Name: Free Economic Zone Of New Vegas (FEZNV)
Flag: http://imgur.com/1bLancr (still thinking about that)

History: Formed by the genius pre-war mind that is Robert Edwin House, the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas was officially established following the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. Its origins lay in the pre-war world however, when House first laid out his plans to preserve the spirit of Vegas and turn the city in the post-war world into a blast furnace, from which the foundation of a rebuilt future could be forged in the fires of industry and capitalistic venture.

House’s plans were interrupted by the failed delivery of the piece of advanced technology known as the “Platinum Chip” which forced him to operate off of buggy software and to adapt and change his plan and schedule. In order to survive the rolling blackouts to his power grid in the Lucky 38 Casino (caused by his successful attempts to shield Vegas from nuclear fire) Mr. House went into a deep coma, which lasted many years.

When he awoke, he found the city of Vegas to be relatively intact, but still nothing like the future he had originally planned for it. Due to continual issues with his software, he was not able to implement any sort of real rebuilding effort until many years later. In the meantime, he continued to hire various search parties to find the Platinum Chip in the ruins of its original printing location: Sunny Vale, California.

It was then in 2070s that Mr. House emerged from his seclusion within the Lucky 38 in order to begin his original plans. Using his vast accumulated capital he hired and civilized three tribal societies, who became the famed “Three Familes” of the New Vegas Strip. It was also in this time that the advance of the Legion and the NCR was detected, two massive states who had ambitions for the New Vegas area.

House immediately set to work, and drafted a treaty with the NCR using the leverage gained from his new manpower in the Three Familes as well as the force of Securitrons that he had at his disposal within the Lucky 38. It was a small force compared to the might of the NCR and Legion, but it was enough to bide Mr. House time.

While the NCR took control over the massive hydroelectric Hoover Dam, House was busy plotting to ensure that the Dam, and indeed the whole New Vegas area would not remain under the NCR’s influence for long. Through a serious of political machinations and the use and recovery of the Platinum Chip, House upgraded and unleashed his Mk II Securitron Army on the two combatants at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. Using his new found military might, he forced the NCR to sign an http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Order_of_withdrawal which created the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas and set terms for the arrangement of water and electric supplies from the Dam to the NCR, in exchange for a set fee. With no choice but to accept, NCR General Lee Oliver pulled his forces from the Dam and returned home. Both he and President Kimball bore the brunt of this move by House and the War Hawk agenda collapsed in the NCR.

Following the battle at the Dam, House set to work on his beloved Vegas. He continued expansion of the Strip, moved into Freeside and began improving conditions there, and ensured that the Casinos of the city had a steady supply of tourists and caps. All the while, House reaped in a flat (but still relatively low) tax on all Casino and vendor profits which proved to be quite substantial: notwithstanding his treaty with the NCR which began reaping in similar large amounts of money. All the while, the borders of the Free Economic Zone expanded, soon reaching the Big Mountain facility to the north. After taking control of Big Mountain and eliminating the more uncooperative members of the Think Tank, House began to consider ways in which he might use this advanced facility to his advantage. Research was soon sponsored at the facility, and House used his considerable development skill earned from his pre-war experience as the Robco-CEO to jumpstart technological innovation at the location.

New Vegas thus now represents a unique sort of gem in the Post-Apocalyptic world: relatively untouched by the Great War with its spirit intact. Citizens from around the NCR flock to the Strip in droves, fueling the engine of Mr. House’s economy. The advanced MKII Securitrons are now the army of Vegas: an army “worthy of protecting it” and House continues to lead the Economic zone with a firm autocratic hand.

Time will only tell if this venture was a success. As they say in Vegas however, the House always wins.

Government:

The New Vegas Economic Zone is a unique style of government, one which is perhaps best described as “Lassiez-Faire Autocracy.” Mr. House controls the New Vegas strip as its “sole CEO-and proprietor” and runs the Economic zone as a “firm autocrat and economic visionary.” Mr. House’s official title is “Chief Executive of the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas.”

While Mr. House is the leader of the Free Economic Zone, he has no interest in legislating the lives of individuals within it. Laws are thus quite lax, with only a few basic fundamental legislative codes in order to ensure a society that is not anarchistic or uncivilized, and that everyone knows House is in charge. Personal and social legislation however, is left largely up to the individual communities within the zone. Provided these towns do not draft legislation that will either grossly compete with House’s basic laws, or in his words, go against the “spirit of New Vegas” the towns are free to legislate and control themselves as they will. A flat tax is of course sent to Mr. House from each of the communities, and in return, House provides protection in the form of his Securitron Army and utilities such as power and water.
It is a system which has thus far succeeded. In some sense however, the Free Economic Zone is less of a structured government and more of a business model capitalistic venture, and that is just the way House wants it.

