Yeah, I was never too sure about this total disintegration thing... after all, in The Last Submarine it sounded like the mutiny failed utterly.
The only real explanation seems to be the drought/famine introduced in Howling Wilderness. That would drive human waves of starving Boston Megapunks at the MPs (and all the other communities) which might grind the unit down to nothing, leaving the survivors to do do what? Desert?
How do you desert a unit that has ceased to exist? I guess the survivors would have to hump it to a community that doesn't hate them or just turn into a band of brigands. Maybe the 78th ID will take them in? Maybe New America up in Maine? Maybe even the Coast Guard or the RI Isolationists. After all isn't the 43rd mostly drawn from RI?
Actually, that was one big reason the 43rd's decision to pull out never made sense. They were from RI. They have local ties. A unit called up from TX would be more likely to pull out and decide to look after themselves first and &*@% the locals.
If they were going to abandon their duty in MA, why wouldn't they retreat to RI and hole up with the Isolationists? I can think of plenty of reasons, but none of them are presented in the original material. I mean, I like the part in The Last Submarine where the unit had turned Warlord, but it seems unlikely... UNLESS part of the pullout involved rescuing their family members!
Holy crap! Maybe that's the retcon fix I've been looking for? It's not in the book, but if they got their families out with them, its FAR more likely that they would pull out and look after themselves.
One of these days, I should start a threat about how much I HATE the drought. I really think Loren Wiseman made a mistake by introducing that element into the campaign background.
A. Scott Glancy, President TCCorp, dba Pagan Publishing
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