Iron and Copper
Iron and Copper is the primary location in the Iron and Copper Series.
Home to former USPP Kailani Kapua, the primary antagonist of the novels.
After nuclear exchange, but before the subsequent food riots, the surviving visitors and staff on Liberty Island decided to fortify their location and attempt to rebuild some semblance of community and stability. Once the food riots began, their population swelled as refugees from the mainland attempted to flee the violence.
Home to just over a thousand survivors, their cramped dwellings have stretched the resources and led to a need to venture deeper into what remains of New York City, often leading to conflict with the Boneyard Settlement.
Iron and Copper no longer open their doors to new refugees. However, children have been born post-collapse and have begun to add to the settlement's population once again.
History
Founded by the National Park Service employees present when the nuclear warhead headed for New York City was intercepted and detonated at ground level at JFK Airport. Declaring a national emergency, most visitors and staff were sent home. At the same time, a core group of NPS Employees and Park Police met and discussed creating a safe haven as enacted by the President.
The group, including Officer Kapua, was able to secure NBC Survival Tents and pallets of hard-stocked military MREs. They also secured a supply of air scrubbers and a water purification system.
Over the following week, Federal assistance began to waver and ended as military transports were needed to handle the food riots and looting. On October 14th, 2048, the last transmission came from the White House Bunker ordering martial law and rationing - neither order was ever enacted as utility services shut down completely. The final industrial shipment of portable solar generators never made it onto the final ferry.
The Park Employees on Liberty Island council decided to continue with the Safe Haven plan and began offering shelter to refugees. This open-door policy ended abruptly on December 2nd, 2048, when a group of starving raiders attacked the island and tried to seize control of their warehouse. The assault cost Deputy Rook his life. Deputy Rook had been the most senior member of the Park Service and the de facto leader.
After the island was locked down, the settlement elected a new leader. Mayor Terry McCormick was elected and decreed the settlement be named Iron and Copper, after a piece of trivia he liked sharing with people. Mayor McCormick was one of the first refugees, not an original NPS staff member, putting him at odds with council members building the Safe Haven.
In January 2049, Mayor McCormick dismantled the council and formed an Iron and Copper Militia to replace the NPSS security forces. Mayor McCormick also built a stockade around the ferry landing, restricting all future migration or visits to the mainland without permission. McCormick, a former franchisee owner, pressed hard to encourage citizens to begin private enterprise. He conceded utilities and housing were to be granted to all citizens, but a tax would offset their upkeep.