The Fallen Continent: Utah
A land of faith, divided between prophets, presidents, and smaller factions waiting in the sidelines.
Population: 450,000
Largest City: Logan
Land of the pioneers,
Grow with the coming years,
With wealth and peace in store,
To fame and glory soar,
God guarded, evermore,
Utah, we love thee!
Introduction
Utah, like Nevada, had most of its population wiped out in the initial nuclear exchange. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, one of the state’s most powerful institutions, was immensely changed by the chaos of the war and its aftermath. The main body of the LDS Church relocated to São Paulo, the capital of the newly-independent state in South America*. A spiritual power vacuum emerged in Utah, allowing the Fundamentalist LDS Church, which still practices polygamy, to rise to prominence in some areas, while new ideas began to develop among Mormons in other places.
*Side Note: Brazil was struck twice by nuclear weapons: the capital of Brasília, and the city of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil was neutral during the Third World War, but was slightly more inclined to the Sino-Russian axis than the Western Powers and was attacked on the basis that it had the possibility of intervening militarily. The nuclear attacks, combined with prewar civil unrest, economic turmoil, the shattered world trade network, and the (admittedly mild) nuclear winter, led to riots, starvation, and civil conflict, albeit at a far, far lesser scale than what was experienced in North America. There now exist a handful of independent states, statelets, rival Brazilian national governments, and warlords throughout the country. São Paulo is the largest city in the Americas, and the state to which it belongs is the most populous state in the Americas, possessing the largest economy in the world.
State of Utah (Logan)
Capital: Logan
Classification: Federal Legacy (Federally-installed state government)
Allegiance: United States of America (Bozeman)
The State of Utah is the southernmost frontier of the Bozeman government. Surviving government authorities—what few could be found—relocated to Logan after the destruction of Salt Lake City, taking most of the area’s population with them. Under the directives of Twin Falls and later Amarillo, they concentrated their authority around Logan, St. George, Moab, and Price, where they resettled what refugees they could. When the nuclear winter set in, LDS leadership fled to South America, while Logan was hung out to dry as the government focused more heavily on the Great Plains and northern Rockies.
The so-called Purified Mormons had already risen in revolt before Amarillo had fallen, followed by the Fundamentalist Mormons. The Logan rump government, though never attacked by secondary strikes, lost most of the state south of the Great Salt Lake. Its only remaining contact was with the 1457th Engineer Battalion in Price, who functioned mostly independently anyway. By the time Sheldon Deacon became President of the United States in Montana, the State of Utah was too ineffectual to resist their forcible incorporation into the federal government.
The State of Utah has since been reinstated by Deacon’s more benevolent successor, but it suffers from the same drawbacks as Idaho Falls. It is still a wet noodle of a state government and has no real power or democratic legitimacy. One boon it does enjoy, however, is the emphatic support of the orthodox LDS Church. The radicalism of the southern Mormon sects has bolstered Logan’s population with orthodox Mormon refugees. This exodus has led to Logan housing the majority of Utah’s orthodox Mormon population, with the second-largest Mormon population in the world, after São Paulo. The São Paulo connection is admittedly an awkward one, as the country officially recognizes the Elizabeth City government in North Carolina. São Paulo is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, as the Papacy has been dwelling there in exile after the Vatican was destroyed during the Great war.
State of Utah (Vernal)
Capital: Vernal
Classification: Local Government (Re-founded state government)
Allegiance: United States of America (Dodge City)
Uintah County was Utah’s only county to maintain a democratic government following the Great War. Still holding local elections, Uintah followed Logan’s lead until its annexation by Bozeman. The county government condemned the move and declared its own, one-county State of Utah in protest. The Vernal state government appealed to the US government in Dodge City, Kansas for recognition, which it has received. They hold their own elections for statewide offices and one member each for the state legislative houses. The recognition of the Free City of Duchesne somewhat complicates affairs, due to their remoteness and widespread corruption in the Free City’s government. In practice, Duchesne is more like an independent city-state allied to Uintah and does not participate in elections.
