Addington

Addington with the Silesian Peaks cascading dramatically into the distance behind it.

Addington is a Sayaffallan city on the planet of Banas with a population of 655,210 at the last census that was taken.

History

Silesian Research University

Joseph Addington founded the Silesian Research University in Addington, a small community of researchers, in 1968 with the express desire of mapping, charting and exploring the natural and geological resources of the surrounding area and the entirety of the Silesian Peaks. The university attracted a large number of researches from Sayaffallah who came to Addington not just to study the diversity of wildlife and geological activity in the Silesian Peaks but also to research the significant development of marine ecosystems in the waters surrounding Addington Bay and the oceans outside of it.

Joseph Addington successfully took his university and adapted it to the environment particularly the natural world with the establishment of a wildlife sanctuary in which the natural world outside could be replicated and monitored by researchers so they could both understand and learn from the various animals in the sanctuary. The addition of the sanctuary to the campus increased enrolment and brought the fluctuating population to 36,500 with the year round population at a comfortable 26750 mostly consisting of professionals in the fields of animal and biological and geological sciences respectively.

City establishment

The city itself continued to grow as the fishing industry took hold and became a major center for the export of seafood to the surrounding communities and with this expansion of industry came an expansion of population rising up to 76,200 year round residents by 1971 and the election of the first mayor of the city being none other than Joseph Addington who served a term of two years and saw the establishment of a city charter limiting mayors to one year terms and a maximum of ten terms after which they would be required to retire or run for city council office in which city councilors only serve a one year term with a maximum of four terms that like the mayoral office can be consecutive or split up on the preference of the individual running.

The establishment of the city brought about formal recognition from the government in Sayaffallah and also from the regional government in Patras which formally recognized the city as a part of the country. But with the establishment of a city came the burdening question of transportation. Until this point an airport had served to connect the city with the rest of the county as had a seaport but no land connection via roadway had been established neither had a rail connection so the question of what to do became a priority for the city council of Addington.

The city council decided that the best method of reaching other cities would be to create a tunnel network under the Silesian Peaks range and connecting to a highway directly on the other side of the peaks. Funds were raised extensively and preparatory work was conducted primarily the deforestation of the areas around the tunnel openings and extensive work to level the terrain around the proposed tunnel openings and on June 1, 1974 construction began on the tunnel itself.

Tunneling Tragedy of 1975

The first segments of the tunnel were installed by December 2, 1974 with the tunnels progressing approximately 2 kilometers through the mountain itself using a combination of excavation and blasting through set demolition charges. On the evening of December 3, 1974 a crew of 462 workers were inside the tunnel working to excavate the next section when a large explosion caused the entrance to cave in and subsequently the interior portions caved in as well instantly killing those inside of the tunnel. After the initial explosion took place emergency workers converged on the construction site and attempted to extricate the exterior layers of rocks and dirt but were unable to do so and were forced to submit an urgent request for assistance to the government in Patras

The Governor ordered 2000 troops to be deployed to Addington to assist in recovery and relief efforts and they arrived within four hours of the disaster happening by air transport at the nearby airport. The troops were able to remove a large section of the debris using specialized equipment that came on an advance transport flight to be able to jump-start recovery. Ultimately they were able to make it to the interior sections but found that nobody was alive and indeed that those in the most interior parts were either crushed or so completely cut off that they would be unable to be rescued. Nonetheless for over two week rescuers worked feverishly in around the clock shifts to move rock but as they moved segments within the interior parts more rock showers would begin and the collapse would start all over.

As the collapses became larger and more pronounced the search was called off and transitioned into a recovery effort for the safety of the rescuers. A memorial service was held in Addington Memorial Stadium and private funerals were soon commonplace for the next month in the churches of Addington. The level of grief in the city was so palpable that the city declared itself to be in a state of mourning for the "loss of humanity" that had occurred. On August 1, 1975 a formal memorial park was constructed at the site of the tunnel and the city announced that it would no longer be pursuing the tunnel system as a way of establishing contact by road and rail with other communities. Addington Memorial Park was designed also as a large scaled national park by which the land would always be preserved extending up to the highest points of the Silesian Peaks around it.

