Edward City (エドワード・シティ edowādo shiti) was a community located somewhere in the United States, with a population of about 1,300 people.[1] Built in the 21st century as a planned community for Third Energy research staff, a local military base, and their families. In early 2010, a Third Energy criticality incident sent the city and its surrounding area 3 million years into the future.
History[]
The exact location of Edward City is uncertain, though it is stated to be in the Midwest and close to a US Army base and government research outpost. Following the recovery of Dr. Edward Kirk in the 2009 Ibis Island raid, the research facilities were devoted to research on Third Energy, which could be utilized both as the ultimate clean energy source and weapon. As a garrison town, Edward City housed the families of soldiers and research staff.
Criticality incident[]
In 2010, the Third Energy reactor complex destabilized and transported all land within a several-mile radius some three million years into the future, replacing it with a dense jungle. While it was theorized that they could be rescued by the US military by replicating the accident, the chance of such a rescue team overshooting by decades or centuries was recognized, and the military leadership under Colonel Maison considered alternative solutions such as re-creating the accident themselves by cannibalizing Edward City for computer parts.[2][3] Until then, however, they made efforts to exploit the region for its resources, such as searching through the jungle for food and potential medicines to replace their dwindling reserves.[4]
Unbeknownst to most of the city, the stranded refugees of 2010 were not the only humans in the region, having arrived at a time coinciding with a separate band of time-travelers under the Noah's Ark Project, who were settling the world with dinosaurs. An accident had befallen this group early on, leaving only the workers' children and their Android aides behind. As the children grew up, they made their way to the outside world, though they were hostile to all refugees they found, and their origins remained a mystery. Over the years, over a dozen were killed in battle or died in accidents and were recovered.[5][6] Over the years the jungles expanded to consume the city outskirts and the facilities, bringing with them the growing population of animals with the smallest spreading out first, followed by the mid-sized dinosaurs and megatherapods. This created a false sense of security. Compsognathus, a small and nonthreatening species, brought with them the Velociraptors and Oviraptors which hunted them, drawing confrontation with humans. Triceratops herds were seen as peaceful, and no countermeasures were conceived of until they began terrorizing the city to avenge the destruction of eggs.[7] Inostrancevia migrated towards the volcano, and were mistaken for herbivores.[8] The Third Energy reactor, meanwhile, was compromised by marine reptiles, for which only limited solutions were devised against, and while no hunting parties had succeeded in hunting down Tyrannosaurs, no survivors returned with confirmation of the mythical Giganotosaurus.
Due to these security concerns, Edward City was fortified to protect itself from intruders. No longer with anywhere to drive to, the highway overpass was never repaired, and the industrial zone focused on the mass-production of weapons and ammunition. Downed power lines were converted into guard towers. Barricades were built, even with no chance of protection.
Final days[]
In the tenth year, the Army succeeded in gathering enough computer equipment to recreate the relevant data. While their exact intent is uncertain, it was devised by Colonel Maison that a Third Energy missile be fired over the jungle to destroy it, rather than using the technology to send the survivors and the dinosaurs back to 2010. Over the course of the year, the facilities west of the lake were abandoned, with Lieutenant Wolf leading over 250 civilians across, but ultimately, the skeleton garrison left at the base was lost.[9][10] An attack by marine reptiles in the Third Energy reactor complex separated the Army leadership from Edward City, now being protected by a militia of armed civilians. In the final days, the Army pulled out of the city altogether, with orders from Maison to regroup at the Missile Silo, though faced an attack from the Full Faces in the process.[11]
Late in the year, a rescue team arrived in the future world, where they were quickly set upon by Velociraptors and a Tyrannosaurus. TRAT operator Lt Dylan Morton and David Falk, and SORT Regina were the only survivors. Dylan and Regina made their way across the lake, but reached the city too late to rescue any of the civilians, who were all massacred in a Velociraptor attack. During their search for survivors, they recovered information relating to the Missile Silo strategy, and following an attack by Tyrannosaurs abandoned the city entirely.
Areas[]
Docks and Lakeside[]Volcano[] |
Command Station[]City[] |
Gallery[]
Further notes[]
- Edward City also shares some similarities to that of Raccoon City in the Resident Evil video game series, as well, mainly the unusually narrow streets and yards that are uncommon in typical American city planning. It also shared the aforementioned city's fate: overrun and almost completely depopulated by a non-human enemy.
- Edward City's layout is different in the game's CGI cutscenes, having a more conventional American layout with wider streets.
- The opening to the English version of Dino Crisis 2 states that Edward City was in the American Midwest; the Japanese version makes no allusion to this. Curiously, this is also the same region that the aforementioned Raccoon City is located in.
- The city was likely named in honor of Edward Kirk, the pioneer of the Third Energy Theory.[citation needed]
- In a few areas of the city, there are several wrecked Willy's MB utility vehicles scattered around, apparently having been used in the fruitless final defense of the city. The MB has been out of US military service since 1984, when it was replaced by the AM General HMMWV, or "Humvee". Considering the events of the game take place in the year 2010, it is strange that the military is not using an updated vehicle. However, a theory is that they are surplus or updated vehicles pressed into service due to a lack of supplies, though this is unlikely since none would even be present on any modern military base. Several Humvees can, however, be seen in certain areas, such as Passageway to Military Facility ① and the Container & Materials Yard.
Sources[]
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 Scriptbook Analysis: "[1]"
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 (2000), file: "Storage Room Items"
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 (2000), file: "Researcher's Notebook"
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 (2000), file: "Doctor's Papers, Time shift"
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 Scriptbook Analysis: "[2]"
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 (2000), file: "Report on Unidentified Body".
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 (2000), file: "Triceratops".
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 (2000), file: "Inostrancevia".
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 (2000), file: "Storage Room Items"
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 (2000), file: "Researcher's Notebook"
- ↑ Dino Crisis 2 (2000), file: "Shop Owner's Papers".
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