Championopolis

> "*Ah, Championopolis. It may smell like a butthole, but at least this is where everything happens!*"
> ― Dr. Psyrus Borgosian
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## History

### Overview

The City of Championopolis, formally the Constituency of Champions and commonly referred to as Championopolis, is the largest city in Canada and the home of the PsyBorgs.

### Early History

For many thousands of years, the First Nations peoples in the region gathered at the confluence of the Royal and Nose rivers. As these two waterways connected much of the southern portion of the region to the western mountains and the prairies to the east, peoples came to this intersection to trade, meet, and celebrate.

### Western Discovery

In 1744, English explorers' Daniel and David Champion discovered the fertile plains along the Royal River valley. As they paddled west up the river, they decided to make camp at a small hill just around the bend. This was the site of the eventual Northwest Mounted Police fort, later named Fort Village.

### Settlers

A small town soon grew around the fort. By the mid-1800's, as Canada was seeking Confederacy, new settlements along the Royal and Nose Rivers sprang up, with the most prominent at the bottom of the hill. This town became known as Champsborough, named after the area's discoverers.

### 20th Century

With the expansion of the railway came a huge increase in people across the region, particularly in the Royal River valley. To give proper representation of their population in Ottawa, five prominent business owners and politicians (later nicknamed the Founding Five) lobbied to instate a new constituency for the area. After years of consistent letters and protest, the Consituency of Champions was formed and consisted of a 100 mile square around the original settlement.

Now that the area was considered a province to the Canadian capital, the region grew even faster. New incentives for immigrants and eastern Canadian brought thousands of people to the Constituency and, along with the discovery of oil in the region, turned Champsborough (and later the megacity of Championopolis) into the economic capital of western Canada.

## Boroughs

### Schittsville

South-east of the opulent financial district of Champsborough lies Schittsville, a sketchy neighborhood full of turn-of-the-century row housing, abandoned brick warehouses, and rat-infested alleyways. Founded by Alabaster Schitts, a London railway tycoon who became one of the Founding Five, it was originally settled as its own town during the late 1800's; though the neighboring Champsborough, through its more accessible railway yards, soon engulfed Schittsville. During the Dirty 30's, the neighborhood saw an influence of immigration and poverty, soon becoming the crime-riddled, decrepit urban wasteland it is today.

#### Landmarks:

* The Dumpy Bump Saloon
* 9th Avenue Strip
* The Frumphouse

### The Narrows

Once called the Nose-Rows Projects but over time shortened to "Narrows", this neighborhood is the settled residential projects squished between Champsborough and Schittsville that runs along the Nose River. Tenement buildings were built at an alarming rate in the 1920's and 30's with the rapid increase in population. Now, the Narrows is going through a spell of gentrification, with artsy cafés and slam poetry lounges sprouting up at every corner.

#### Landmarks:

* Beetnix Poetry Club
* The Twin Nose Bridges

### Champsborough

This was the site of the original English settlement, discovered in 1744 by Daniel Champion and his brother David. The village and subsequent town were built along the shores of the Royal River, just west of the Nose River. The town quickly grew as farmers and ranchers, along with the lucrative mining in the mountains to the west. When oil was discovered around the turn of the century, many more investors and fortune-seekers came to Champsborough investing large amounts of money in infrastructure and property development. One such entrepreneur was Archibald Krude, who became the richest man in the country after discovering one of Canada's largest oil reserves.

Soon, Champsborough began to swallow up the other towns around it until it became the megacity it is now. The neighborhood boasts many of the national headquarters of Canada's most prominent banks and technology conglomerates and is considered the western financial hub of the country.

#### Landmarks:

* Bank of Champions Building
* Old Champsborough Town Hall
* Krude Industries Tower
* SchittsCorp Centre
* Cattleman Dome
* Roundhouse Station

### The Shipping District

This is the extensive rail yard south of Champsborough. It serves all the major national transport companies and was the birthplace of some of Canada's most prominent merchant houses. Now, as the need for rail has dwindled, the district has seen an increase in crime and decrepitude. Many of the warehouses are now abandoned, while some are used for midnight raves and underground fighting pits.

### Stuystown

Stuystown, originally called "Peter Stuy's Town", was once a hamlet surrounded by farmland east of Champsborough. Mansions from the 1800's and early 1900's still dot the neighborhood, and is still known for its affluent familiy estates and long driveways.

### Mount Niceview

Championopolis' first suburban neighborhood is situated on a rise on the northern shores of the Royal River. After World War I, small bungalows were built along grid streets to accommodate the increasing middle class in the Constituency.

### The Waistline

The Waistline is named after the prominent discount trouser store "The Waistline", and is a reminder of all the discount clothing businesses that popped up east of the Shipping District during the oil boom. Many rail workers would stop over in the area after working across the country and need a cheap bed and some cheap trousers. By the 1930's, the area became filled with homeless men, brothels, and saloons, along with the everpresent discount pants store.

By the 1960's, The Waistline became the epicenter of Western Canadian counter-culture and bohemia. Art studios and galleries, along with jazz clubs and film societies began to occupy the old flophouses and pants stores. Soon, the area was a bastion for hippies and punk rockers.

#### Landmarks:

* Grungies Rock Club
* Alleycat Comedy Bar

### Hairdry

A suburb on the northern edge of Championopolis.

### Blokachoke

A suburb on the southern edge of Championopolis.