Argusville

## The Ruins of Argusville

* ​​​​​   **Population:**126 (Incorporated Area)
* **Government:**Argusville Community Development Corporation, a landholder's association recognized by the Red River Disputed Military Zone .​
* **Territoriality:**Argusville Township is a statistical designated place in Statistical Region 3 of the RRDMZ, under the authority of the Region 3 Commissioners. Parts of Argusville also lie within the 'Sweetheart Fields', extraterritorial agricultural land ceded to Ares Agribusiness.
* **Law Enforcement:**I-29 lies under the Region 3 contract with BSI's  TranSec division. The remaining area lies under the jurisdiction of the Zone Patrol Rangers, except for those areas in the Sweetheart fields, that have the protection of Knight Errant Security.
* **Transportation:**Argusville lays along I-29. As part of Region Three, it is also a stop for the ZATS Tier 3 Megabuses.

Where there was once a town called Argusville there is today just a collection of crumbling ruins of yesterday's prosperity. A single fortified Grain Elevator serves as a community center and meeting place for the surrounding farms and homesteads.

Once though, it was a town. As with most towns like Argusville, the story starts with the railroad. The town of Argusville was platted in 1881 when the railroad was extended to that point. By the end of the twentieth century, it had declined to the point that it had a population of just over a hundred, losing its post office in 1982. The first couple decades of the twenty-first century was good to the town, with it growing to nearly a thousand as a bedroom community of Fargo.

Unfortunately, its proximity to the Red River was the key to its fall, being one of the communities washed out by the angry river during the Awakening, with the inhabitants being evacuated to Fargo for the duration. The area remained abandoned until the early 40's. With Fargo largely rebuilt, the Group started to set its sights on building projects outside of Fargo City limits. With the success of building the Harwood Securitract north of Hector, plans were laid to build a similar sprawling residential complex for those who wanted a more 'rural' experience than The Block, which was already forming itself into the interconnected complex it would later become. GCS broke ground in May of 2042 on what was going to be called 'The Argus Securitract', their most ambitious construction project to date, a projected three-year project, scheduled to open in early 2045.

Unfortunately, construction had been going on for under a year when the Great Manastorm of 43 hit, ravaging the construction site and causing the deaths of several construction workers. The resulting lawsuits and damage to other GCS properties forced the company to abandon the project entirely. Over the years several parties have attempted to restart the project but a combination of financial, environmental and logistical challenges have prevented them from getting much farther than the drawing board.

Today, it is a town of ruins within ruins. The waterlogged and rotting ruins of Argusville the city are surrounded by the towering, unfinished hulks of the proposed Securitract. Only the Community Center (maintained by the Argusville Community Development Corporation) remains open, as the town no longer exists as a town, but as a meeting place and administrative location for local farmers and Biodynamic communes as well as a stopping point for the Roamers who traverse up and down the Red. The locals have grown increasingly militant in the last few years, as they claim that TranSec and the Zone Rangers are not doing enough to protect them from menaces such as the Tamanous and Jacks.

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