"
Hallelujah."
Why would he send his savior unto us,
If we will not raise a finger for our own salvation?
And though we deserve not his mercy,
He has led us to this new Eden,
A last chance for redemption.
And the Prophet shall lead the people to the New Eden.
Columbia is an isolated and technologically advanced city-state situated on a series of floating structures suspended in the sky by the
quantum levitation technology of physicist
Rosalind Lutece. The city was constructed in 1893 under commission by the United States government as a symbol of American political and religious ideals, but seceded from the United States in 1902 as a white-supremacist regime led by founder
Zachary Hale Comstock. Columbia to be a showcase of American exceptionalism. Through tours across various countries and lands, America would be capable of spreading its vision of the future and the American ideal to others.
Through
Rosalind Lutece's discovery of the "Lutece Particle", which held atoms at a fixed position and support by
Zachary Hale Comstock, a charismatic American religious figure, the city of Columbia was created and presented at the
1893 Chicago World's Fair.
The Founders, believed that Columbia embodied the true society envisioned by the Founding Fathers of the United States, where white Anglo-Saxons ruled over the world and that their country served a higher purpose in "civilizing" through military might and propagating their particular brand of religion. To many Columbians, America had turned away from its divine purpose, having abandoned slavery, religion, militarism, and racial supremacy. America and the rest of the world below were viewed with contempt, described as "the Sodom Below," a sinful and chaotic world which only deserved to be destroyed. Columbia in comparison was referred to as "Another Ark, for Another Time" by its citizens, meaning the city was the only source of goodness and order, and once Columbia destroyed the rest of the world, everything could restart pure and anew under the city's absolute rule. Due to Comstock's dogma, Columbians had a very narrow perspective of American history; President Abraham Lincoln was labeled "The Apostate" by Columbia for ending slavery. His killer, John Wilkes Booth, was revered as a saint. The Columbian perspective of the Civil War is that of a demonic Lincoln leading a barbarous horde against the saintly Confederate forces under a deified George Washington, underscoring Columbian beliefs about racial slavery, as well as the anarchistic nature of the "false" America.
With the city free from the United States' anti-slavery and workers' safety laws, institutionalized racism and elitism were widespread and legally enforced in Columbia. Anglo-Saxon supremacy was widely asserted by the upper classes, matched with poor treatment of the immigrant working class. There was constant paranoia over "the foreign horde" and "anarchists" due to the racial beliefs of the time, causing Columbian xenophobia and militarism. People of "minority races", such as Africans, Native Americans, Asians, Jews, and Irish, were regularly subjugated in Columbia, with many working in
Finkton to power Columbia's industry. This was under the guise of employment, while some (such as eventual
Vox Populi leader
Daisy Fitzroy) were brought in by force to serve as slaves or indentured servants. The more privileged classes lead more leisurely lives. This all was justified by some with the belief that the minorities had "risen above their station", and that their toil was a just form of penance. Others simply saw it as a source of cheap, expendable labor.
As a result of this separation, minorities were largely relegated to menial labor with no opportunity for upward mobility, and asking for improvements would likely result in being attacked by the City Police, or worse. The hard labor workforce at
Fink Manufacturing (well-known for mistreating its workers) was chiefly composed of the city's minority population and was closely supervised and controlled by heavily-armed Police Officers. The majority of Columbia's working class lived in Finkton's shabby, crime-ridden, and diseased slums, a stark contrast to the clean, stately neighborhoods of the upper classes. Those few who worked in areas where The Founders dominated were expected to be servile to their betters while dealing with inhumane working and living conditions. The rare few that worked in the homes of the elite might enjoy slightly better lives depending on their owner's generosity.
.
