Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => The Secret History => Topic started by: Beta on <05-27-17/2321:22>
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Anyone know of any reference as to whether the St. Lawrence Seaway is still running? (it includes the locks along the St. Lawrence river between Montreal and Lake Ontario and the Welland canal that bypasses Niagara Falls). It carries a huge amount of cargo, so plenty of people would want it running, but in a dystopian world that doesn't guarantee that it has stayed open.
The upper part is in UCAS lands, but the downstream end is in Quebec -- when Quebec was in its isolationist phase, shutting down the Seaway would have been devastating to the economy of many locations around the great lakes, so I'd guess that keeping it running would have been a bargaining chip Quebec would have used to be otherwise left alone. But since they opened up, I could imagine one of the megas taking over the whole thing and monopolizing Great Lake shipping -- but even in the ShadowRun world not everything has to be linked to the megas!
I was just working something up for my game, and can make up whatever I want, but if there was something hidden away in one of the source books that I missed during my 20 year hiatus from the game, I'd love to hear about it.
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Not much has been published on Quebec since 3e.
Or, better put, since the fall of CATco.
As far as I know the seaway is still in operation and functioning under maritme law. (Meaning no country fully owns it).
So I say, do as you wish!
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Will take your advice and do as I will :)
Although I don't think that it runs under international maritime law particularly, anymore than the Panamaa or Suez canals -- locks, dams, icebreakers, dredging and so on cost money, so somebody needs to own that and get funding for it somehow. I think I'm going with operation has been contracted out, MCT ran the UCAS portion iinto the ground for decades with Quebec government maintaining the Quebec portion -- until Wuxing picked up the contract in Quebec and underbid MCT in the UCAS, and has been updating the system to better handle rigged ships, and also seems to be coaxing to life a ley line covering ancient native canoe roots, that had presumably been choked off by the dams and locks.
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What I mean by maritime law os that, while the pass is technically in Quebec borders, its entirely paid for and maintained by the Canadian government. And thus, by extension, the UCAS....
Countries get a little upset of they invest billions, and some little upstart tries to take it.
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The megacorps, specifically Ares, would break Quebec in half if it threatened to close the seaway.
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Yah, I figured that keeping the seaway running smoothly (including transshipment of cargo from lake sized freighters to larger ocean sized ships) was part of Quebec's 'payoff' to be left alone for all those decades.
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Given that Quebec has a habit of trying to bite the hand that feeds it, your question wasn't unreasonable :P
After 36 years, 2 failed accords, 1 referdendum on stay in Canada, Quebec has decided to piss and moan about the constiution again. (And the fact that they DID NOT sign it!)...
And this AFTER they are a tax positive province (they recieve $11 BILLION more in equalization payments then they pay in taxes... basically the other 11 provinces and territories PAY Quebec!!)
Speaking as a west coast Canadian, the next referendium won't be if Quebec stays, but if the rest if Canada kicks them to the curb!!
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Speaking as a west coast Canadian, the next referendium won't be if Quebec stays, but if the rest if Canada kicks them to the curb!!
I grew up in Saskatchewan and moved to Nova Scotia almost a decade ago, so as someone from the middle and east coast, trust me, you aren't the only one their attitude pissed off.
On topic however, the St Lawrence seaway is a huge corridor for trade, shipping, and general transportation, even more so in the future when multiple countries stand to benefit from its use. So the question to me wouldn't be would it be operating, but rather who pays for and benefits from its continued operation. Like other people here said, I could see it being a large part of the negotiations between Quebec and the UCAS. If it brings in money to both countries, there would gave to be a really damn good reason to shut it down, from either side.
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The megacorps, specifically Ares, would break Quebec in half if it threatened to close the seaway.
The spice must flow!
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... now I'm imagining a Muad'dib that basically breaks SR Quebec ...
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... now I'm imagining a Muad'dib that basically breaks SR Quebec ...
And he is a Mystic Adept that summons a Great Form earth elemental that takes the shape of a giant worm...