Economy:

The economy of Vegas is the Zone’s main draw. Vegas is business, and business is good. With Mr. House at the wheel, a CEO and elite executive from the pre-war world, industry and business flourish in New Vegas like it does almost nowhere else. One of the largest economic draws is of course New Vegas itself: the jewel of the Mojave wasteland and indeed possibly the world. Citizens from the NCR and even other surrounding regions flock to Vegas for fun, excitement, and gambling. While initially only three Casino’s dotted the strip, House has made sure that various others have now sprung up: and the strip has boomed with phenomenal growth.

House also controls various other industries within New Vegas, such as the advanced technological sector in the form of Big Mountain, industries such as the New Vegas steel plant and other retooled factories, and of course: Hoover Dam, whose electricity is being sent by treaty to both New Vegas and the NCR, as well as to surrounding locations and regions. House has been improving its output capacity as well: with his advanced knowledge of engineering.

As a designated “Free Economic Zone” New Vegas also is a haven for entrepreneurs, corporate entities, and other businesses. House keeps his taxes on such industries quite low in order to encourage the growth of these sorts of ventures in the Zone and thus he has sponsored a haven of capitalism and big-business: all the while he skims off the top of the large pool of profits in order to fund and fuel his own future ventures.

In all, the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas likely has one of the strongest and richest economies in the word, with a high standard of living to boot: and House means to keep it that way.


Culture: “Sin city is a hell of a town.”

The culture of Vegas is highly reminiscent of 1950s Vegas Americana. With everything that goes along with it. The slang, the attire and dress, the decorations, and the general feel. New Vegas is a display case of the pre-war world, with the spirit of the “entertainment capital of the world “ preserved by House. Gambling, drugs, six, and booze are all apart of the Vegas experience on both the Strip, and Freemont Street. Men and women dress in snazzy suits and pre-war dresses and everywhere the spirit of Vegas is fun and good times: just like it was in the old world. Don’t let that fool you however, as House runs the Strip and New Vegas like a well oiled machine. There is no laziness when it comes to keeping the city clean, running, and on time and on schedule. Even the New Vegas monorail to McCarren Airport runs its schedule with precise efficiency, down to the last second.

Outside of the strip, the outlying towns and villages are more traditional of typical settlements around post-apocalyptic America and the NCR. Some are doing better than others, and a few such as Primm even maintain their own “little Vegas” atmosphere. However in towns like Goodsprings and elsewhere: you’ll find a more laid-back attitude and more down-to-earth wasteland folk, some of whom have no interest in the lights and glamor of Vegas. Still, they appreciate the easiness of House’s rule and the efficiency with which he supplies them with water and electricity.

Military: “An army worthy of protecting it.”

The soldiers of Vegas stand alert, straight and at attention always, they never eat nor do they sleep, no do they suffer from morale loss or fatigue. They are excellent soldiers and accurate to a robotic precision. They are of course: the Securitrons. House’s large Securitron army is of course the primary fighting force of New Vegas and the Free Economic Zone as a whole. As Mr. House would say: they are always in fighting trim.

With the upgrades to the MKII software, the Securitrons are armed with an array of powerful weaponry: each one carrying embedded within its casing a Glasting House Inc. X-25 gatling laser for medium range engagements, a M-235 missile launcher system for ground and air targets, a 9mm submachine gun for close range suppression and crowd control, and a G-28 grenade launcher system for explosive supporting fire. Each Securitron also has a highly advanced on-board auto-repair system, which makes these robotic soldiers of Vegas ready for nearly any combat situation which arsis. All in all, as House estimates, the MK II upgrades confer a 235% upgrade in combat effectiveness per unit. For those wishing to exploit the robotic nature of the soldiers, they will find that this is not so easily done, as House’s research at Big Mountain has yielded technology which aids in shielding these robo-soldiers from EMP damage. Thus, one can not simply carpet bomb an advancing force with pulse grenades and expect a victory.

In all, the Securitrons of Vegas are its police force, its army, and the shield and sword of the Free Economic Zone. Most of the Securitrons are positioned in Vegas and the surrounding area (including Hoover Dam), however, several groups of the robots also patrol outlying regions, and some are positioned in smaller towns and villages in order to help with their security: complements of Mr. House.

