Los Angeles

## Description:

Los Angeles, also known as the City of Angels, is often considered to be Ryanstown's sister city, and is located in what used to be southern California. The Los Angeles urban sprawl has connected with and assimilated San Diego into itself, making the greater Los Angeles area considerably larger than its original form prior to The Fiscal Suicide of 2020. The city is known for its beaches, sunny and hot climate, high cost of living, entertainment industry, nightclub industry, and tourism.

Los Angeles maintains positive relations with the adjoined region of Baja, particularly the connected city of Tijuana that was previously part of Mexico; the greater Los Angeles area uses Baja, California as a massive vacation spot for the rich and famous. Los Angeles maintains positive relations with most other Supercities along the western American coast, except for Las Vegas, with which Los Angeles competes quite heavily.

### Geography & Climate:

The greater region of the Pacific Coast known as Los Angeles is known for its beauty; the city's thriving tourism industry ensures that the coast's many beaches are well-maintained and covered in resorts and boardwalks fit to service the needs of the millions of tourists who visit the area each year. Inland, the region is primarily dry and hot, and suffers from wildfires and droughts rather frequently; this lack of water has led to the rise of Deluge Hydroengineering Inc., a monopolistic water de-salination megacorporation that holds the region's water supply in a stranglehold. Beyond the coastal regions are steep mountains, most famously those of the Hollywood Hills where the richest celebrities build their ridiculously oversized mansions.

The entire region is known for its heat and warm climate, which further encourages tourism and exaggerates a popular beachside culture and flourishing boating scene.

### Organization:

Like all Supercities in North America, Los Angeles is owned primarily by Kodian Enterprises, and is protected under contract by the KPD. Many other megacorporations call Los Angeles home, as the city is large enough to rival Ryanstown. Most prominently, Kodian Enterprises struggles for control of the Supercity against Aztech Biomedical Associates, with both companies rallying their allies against the other; this conflict has led to an ongoing corporate-sponsored culture war between Hispanic/Latino culture and North American culture.

Like all Supercities in North America, Los Angeles is policed primarily by the KPD and secondarily by other private corporate security firms; the KPD serves as the primary legal establishment, although all megacorporations that own property have their own set of laws and policies. Much like Ryanstown, the KPD maintains a heavy presence across most of LA; security cameras, patrolling drones, beat cops and patrolling units discourage serious crime, while the large KPD Precincts dotted around the city dispatch additional support where needed. Unlike Ryanstown, LA's KPD has a few additional Divisions among its ranks that specialize in crimes most popular in LA, most prominently the FSU, or Financial Security Unit, which specializes in protecting currency, from transport trucks and bank security to online cryptocurrency and anti-robbery countermeasures to address, discourage, and respond to the incredibly high rate of bank heists, robberies, and thefts that occur in the city ever year. The KPD's Speed Bump Unit works tirelessly to combat the illegal racing scene, biker gangs, and affiliated organizations that run rampant through the city's neighborhoods; the SBU works hand-in-hand with the Gang Unit, which works to fight against organized crime and drug trafficking from the south. Like Ryanstown, however, the KPD's brutality is well-known despite protests against the corporation's militarization. Los Angeles has one of the highest rates of incarceration in North America, beating even Ryanstown despite LA's small size in comparison.

#### Districts:

##### Hollywood (Entertainment District):

The main avenue for LA's entertainment industry, Hollywood is roughly equivalent to a Corporate District found in other Supercities. Unlike other Corporate Districts, however, Hollywood is more open to the public and significantly more secure, although most security measures are cleverly hidden from the uneducated eye to prevent intruding upon photography or filming. The entire District of Hollywood is covered in theaters, clubs, performance halls, convention centers, film museums, and filming sets; the level of luxury is far above what is expected in even a standard Corporate District.

##### The Hills (Executive Residential District):

Beverly Hills are a portion of LA which sits on the north and western edge of the Supercity's borders, and exists as the absolute wealthiest portion of the Supercity. The Hills are where the Supercity's richest and most famous residents build their oversized, extravagant homes surrounded by tall walls and armed guards; several reality television shows are being filmed within the Hills at any one point in time, according to recent statistical analyses, as a result of the area's extremely intense density of celebrities and wealthy individuals. The Hills as a District is cordoned off from the rest of the city by a massive turret-covered wall protected by KPD officers much in the same way a Corporate District might be; this security operates 24/7 and has special rules in place to stop stalkers, crazed fans, rioters, and even intrusive paparazzi.