Such policies are widely accepted by the majority of the upper and middle class. To them, this hierarchy was heaven-born and divinely ordained. Some exceptions existed, with a few progressives operating in secret, who published rebellious material demanding equality, and who provided safe lodgings for escaped workers. "Protecting Our Race" was an official maxim of Columbia's Police, and any attempts of race mixing were illegal; public stoning of interracial couples was a common diversion during important celebrations. Any attempts to promote egalitarianism lead to imprisonment, torture, or "re-education". Torture and murder of minorities is ignored by
the Founders, as well as the Columbian
police authorities, if not outright encouraged. Control was also enforced covertly and brutally by a splinter group of The Founders, the
Fraternal Order of the Raven, which doubled as an assassination group and Special-Operations force who regularly lynched, attacked, and kidnapped those who threatened Comstock's ideals. Their special mission was seeking vengeance for the murder of
Lady Comstock.
Columbia was a militantly theocratic and fascist society that idolized American exceptionalism. Religion and government were one and the same, and devotion to the city and its prophet was required of its citizens. This was based upon the teachings of Father Comstock as a divine prophetic figure, as well as interpretations of the Founding Fathers of
Thomas Jefferson,
George Washington, and
Benjamin Franklin, whom Columbian belief said were appointed by the Archangel Columbia to "rise America above all other nations" in law, technology, and power. The belief that Comstock was chosen to complete and succeed the Founding Fathers' was widespread. His word was law, though some form of elected officials did exist in the city. Images of him, his wife,
child, and the Founders, alongside angels, are found all over Columbia, which is presented as a heavenly place, despite its oppressive and militant nature. Columbia's religiosity appears like a form of protestant Christianity that would have risen during that era due to the
Great Awakening, but little resembles actual Christianity. Columbia's prevailing religious ideology was very much a personality cult that is typical of despotic regimes.
Deviation from this state-imposed dogma was unacceptable and illegal.
The Founders, led by Comstock and Columbia's elite, were the prevailing political faction in Columbia, retaining exclusive control over the city's society, government and business infrastructure. They enforced Comstock's religious and social vision out of blind devotion or greed, and in turn benefited from it as part of the privileged social strata. The Founders were also extremely militaristic, enforcing their laws and operations in a police state with a huge army of police officers and security automatons. They used child indoctrination to encourage military service through the popular
Duke and Dimwit Theatre. A fleet of airships, headed by Comstock's personal zeppelin
The Hand of the Prophet, kept constant watch over Columbia's skies, ready to attack on Comstock 's orders.
Religious Beliefs and Philosophies
Major beliefs held by citizens in Columbia:
- The Founders - The majority of Columbia's citizens worship Father Comstock, following his word blindly and trusting wholly in his prophecies. As a result, they stood by his decision to intervene in the Boxer Rebellion and Columbia's subsequent secession. The people of the city also worship Elizabeth as the Lamb of Columbia, believing she will fulfill Comstock's prophecies in years to come. The Founders also worship the Founding Fathers—particularly George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin—as religious icons. Each of the three was associated with a different symbol, according to what they gave to mankind: Franklin was associated with the key, a symbol of industry; Jefferson was associated with the scroll, a symbol of law and order; and Washington was associated with the sword, a symbol of power and justice.
- Fraternal Order of the Raven - The Order was an even more radical branch of the Founders, tasking itself with the brutal enforcement of white supremacist policies and the assassination of Vox Populi figures, chief among them Daisy Fitzroy. They revered John Wilkes Booth as their central figure and demonized Abraham Lincoln as a corrupt figure of evil. They also revered Lady Comstock, and worshiped the sword, the raven, and the coffin in her memory. Much like The Founders, its membership was drawn from the upper-classes.
- Buddhism - The belief of awakened enlightenment followed mostly by the Chinese immigrants in Columbia. This belief was regarded with hostility within Columbia and was practiced in secret. Chen Lin and his wife were followers of Buddhism when Booker and Elizabeth first encountered them; however, in an alternate reality, Mrs. Lin was white and followed the Founders.
- Evolutionism - Evolution as a scientific theory did not feature prominently in Columbia, but was known and marked as taboo—on the shores of Battleship Bay, a citizen can be heard attempting to discussing Darwinism and is hastily hushed by his companion. In spite of this, Columbian society employed warped Darwinian concepts as justification for their bigotry.