Ute Nation
Capital: Fort Duchesne
Classification: Native American Faction (Indian reservation)
The Ute Nation represents the native Ute people of the state. They denounce the fanaticism of the United Indian Nations and commend the efforts of the 1457th Engineer Battalion in fighting the theocrats. They even contribute token forces to help fight alongside the National Guard. They do not, however, recognize Logan or Bozeman’s authority, nor do they acknowledge Vernal.
Free City of Duchesne
Capital: Duchesne
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Rogue county government)
Allegiance: State of Utah (Vernal), United States of America (Dodge City)
The Free City of Duchesne was established by a Duchesne County official gone rogue, who accepted raiders from Provo into his government and broke with Logan’s authority. They keep to themselves, which is why the National Guard has never made an effort to subdue them, but do cause occasional problems by harboring criminals. The Free City recognizes the Vernal state government, mostly for a veneer of legitimacy and because Vernal is in no position to demand anything from them. The two seldom interact, but Duchesne does get to appoint a special official to represent their interests to both the state and Dodge City governments.
1457th Engineer Battalion
Capital: Price
Classification: Military Faction (Military administration)
Allegiance: State of Utah (Logan), United States of America (Bozeman)
Most of the Utah National Guard was either deployed overseas and lost during the Great War, or federalized by Twin Falls and lost in the first wave of secondary strikes. The 1457th Engineer Battalion, however, remained widely dispersed throughout eastern Utah and survived. The Amarillo government ordered them to concentrate around the city of Price to build up a government safe zone.
The 1457th dug in and successfully warded off attempted assaults by the Purified Mormons from Moab. They nominally recognized the authority of the state government in Logan, but seldom received any orders from the Acting Governor. They grumbled when Bozeman absorbed the state government, and instead recognized the Midland, Texas regime in protest. Only after the reestablishment of a devolved State of Utah has the National Guard agreed to recognize Bozeman. The 1457th continues to hold the line in Price, and hopes that Bozeman will turn their attention south to help them reclaim the state and defeat the heterodox rebels.
State of Deseret
Capital: Nephi
Classification: Warlord (Warlord state)
“State of Deseret” is an impressive-sounding name. It hearkens back to a time when Mormons ruled the west, forging a destiny for themselves in a promising and mysterious land and claiming a vast wilderness stretching from Denver to San Diego. The reality of its second incarnation is a single-town polity, carved out of the Utah anarchy by a warlord who rode in on the backs of refugees from Provo. Despite the stately name, his regime isn’t even advanced enough to be labeled legitimist. His rule is maintained solely through the brute force of a gang hovering around 100 men.
Kingdom of God in America
Capital: Moab
Classification: Religious Faction (Theodemocracy)
The Kingdom of God in America is the largest theocratic faction in the former United States. They emerged from a schism in the LDS Church caused by the evacuation of LDS leadership to Brazil. Feeling abandoned by the Church and the government, many Mormons grew increasingly frustrated and radical as disease and starvation set in during the nuclear winter. The most disaffected Mormons (and some non-Mormons) came under the spell of a charismatic prophet who established the Purified Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The PLDS is a fanatic millenarian movement which, like some other self-proclaimed “Kingdoms of God'' across the country, wishes to establish a purified Christian domain in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ. They believe that the events of the nuclear war represent the apocalypse of Biblical prophecy, and that they must establish a kingdom in anticipation of the second coming of Christ. It was a comforting prospect to the thousands of starving Utahns who felt betrayed by their government and religious leaders, and who had nothing to lose by following their prophet’s teachings. In addition to the general characteristics of any millenarian movement, PLDS theology includes a more simplified approach that tries to downplay the differences between Mormonism and Nicene Christianity; in response to this, some Mormons have doubled-down on some of the more antiquated tenets of Mormonism, leading to a similar resurgence in Fundamentalist Mormonism. After capturing Moab and long stretches of I-70 and I-15, the PLDS proclaimed the Kingdom of God in America.
Officially, the King and head of state is Jesus Christ, but the reins of government are instead entrusted to the Prophet-Regent, a monarchical position coincident with the President of the PLDS Church, who is elected by PLDS leadership in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The Prophet-Regent issues decrees and sets policies as informed by the purported revelation of God. The Kingdom also combines theocratic autocracy with democratic government; following the Mormon political tradition of “theodemocracy,” Purified Mormons elect representative leaders to a Council of Fifty. The people of Utah have more say in the governance of their country than one would expect, so long as those people are Purified Mormons.
