of civic pride today.
1. Racetrack: Overland Park Dueltrack is different from most smalltown raceways in that it offers both electric and gasolinepowered duelling, due to a small oil field surrounding the arena. The city hosts annual racing championships, where competitors vie for a $390,000 purse and local citizenship, in both electric and gasburner events (no salvage rights to the victor). Even with a $5,000 entrance fee, competitors come from all over the midwest to race at Overland Park. Preliminary heats are usually run beginning with fields of eight, with $20,000 going to the winners. This is followed by threecar quarter finals with a purse of $40,000, twocar semifinals with an $80,000 purse, and the fourcar final round, where the winner walks away with $250,000.
The week of the OP Championships is a time of nonstop
festivities, bookended by formal banquets for the competitors
before and after the races.
2. Automotive Plant. Overland Park
Automotive makes both stock cars and custom designs (50%
downpayment for custom cars). Stock cars can be modified with an
additional charge of 15 % per modification. Custom cars are
designed by the buyer, but engineering consulting services are
available for a flat rate of $150 per hour. Completed designs
will be checked for free. An approved custom design can be
completed in ld+7 days. Cost is list price of all components plus
10 %.
3. City Hall. All visitors are required
to report to city hall immediately upon arriving in Overland
Park. Visitors are required to pay a $50 per day visa fee (this
price includes track admission during Championship week), plus
tariffs on trade goods brought into our out of town. Overland
Park citizenship requires approval by the city council, and a
citizenship fee of up to $100,000 (considerably less for those
with necessary professional skills).
4. Gold Cross: The Overland Park Gold Cross
office was originally built to deal with Championship Week
casualties. During the rest of the year business was slow to
nonexistent. In the last three years, however, business has
picked up noticeably, while at the same time the building has
doubled its defensive armaments. Scattered allegations that the
local Gold Cross is drumming up its own business on the outlying
highways is discounted by the Chamber of Commerce and local
officials.
5. The Mall. It's not hard to find a
black market connection at the Overland Park Mall. Just walk into
the wing with "Overland Park Black Market" written over
the entrance. As long as any businessrelated activities are
kept either inside the mall or outside the city limits (and all
applicable taxes and fees are paid up) a merchant can offer
literally any goods or services in the Overland Park Black
Market. The Black Market is kept under constant observation by
the local police the shop on the other end of the mall
specializing in broadbrimmed hats and sunglasses does a steady
business to privacyminded Black Market customers.
6. Police: The Overland Park PD boasts
top men and stateof-theart weaponry (the local Uncle Al's is
the second largest in the state, due mostly to its city
contracts). The Overland Park police have the potential to set a
new standard in overkill, but they are a welltrained unit that
doesn't abuse its power. They keep the peace and keep their eye
on local events. Consequently, when the Chief does decide that
extreme methods are called for, his decision is seldom
questioned.
Duelling is allowed and even encouraged outside the wall.
Duelling inside city limits is suicidal . . . the police have
carte blanche to deal with such situations, and consider them
excellent practice. The smart duellist will ensure that his
fights have no chance of endangering innocent bystanders. OP
locals traditionally duel in the shadow of the city wall.
Overland Park maintains its highways to about 15 miles outside
the city limits. The roads are kept clear for an additional 50
miles. The roads are maintained with cheap refugee labor and
materials from the ruins of Kansas City. The police enforce speed
limits within a 15 mile radius of town of 65 mph on the highway
and 35 mph inside the wall. If caught speeding, the traveler is
strongly advised to pull over and surrender immediately. Better
still, don't speed the police are not required to hail
speeders or fire a warning shot. Fines are substantial (speed X
100 dollars), and payable at city hall. Captured speeders will
have their cars confiscated until they pay up. Those who cannot
pay will work off the balance of their fine at the rate of $50
per day's labor.
The numerous biker gangs in the Old Kansas City area not only
leave Overland Park alone, they usually follow OPPD orders the
fate of those who cross the Overland Park police is well known
among the gangs. The last major war between the town and the
gangs was in 2029, but the lesson of that war hasn't been
forgotten. Overland Park Police, however, do not interfere with
the bikers outside of a 50mile radius, and outside that limit
bikers remain a severe danger, particularly to lone vehicles.
Overland Park remains a democracy, but the people have invested the police and city hall with a remarkable degree of freedom and power. This strong central authority has kept the city healthy and unified through several crises. Citizens are inevitably treated with respect by the locals, but noncitizens are expected to be strictly inoffensive in all their actions. An offense that would draw a small fine or warning for a citizen can earn a noncitizen a huge fine, several weeks on the work gangs and even time in jail.