##### Santa Monica (Tourism District):

As stated previously, LA's coastline is heavily monetized by a variety of megacorporations. The entire stretch of coastline contained within LA's mighty walls are covered in resorts, private beaches, mansions for rent, amusement parks, harbors and dockyards, and much more; all of this space is used for the city's tourism industry, and is designed to encourage visitors to spend as much money and time there as possible. The beaches of the Santa Monica coast are carefully maintained by dedicated corporate workers, who ensure that the beaches are perpetually clean, well-kept, devoid of free-loaders and squatters, and in the optimal state for swimming, sun-bathing, and more. The national headquarters for Deluge Hydroengineering Inc. is also located here, attached to the company's largest desalination and water treatment/recycling facilities.

##### The Valley (Commercial District):

The San Fernando Valley is famous for its passion for the arts. These arts have, of course, been privatized by megacorporations, who have set up massive museums, art galleries, auction houses, and a variety of massive malls and shopping centers for a wide variety of goods, from paintings to furniture and fashion. This District also encourages tourism and attracts conventions and exhibits from around the world.

##### Westside (Corporate District):

The region of Los Angeles previously occupied by the city's main medical facilities and governmental buildings has long been repurposed as the Supercity's primary Corporate District, occupied by hundreds of skyscrapers and looming marvels of modern architecture dedicated to keeping the megacorporations working. This District houses the regional headquarters for many of the Supercity's primary megacorporations, and also acts as an important center for banking; notably, Westside is the only District of Los Angeles that has Hoverlanes running through it.

##### Los Barrios (Slum Districts):

While not a contiguous District in and of itself, Los Barrios is the term given to the Supercity's Sprawl, the cobbled collection of slums and corporate-sponsored Hab-Blocks that dot LA's skyline like bad acne. These neighborhoods are plagued by uncontrolled crime, poverty, drug abuse and similar violations, and much more as a result of their low economic resources and tightly-packed overpopulation; organized crime runs rampant through these areas, with the division of gang territory so insane that individual Hab-Blocks might belong to one gang, while the building next door is owned by another group.

##### List of Miscellaneous Locations:

1. The Homestead Saloon
2. La Plata y Plomo
3. [REMOVED]

#### Crime & Corruption:

Like Ryanstown, Los Angeles is rampant with crime and embroiled in a constant struggle between the KPD and lawless gangs. As stated previously, LA has been infamous for bank heists, robberies, thefts, and similar crimes since before The Fiscal Suicide; similarly, homelessness problems have caused a serious problem with car robberies and muggings in some poorer parts of the city that have encouraged harsher responses from the KPD. Beyond thefts and dramatic heists, LA is filled with gang activity and organized crime; Aztech Biomedical Associates operates and/or supports the largest criminal enterprises in the region and run a considerable majority of the drug activity in LA alongside the Maofu Clan. Aztech's so-called Barrenderos run drugs from Mexico while the Maofu Clan smuggle drugs, weapons, and people in and out of LA from Asia. LA is also dominated by biker gangs, illegal driving clubs and street racing circuits, illegal prostitution rings and human trafficking, and a lucrative kidnapping/blackmailing/extortion industry spurred on by the continued financial success and widespread popularity of Hollywood and its many celebrity stars; racketeering and "protection" extortion is also very popular among the city's massive nightclub scene, where gangs fight over territory and use the clubs as sources of income and markers of local control.

Like all Supercities, corruption runs wild throughout all industries and walks of life. Larger megacorporations like Kodian Enterprises and Jexan Industries remain more resistant to corruption than most others, and even the KPD of LA is known to turn a blind eye to Aztech operations if the right palms are greased. Similarly, many of the slower bureaucratic wheels that operate in LA can be hastened significantly if the right amount of money is applied; most anything can be sped up, prioritized, or boosted in exchange for money, and celebrities can be born overnight if they receive the right sponsorships or can afford to bribe the right people.

