Arcadia City

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"The City Impossible Built"

History

The settlement that would soon become Arcadia City was originally comprised of those who had fled or been exiled from various Puritan settlements in the early 1600s, banding together to survive away from ignorance and religious persecution. Without the resources to support their efforts, however, the settlement of outcasts quickly began to fall upon rough times, many of its denizens becoming ill or malnourished. As the legend of the city tells, however, everything changed when a mysterious man named Eli Arcadia arrived from unknown parts and used his brilliant mind to help the settlement flourish. Using almost anachronistic methods of forward thinking and knowledge of the land, Arcadia helped pull his 'Arcadians' out of the muck and, with their help, helped to turn their settlement into a small but thriving one, making its living off of agriculture and trading.

Over the next few years, Arcadia would disappear and reappear, always with some new innovation or idea to better the lives of those living in his city. It was reported and rumoured that he never aged a day between his absences and always seemed to return when the people most needed guidance. This led its populace to name their new town 'Arcadia' in his honour and quickly began to draw more people desperate to escape to a city where men would be judged less on their beliefs and more on their ability to further the progress of the fair city.

In 1685, a man named Ethan Proctor appeared in Arcadia, seemingly seeking its founder. When Eli Arcadia arrived, it was reported that Proctor drew a blade and attempted to kill him. The two fought each other intensely before tumbling off a cliff. When the townspeople attempted to locate their bodies, they could fine no sign of either of them. Neither Eli Arcadia or the crazed Ethan Proctor were seen again, adding to the mystery behind the town founder's true identity and purpose and drawing a wealth of academics eager to learn the facts behind the man's legends. These academics would eventually end up staying in the town, drawn to its relative progressiveness and enigmatic history. This would be the birth of Arcadia's academic history.

For the next few decades, Arcadia flourished and persevered thanks in no small part to the influence of Eli Arcadia. With its influential academic presence, it soon became a place of popularity among scholastic circles, from philosophers to doctors and everything in between. Arcadia University was soon established and became a place of academic brilliance. It was a town of genius and innovation where the best and brightest could go to be among their peers and when the American Revolutionary War broke out, many followed Eli Arcadia's teachings of forward thinking and progression to heart as they fought against British rule and remained vocally in favour of concepts such as the Second Party System, Abolitionism and Manifest Destiny. When the American Civil War broke out, Arcadia prominently offered refuge to escaped slaves and abolitionists.

The 20th century brought further growth for Arcadia City, which had rapidly embraced mechanisation and modernisation, becoming an industrial powerhouse through the introduction of a major railroad cutting through it. For the first time, Arcadia had become securely linked with the rest of the country and only grew better for it. Agriculture was more heavily sidelined in favour of trading and manufacturing and the city became known for its intelligent, hard-working artisans, capable of creating sturdy and reliable products. A fair number of the weapons carried into the First World War came from Arcadia. It is around this time that many began to theorise that Eli Arcadia was, in fact, a man from the future who had travelled back in time to help raise Arcadia City to greatness, though there were many other theories circulating around the time as well.

The Great Depression hurt the city hard. Many of its previously bustling industries spiralled into bankruptcy. For a while, the city became a prominent example of the true impact of the tragedy, with many of its brightest minds trying and failing to revitalise its economy. It was only when the Second World War came about. With a mass drive to get men and women into weapons manufacturing, Arcadia reclaimed its station by supplying the Allies with technology and eventually using the economic boost to reestablish itself as a home for America's best and brightest, establishing Arcadia University as a specialist in the sciences and gearing itself towards the pursuit of the future that would go on to define its identity. Liberalism, civil rights movements and counterculture all found a place among this new Arcadia City. Arcadians were seen as forward-thinking people of tomorrow, embracing change and progressiveness in a way that many areas did not.

The boom of technology in the late 20th century and the early 21st century did wonders for the 'City of Genius'. As computers, telecommunications and other new industries came to pass, Arcadia backed them fully as they were sure their founder, Eli Arcadia, would have. Much like San Francisco's Silicon Valley, Arcadia established itself as a hub of technological innovation and development and, before long, found itself becoming the home of many up and coming and already established technology-based companies looking to capitalise on the city's image, quickly forming the popular 'Innovation Plaza'. Arcadia University changed its antiquated infrastructure and became a leader in a more conscious and vocational institution, only serving to draw in more academics. In order to cater to these crowds, facilities and attractions such as the Wonderdome, Silicon Beach and Titan Stadium. When the Great Recession hit, Arcadia managed to hold its own through rough times entirely due to these implementations.

Nowadays, Arcadia City has become synonymous with the future, much like its friendly rival and sister city, Millennium City. Its average IQ score, employment rates and standards of education all rank highly among the rest of the world and it remains and economic powerhouse even today. Most recently, however, it has become the proud home to the hero Captain Collider, appreciative of his unconventional style of superheroism which includes an openly public identity and backstory as well as regular philanthropy and involvement in public affairs. In response to the hero's popularity, the city has all but made him its designated hero, devoting an entire wing of the Wonderdome Science Museum to his work both as Mal Parton and as Captain Collider and erecting a statue of the hero for all to see. Though Captain Collider himself seems to be embarrassed by all their attention, their admiration of him shows no signs of abating, especially as he gives the city a substantial boost to tourism.

Notable Events

Arcadia City from above. Note the Wonderdome and Discovery Lake.