Trinitarian Christians and Jews are relegated to second-class citizens with official privileges and restrictions, much like the Dhimmi in Islamic countries. Fundamentalist Mormons, orthodox Mormons, believers in other religions, and the irreligious are not granted such benevolent toleration and do not enjoy any legal rights.
Being one of the largest economies west of the Great Plains, the KGA uses a dual-standard representative currency backed by gold and silver. The paper bills are actually redeemable for gold and silver upon request, unlike some other metal-backed factions that hoard their bullion and restrict it from public access.
Though they are the most powerful force in the state, they are locked in war on all fronts, against the FLDS in the southwest, the United Indian Nations in the south, and the National Guard to the north. With such an extreme and unique ideology, the KGA has found itself wanting for foreign allies. The Battleborn Army in Nevada is somewhat amenable to them, but remains an officially secular organization far removed from Utahn entanglements.
United Indian Nations
Capital: Window Rock, Arizona
Classification: Native American Faction (American Indian nationalist state)
Mostly based further south in Arizona and New Mexico, the United Indian Nations creep northward into Utah. The UIN was originally the “Confederation of Indigenous Nations,” an optimistic and democratic confederation of Indian tribes. Brutal race war between Indians, Latinos, and Whites across the American Southwest led to the collapse of the old confederation and the rise of the fanatical racialist government. Though their territorial ambitions are more modest than their opponents imagine, they have been warped into bogeymen by their neighbors and are opposed on all fronts. The Purified Mormons harbor a special hatred for them.
Cavanaugh Family
Capital: Big Water
Classification: Warlord (Criminal family)
The Great War was not kind to tourists. At the very end of July, there were two million international tourists and tens of millions of domestic tourists on vacation throughout the United States on the eve of the Great War. Most tourists in big cities or popular coastal locales perished during the nuclear exchange, while millions more were left stranded, especially those in National Parks and other environmental destinations. The Cavanaugh Family was one such family, stuck on I-15 during a trip from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City for an extended family reunion.
Most tourists in their position were left hapless and stranded, lacking the supplies, expertise, or social connections necessary to survive the Starving Time. The Cavanaughs were one of the lucky ones. Rather than allow themselves to be herded with the rest of the refugees by the larger Mormon factions, the extended Cavanaugh family took up arms as countryside bandits and fought their way across the Utah desert.
Joined by some trusted local outlaws who have swelled their ranks, the Cavanaugh Family now rules over the small settlement of Big Water in the remotest corners of southern Utah. They aren’t going to tip the balance of the Mormon Wars, by any means, but they are strong enough that outsiders know not to travel too far south, lest they fall into the Cavanaughs’ grasp.
Utah Free State
Capital: St. George
Classification: Religious State (Theocratic dictatorship)
The Utah Free State is home to the state’s second-largest city. More importantly, it is now the headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Fundamentalist militias came out of the woodwork after the fall of the Amarillo government, recruiting new converts from the disaffected and the desperate. The Fundamentalists descended upon the town of St. George and incited the encamped refugees to revolt, seizing control of southwestern Utah and establishing their own independent republic.
The President of the Free State is also the President of the FLDS Church, and religion and politics are closely intertwined. Like the PLDS Kingdom, the Utah Free State is theoretically democratic, with open elections. The number of FLDS members, however, is relatively small, and the Church keeps an extremely tight lid on elections, with less religious toleration than even what the PLDS allows. In practice, the Utah Free State is a one-party theocracy, where polygamy is enshrined in the state constitution.
The FLDS has a few odd advantages, thanks to their religion: a high birth rate and a large surplus of single men with no prospects beside the military. This can be a double-edged sword, however, as the large host of “lost boys” often resents the FLDS patriarchs for ruining their marriage prospects, and many of them end up causing trouble for the Free State instead of fighting for it.
The Utah Free State’s days may very well be numbered, however, as they have found themselves on the losing end of a long, bloody war with the Kingdom of God in America. The capture of Cedar City by the Purified Mormons has dealt a major blow to the fundamentalists, and it may take a miracle to recover.
Index
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