##### List of Criminal Organizations:

1. Barrenderos
2. Maofu Clan
3. Raiki
4. [BIKER GANGS]
5. [RACING CLUBS]

#### Transportation & Infrastructure:

Like all Supercities found across North America, Los Angeles is connected to the KE-sponsored [REDACTED], the network of mega-highways which link the Supercities and maintain supply chains between them. Similarly, Los Angeles has a bustling subway and train system, and a number of massive airports for travel around the world. LA lacks a bussing system, but maintains a considerable subway network and an ever-expanding web of roads; traffic continues to remain a pressing issue within LA, to such a degree that many people have turned to walking or biking to avoid the clogged highways and dangers those roads pose, ranging from accidents to full-on grand theft auto and car-jacking.

Los Angeles's infrastructure functions like many other of the world's largest Supercities, with some minor exceptions. As stated previously, [REDACTED] maintains a monopolistic hold over LA's water supply, and while several other companies, including Kodian Enterprises, attempt to compete with them, they all fall short. Electricity for the city is supplied by a Kodian Enterprises subsidiary, while the Matrix connection is provided by several competing megacorporations, Kodian Enterprises included.

#### Education System:

Education in Los Angeles is provided primarily by private institutions, all of which are either megacorporations or groups sponsored by megacorporations. Like in other large metropolitan regions of the world, LA's education comes in both an in-person and online variation, accompanied by several high-class private boarding schools. Higher education is provided by corporate-sponsored universities dotted around the region.

#### Economy:

Like all of K4, Los Angeles operates off of an exaggerated capitalist economy, operated primarily by a conglomerate of massive megacorporations which own and control or track all aspects of people's lives. Los Angeles is unique from most other North American Supercities in that it maintains a dedicated tourism industry, which seeks to exploit the region's warm climate and preserved natural beauty for financial gain; similarly, LA remains the focal point of the international film industry, with Hollywood solidified as the world's wealthiest entertainment District on Earth. LA's famous clubbing scene and fashion industry also bring in substantial amounts of money.

##### List of Major Patron Corporations:

1. Kodian Enterprises
	1. KPD
	2. Blue Phoenix Multimedia
	3. Kodian Kords
2. Aztech Biomedical Associates
3. Jexan Industries
	1. JITV
4. Dhreem Inc.
5. Deluge Hydroengineering Inc.
6. Great Spherical Church
7. Artificial Life
8. Life-Saving Services International
9. Hermes International Transport Solutions
10. Bullseye Advertising Inc.
11. NewYu
12. Ekhidna Exotic Ecosystems (EEE)
	1. Lycaon Life Labs (LLL)
13. Seeds of Tomorrow
14. KrillCloud

## Culture:

LA's culture is unique compared to those of other North American Supercities. The city's history of diversity-in-the-extreme has made the Supercity into a massive melting pot of various cultures and groups of people; primarily, a North American culture conflicts quite heavily with a Hispanic/Latino culture, the two rival ways of life fighting one another for control of the city in a culture war. This cultural competition has resulted in a Supercity where most signs are written in both Spanish and English, and where most inhabitants speak at least 2 languages. Like other Supercities, a person's wealth translates to their perceived importance within the culture of LA; unlike other Supercities, LA's high-society is innately tied to both gangster culture and the extremely public celebrity culture. Gangsters, primarily Aztech-affiliated Barrenderos, are glorified by LA's music industry, and made to appear tough, successful, and cool; this propaganda campaign by Aztech Biomedical Associates is countered by KE and its allies, who use celebrity glorification as an alternative, which places the wealthy and famous as virtuous and trustworthy individuals. Most of the residents of LA pay this obvious propaganda no mind, although no one is truly immune to the subversive marketing techniques employed by these competing megacorporations.

### Religions:

2 religions dominate LA's population: The Great Spherical Church, and Aztech's strange Neo-Catholic Corporate Culture. While partially drawn according to racial/ethnic lines, these competing religious sects are known to conflict with one another; these flares in competition often correspond with the increase in tension between the Great Spherical Church and Aztech Biomedical Associates. Smaller groups of religious adherents are known to exist, and the Supercity is known to harbor and extremely diverse population; as such, beliefs like Buddhism are also quite popular.