However, each of the larger towns also maintains a police force/small militia of their own, which is almost entirely defensive in nature. House’s terms allow for such militias to form, provided they do not act without permission from House and do nothing to attempt to thwart House’s Zone. Should any town attempt such a thing, Securitrons would be swiftly detached to deal with them post-haste.

While these militia’s should be considered if any attack is to be made on New Vegas, their role is mostly untrained and ad-hoc. Some are more deadly than others and they are not officially counted amongst the “military” of New Vegas, the professional and standing army, is of course the Securitrons.

Approximate Securitron force: 20,000.
Militia forces: Adhoc as needbe. Scattered around various outlying towns. They are not part of the main standing army and are only temporary forces.

Technology: High Tech

Considering that Mr. House, the mind behind the pre-war technological marvel of a company that was Robco, is now at the helm of the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas, this nation should of course be considered high technology. Or at least the capability to become one. Big Mountain serves as the primary research facility, and various new technologies are been developed and experimented on from time to time.

War technology though, is not the main focus of the technology (aside from the securitrons) it is the innovation and technological progress for the sake of progress itself. Energy and power technology is a main source of research: how can the Dam and such things like Helios One be improved upon?

Research into robotics, medical technology, chemicals, and other such endeavors are of course done as well. And the Free Economic Zone encourages various types of scientific study and Mr. House himself funds such projects with his enormous wealth.

Religion:

The Free Economic Zone does not have a particular religion and there is certainly no official one stated. House himself is most likely atheist in temperament, but he does not regulate religious belief whatsoever (provided the beliefs do not clash with the ideas of the Free Economic Zone). As such, one will most likely find a variety of religions (and of course the lack thereof) in the New Vegas region. Both pre-war and post-apocalyptic in nature.
As in other places, it is more likely that you will find religious folk in more rural Mojave towns as opposed to the city of Vegas.

Views on mutation: Ambivalent.

House does not have a particular disdain for mutations and he sees no issue with them provided they do not disturb his goals for the Free Economic Zone. Thus, no official policy for mutations is set within the law codes. Various towns however, may differ.
Within New Vegas itself though, House does ‘discourage’ mutates from visiting, unless they are well laden with caps, as they tend to drive away customers and generally cause uproar. Ghouls are far less of a problem than super-mutants, who are effectively excluded from the New Vegas Strip and Freemont (although not explicitly stated to be). At most, non-feral ghouls are likely to simply experience prejudice and bigotry rather than outright exclusion, revulsion, or hatred. Experience varies however. Casinos will always welcome a ghoul with a fat wallet. As will most business, because in Vegas, money talks.

However, while House himself is ambivalent to the mutation question, and would likely not care either way, the people and towns within his Free Economic Zone hold a variety of different views. Some see mutations as disgusting abominations, while others are far more tolerant and accepting. A few towns even have complete bans on mutates from entering their city limits: which House does not stop from occurring.

The settlement of Jacobstown is the one place where super-mutants may find assured refuge. The cure for the Nightkin was discovered by Dr. Henry and as such the settlement survived deep and secluded within the ski lodge in the mountains. House knows of the settlement and permits its existence provided that the mutants can keep themselves out of trouble and stay away from roads, main towns, and villages. In return for this allowance, Jacobstown sends a much higher tax to Mr. House than other towns within the Free Economic Zone. For the super-mutants however, it is considered worth it. These mutants make their living by mining and cutting lumber in the mountains for the Free Economic Zone.

House has made it explicitly clear to Marcus that should problems arise from Jacobstown, hesitation will not be given in ‘dealing’ with the settlement.

Land occupied: New Vegas and the surrounding region, including the Hoover Dam, Big Mountain and various other locations (see map for outline of territory).

Population: According to Mr. House’s precise census: 834,567.2

However, this only includes citizens and permanent residents, this does not include the various tourists and travelers which often stay in Vegas for an extended period: either working (to pay off debts ) or simply enjoying themselves at the Strip.

Signature Weapon: The Helios One Solar Power plant transmits electricity to the overall region, and for most people this is all they know it as: a power plant. However, The Archimedes I weapon system is ready to be activated at a moments noticed should the need arise. While the deadly laser ray is not nearly as powerful a system as say, the Bradley Hercules, it could still wipe a small town or an entire company or two of soldiers out.