New California Republic

The New California Republic (NCR) is a federation of towns in California with holdings in Nevada. The capital of NCR is Shady Sands with a population of many tens of thousands, previously known as Shady Sands. It is west of the Rockies, in the middle-eastern portion of California (almost straight east inland from San Francisco).

In 2241, the Republic consists of 5 states - Shady, Los Angeles, Maxson, the Hub, and Dayglow; by 2281 the NCR has extended into the Mojave Wasteland. The Republic is dedicated to restoring order and progress to the wasteland, as well as old world values such as democracy, liberty, and the rule of law. As of early 2240s, the population is about 700,000 people. In terms of political influence, economical power and population, the NCR is arguably the largest and most powerful known power group in the world of Fallout, and maintains the largest standing army.

History
The New California Republic was born out of the remnants of the survivors of Vault 15, a sister vault to Vault 13 that opened earlier and released its occupants out onto the wasteland. Abandoning their vault after scavenging most of what they could from the surviving technology, the former residents of Vault 15 founded the small, farming community of Shady Sands. The first leader of the settlement was Aradesh, who was assisted by Seth, leader of the guards. In 2161, the Vault Dweller aided the struggling community by eradicating the Khans and saving Tandi, daughter of Aradesh. Inspired by his example, Aradesh, Seth and Tandi became the founders of the New California Republic.

The Republic was officially born in 2196, with Aradesh elected the first President. Ten years later, following her father's disappearance, Tandi was elected unanimously president. Opening trade routes with the Hub and Junktown allowed the town to grow substantially and by 2241, NCR's main resource were its great brahmin herds, giving rise to the brahmin barons and ranchers in NCR (along with the Stockmen's Association), whose influence on the government, limited by Tandi during her tenure, slowly corrupts the fledgling democracy.

Expansion
The NCR's relationship with their old Vault has undergone some violent upheavals over the years. From nests of monsters, raiders, Vault 15 worshipers, ghoul scavengers, to more innocent (and not-so-innocent) Squatters and Salvage Teams and the Republic arguing over excavation rights, it seems to be difficult for the government or any other inhabitant of the wasteland to leave the area alone. But in the end, with the aid of the Chosen One Vault 15 agreed to join the Republic in exchange for economic and military aid. With the resources from the vault, it allows the NCR to finally have firm control over Southern California and started expanding its borders north and eastward. By 2281, all of the American southwest has been united under the New California Republic. The NCR is trying to expand their influence eastward towards the Mojave region.

The brahmin herder's hatred of radscorpions is famous, and it dates all the way back to the founding of Shady Sands. There have been reports and sightings of talking deathclaws attacking brahmin herds. After the Enclave wiped out the deathclaws of Vault 13, the attacks stopped being an issue.

NCR has a decent marketing and public relations department, and they are constantly sending couriers out into the wastes to nail up NCR posters or disseminate NCR propaganda. Famous among these is the frontiersman Thomas Moore, who bravely enough is out in the breach, currently passing out anti-Vault City and pro-NCR propaganda in the middle of Vault City. NCR propaganda can also be seen throughout many of the other independent settlements all over northern California, most notably the streets of New Reno.

New Vegas campaign
By 2281, the NCR continued to expand its borders. One of the scouting parties that they sent east discovered the city of Las Vegas (now re-named New Vegas) completely untouched by war and the Hoover Dam still in an operational condition. Realizing the military and economic values of these locations, the Republic quickly sent a detachment of their army to take control of the New Vegas region in hopes of using the rich resources there to rebuild their strength after the long war against the Brotherhood of Steel.

Once they arrived at the dam, they discovered that it had already been occupied by an army of Securitrons and heavily armed tribals. After a short stalemate, a Securitron approached the NCR position as a representative of Mr. House and demanded to parlay with the NCR government. This was the republic's first contact with Mr. House and the three families of New Vegas. In the end, the New Vegas Treaty was negotiated. The NCR was given control of the Hoover Dam and was allowed to divert 95% of the electricity generated to the Republic's core regions. In exchange, the New Vegas Strip was given the remaining 5%. Also, the NCR was allowed to deploy their military forces in the region, but would also have to recognize New Vegas' independence and allow NCR citizens to visit the Strip without interference. Although the NCR government agreed to honor the treaty, they still planned to annex the entire Mojave region in the long run through either diplomacy or military force.

They are currently fighting Caesar's Legion over control of the Mojave region and have made enemies of the Great Khans due to their brutality at the Bitter Springs Massacre. One of their forward bases, Camp Nelson, was completely obliterated by a Legion task force in an eerie repeat of Fort Aradesh's loss, while another camp, Searchlight, was flash-incinerated by a nuclear device, transforming all the survivors of the base into Feral Ghouls. Led by President Kimball and the inept General Oliver, morale among the soldiers is at an all-time low, and desertion rates (especially in the New California Rangers) are high. The main Camp on the front lines is Forlorn Hope, which as it's name suggests is full of depressed, constantly embattled soldiers. They are holding a defensive line across the Colorado River and preparing for the upcoming battle on the Hoover Dam that could decide the fate of the entire area. The soldiers are spread far too thin across the front to prevent the Legion from crossing the river, as illustrated by the attacks on Nipton Vulpus wuz here and Ranger Station Charlie.

