After giving the idea of a super crop of some sort that must be recovered by the PCs some thought, I’ve decided that while I like the idea a lot I’m going to use it in a different context. I’m thinking of a moral dilemma for PCs. Civgov has possession of a variety of corn with some extraordinary trait: nitrogen fixing, drought tolerance, or some such. The civilian government is planting this crop in Iowa. Milgov wants some. Thanks for suggesting the idea, gentlemen.
For Idaho, I think I’m going to go down the hydroelectric route. Howling Wilderness says that Milgov would need dozens of engineers and hundreds of technicians to repair hydroelectric plants in the TVA area. The right kinds of engineers aren’t available. What if they are available someplace else? What if a number of engineers and techs have been available in Idaho, but New America has grabbed them to keep them from helping out Milgov?
My research has turned up a couple of interesting facts. In 1995, Idaho generated 100% of its electricity needs with hydroelectric power. This cannot have escaped the attention of state officials. Once contingency planning gets underway, I’m imagining that someone concludes that protecting the guys who can repair hydroelectric plants is in the state’s best interests. The state government puts together a plan to identify the people with the right kinds of skills and keep them safe pending the resumption of operations.
Fast forward to 1998, and the hydroelectric folks get to work on repairing a couple of the plants in Idaho. The federal officials who are supposed to be involved in all of this are either not present or operating in cooperation with the state government. Work progresses slowly under the guns of the Idaho State Guard or another similar body. New America, which has infiltrated the state government by this point, has managed to get work concentrated on the plants nearest Boise. Once the cells are activated and come out into the open, a special mission to grab the skilled workers and bring them back to Boise goes out. The mission is successful.
Now the PCs are tasked with bringing the skilled workers back. One or more hydroelectric plants potentially are within months of being restored to operating capacity. Depending on how many of the right people can be rescued before the 104th ID goes in, electricity could be flowing from the plant by the end of 2001. If New America thinks they are about to lose the fight for Boise, they will kill all of the specialists under the assumption that doing so supports other New American operations elsewhere.
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