Fuse City

Fuse City is a city-state in World Twelve built on and around the corpse of Upwind, the god of Gravity. It is the primary setting of Reflection.

## Geography

Fuse City is located on the border between Goldenrod and a vast, mostly uninhabited desert.

Fuse City can be split into three regions, each one representing a different area of Upwind's body. Wealth in Fuse City is mostly concentrated in the upper regions of the city. From the top, the first region is Upwind's head and shoulders, where the city's richest reside. Below that, on the torso and Upwind's remaining arm, are neighborhoods mostly inhabited by the middle class. A large financial district is located here known as the "GEIST District" due to the presence of a massive GEIST administrative building. OPIA is also located here, on Upwind's palm.

Finally, the Undercity or Underpass is the region of the city located on Upwind's legs or on the ground immediately underneath his body. This is the poorest region of the city, as Upwind's body blocks GEIST satellites from being able to send signals to many portions of the Undercity. Other forms of infrastructure, such as electricity, are also poorly upkept in the Undercity. The Coda is located here, in a district that has since been mostly abandoned following years of Demonic attacks. There is red light district near the border between the Undercity and the torso.

## History

### Founding

Following the death of Upwind, Fuse City was settled by various human groups, and remained a massive population center for millennia to come.

### Modern Era

Around fifty years before the present day, the Coda suddenly appeared in the Undercity. It was initially placid and attracted a large amount of attention as explorers delved into its depths. Around forty years later, the corporation GEIST suddenly began to buy out nearly all other companies in Fuse City, quickly ascending to become the city's de facto governing body. A few years after that, Demons began actively leaving the Coda and attacking civilians.

Various organizations established themselves to combat the Demonic threat, most of them headed by GEIST. However, a single team of medics, researchers, and mercenaries on the very edge of the Coda, Station One, existed mostly independent of GEIST, despite numerous attempts by the megacorporation to pressure it into submission. Following the discovery of Reflections as well as Station One's leader, Dr. Verona, saving a wealthy man's life following a Demon attack, Station One was flooded with funding. Rebranding itself as OPIA, the group constructed a hospital and research center on the arm of Upwind. They also created the strike team FLOW in conjunction with GEIST as a Reflection-wielding squadron capable of pushing back the Demonic threat.

For the next few years, Fuse City existed in a tentative stalemate with the Coda until, only around a month into the establishment of FLOW's second Wave, the city was assaulted by the legions of the Demonic Court of Death. Seeking to sever Upwind's arm in an attempt to completely obliterate OPIA, an army of Demons assaulted the arm in the upper reaches of the city. FLOW and OPIA were, however, able to beat them back. Although a portion of OPIA was successfully collapsed, massive damage in the city below was prevented by FLOW agents and various ESPers. Following this, the city reentered a period of uneasy quiet.

## Culture

The culture of Fuse City is incredibly materialistic and consumerist. Especially in the city's upper regions, holographic advertisements and GEIST shopfronts line the city's streets as far as the eye can see, always enticing citizens and tourists alike to buy more merchandise and entertainment. Crime is not much of a problem in the upper districts, as GEIST utilizes an incredibly advanced AI to predict crimes before they happen and restrict the movement of future criminals. However, as the satellite housing the AI cannot reach many regions of the Undercity, that portion of Fuse City is mostly left to its own devices, and has its own infrastructure and law enforcement.

Fuse City is famous for its large workforce of ESPers, most of whom partake in infrastructural or anti-Codan work as a member of GEIST's gargantuan ESPer Corp.

## Notable Citizens

* Arg0s
* Dr. Verona
* Number Five

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Above and Below
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dear Sweetest Me
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Beachside Burn
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chasing Ghosts
5. ↑ Superhero
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Light Inside
7. ↑ For Tomorrow
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Sum of Experiences
9. ↑ Tumbling Down