NCR's gold-backed currency lost much of its value after the Brotherhood of Steel ambushed and destroyed their gold deposits, so NCR's dollar is now backed by water. They hold an iron fist over Hoover Dam's production capabilites, and lease electricity and drinking water to the Strip and other nearby communities in exchange for military supplies and a firm foothold in the region.

NCR aims to wrestle control of the Strip from Mr. House eventually, but cannot while the Legion remains a threat. The Securitron armies possessed by House pose a massive threat to both NCR and the Legion, but only when upgraded to the Mark II OS. This uneasy stalemate between the three factions is threatened by the arrival of the platinum chip, and whichever faction succeeds in activating the Mark II OS will control the Securitron armies and wipe out the other two.

Government


The government of the NCR is much like that of the pre-War United States, with a House of Congress staffed by elected representatives (Congressmen elected by their states). These representatives decide upon the President and Vice-President to head the council and govern the republic - under advice from the representatives, of course (NCR, at the time, had no existing term limits - Tandi was currently serving her tenth term at the beginning of Fallout 2). The titles for these representatives have ranged from "Councilor", "Counselor", "Councilman", "Representative", "Senator", and in particular, the Hub (in its own obstinate way) prefers to call their representatives "Governors" (there is a lot of friction between the Hub and Shady for a variety of reasons, usually related to trade rights and caravan routes). In any event, all titles are recognized and accepted outside of the council chambers, but within the chambers, the titles are occasionally used as insults and spark furious debates - nothing more than petty displays of each state trying to exert its independence.

Although nearly hitting a hundred years of age, Tandi has done more to unite the people of the wastes than any other leader born from the ashes of the Great War, and she is revered as a saint and even a "Great Mother" by some of the tribals outside of the Republic territories. Tandi's State of the Republic messages were famous for inspiring countless people to join the "service" and rebuild civilization. Under her rule, the republic has grown, and she has focused efforts on rebuilding the pre-War infrastructure to support the growing population, finding new forms of transportation and manufacturing, clearing roadways and rail lines, building forts, fostering caravans and trade in the Republic (and with other territories), and dealing with threats swiftly and efficiently. In all her years, she has never forgotten her roots in the small village of Shady Sands, and she has always striven to put the welfare of the common man above the wheels of progress.

There is little to no sexism in NCR (unlike most other territories in the wastes), most likely due to the community's origins in Vault 15 and Tandi's extended presidency. The republic also has shown little discrimination against ghouls and mutants, though many political analysts argue that this is because NCR has had limited contact with them (NCR had little contact with Necropolis or the Master's Army).

While Aradesh believed in the teachings of Dharma, Tandi always believed in the separation of church and state - and resisted any attempts to canonize the Vault Dweller within the city limits (the statue outside the Hall of Congress is fine, but that's it). Both Aradesh and Tandi found that politics and religion don't mix, especially when they got more exposure to the people of the Hub and visits from a few well-spoken members of the Followers of the Apocalypse. In any event, the NCR allows any non-psychotic religions within their capital, the NCR are very tolerant of religions as long as they don't involve human sacrifice or dipping people in vats of Forced Evolutionary Virus.

In 2281, the NCR is lead by president Aaron Kimball. Under Kimball's leadership, the NCR survived the war against the Brotherhood of Steel and is practicing an aggressive expansionist policy. He is currently aiming to expand the republic's borders toward the Mojave Region.

Military strength
The NCR's military is composed of several Divisions, including special cavalry and mechanized units. In addition, many of their major cities are protected and patrolled by heavily armed police officers. One of their "Special Forces" units consists of the New California Rangers, a select group that is pledged to protect the people of the Wastes much like the Texas Rangers of old. The Rangers are said to have numerous safehouses throughout the wastes, and they use these to strike at slavers outside of NCR territory (usually in the North). As expected, the two groups hate each other with a passion. NCR was also in the habit of establishing marshals in the major population centers in their territories, responsible for enforcing the laws of NCR throughout the Republic. Ghouls, super mutants, and humans were all known to serve in the NCR armed forces, even in the rangers.

Appearances
The New California Republic was first mentioned in the Fallout 1 end cutscenes for Shady Sands and it first appeared in Fallout 2, and was to appear again in the canceled Van Buren project. It appears again in Fallout: New Vegas as one of the major factions fighting over the control of the Mojave Wasteland.

Alternate versions
In one of the endings for the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 1, it is said that in the 2180s the Brotherhood, now called the Steel Plague, devastated the newly formed NCR and started a Dark Age that could last a thousand years. This ending is, however, not part of Fallout canon.

Alternatively, in two of the possible endings for the town Shady Sands in Fallout 1, the republic could have never existed due to the town getting destroyed by either the Khan raiders or the Super Mutant army before it was founded. For obvious reasons, these endings are also not canon.

Inconsistencies


In Chris Avellone's Fallout Bible 6, a version of the NCR flag with one-headed bear, based on the old flag of the California Republic is shown. It is inconsistent with Fallout 2, where a two-headed bear can be clearly seen. The flag seen in Fallout: New Vegas is a combination of both versions, as it shows a two-headed bear, but the rest of the flag looks like it does in the Fallout Bible.