Instead it was determined that the transportation link would be done in a gradual winding road over the top of the Silesian Peaks connecting to the highway on the other side of the mountain. Construction began January 1, 1976 and crossed over the top of the peak by July 16, 1976 and was completed on February 4, 1977.

Environment of Addington

Geography

Addington is a northern town with a large bay extending out to the ocean and towering mountain peaks that send drafts of cold air down onto the city in the winter and refreshing breezes in the summer. The geography is that of a moderate flood plain extending into hilly terrain eventually leading to the rocky mountainous terrain of the Silesian Peaks.

Climate

The climate is a northern climate with significant snowfall in the winter and large amounts of the rain in the summertime. Due to its proximity to the ocean and its location in a flood plain frequent flooding occurs in the summertime which has resulted in extensive damage over a twenty year span. In 1990 large renovation projects began raising every building onto a 30ft hill effectively changing the elevation of the entire city in segments to prevent the same level of rampant flooding. However despite this large amounts of rainfall still results in minor flooding throughout the city. Temperatures tend to range from deep cold in the winter and moderate temperatures in spring and fall gradually warming up to the summer in which scorching temperatures moderated by cooling breezes from the mountains are the norm.

Ecological diversity

The ecological diversity of the surrounding area around Addington is rich with large amounts of marine and avian life. As one gets higher in elevation along the mountainous portions of the surrounding countryside a change in species can be observed as the terrain changes from the sparse vegetation of the flood plain to the dense forests of the foothills of the Silesian Peaks which is home to wolf and bear populations. As one goes further into the foothills the mountainous cliffs can be seen clearly and species of alpine goat and ibex can be seen freely roaming these cliff areas in addition to numerous eagles and hawks that prey upon smaller animals in the crags of the mountain itself.

Recreation

Addington Memorial Stadium can be seen during an exhibition SRL game.

Banas Football League

The Banas Football League, for Amorian football, was founded in the cities of Addington and Royas with both teams serving as the cornerstone and within a years time the league expanded to include over eight other cities making it the fastest growing league in Sayaffallah at the time of creation. Within the city of Addington there are several dozen football teams mostly at the collegiate, high school and elementary levels of competition as well as a large thriving amateur football league for professional adults that mainly practices on the weekends. The BFL team in Addington are the Addington Fighting Fools which uses a maniacal jester as its mascot.

Sayaffallan Royal League

The Sayaffallan Royal League has a team in Addington within its Banas Division that competes regularly in games against other teams in Banas and every other year the championship team goes to Bellissimomare the capital of Sayaffallah to play the champion of the Sayaffallan league in an ultimate match in which the winning team receives a large cash reward (equivalent of $50M). The Addington Team is known as Addington FC and does not have a mascot.

Addington Mallet Club

The Sayaffallan Mallet Association has established a team in Addington known as the Addington Climbers in 2002, as of the present they are playing in the Addington Memorial Stadium in which all of the professional teams in Addington play.

Public recreation

The Silesian Peaks can be seen from Hikers Leap on the infamous Knife's Edge Trail.

Hiking and mountaineering

One of the most popular things to do in Addington is hiking and moreover mountaineering in the beautiful and stunning mountains that surround Addington. Over 600 trails ranging from a half mile at the shortest to over 60 miles at the longest can be found throughout the surrounding countryside around Addington. Because Addington is so far removed from other towns it means that the land around it is pristine virgin forest and coast land with magnificent fjords extending beyond the bay leading out to the ocean. Hiking is a popular pastime for many of the residents in town and has seen the founding of the Addington Walking Club which organizes public hikes and educational walks with guides and rangers in the surrounding countryside.

Kayaking and rafting

Addington is surrounded by mountains but within those mountains are large scale rivers and rapids that flow from the mountainous peaks down to the bay where the water is deposited. These rivers are most active in the spring time when temperatures are just beginning to soar into hot conditions and the ice from glacial melts is reaching its fastest point creating prime Class IV & Class V rapids that are taken advantage of by those seeking to enjoy it in the surrounding terrain. Because of the remote nature of the rivers and rapids their usage is unregulated meaning that tourists and those seeking to enjoy the rapids are warned ahead of time of the lethal nature of the river and the inability of quick response in the event of an emergency taking place.