Mechanicsburg

From Girl Genius

Mechanicsburg is the ancestral homeland of the Heterodyne family, a town of minions. After long centuries being used as the home base for House Heterodyne's savaging of the countryside, and of being "in on the take," the population have become accustomed to venting their collective energies in serving their liege lords.

The people of Mechanicsburg, in return for their loyalty, served as minions, guards, troops and fencers of stolen goods; as opposed to everyone else, who served as experimental subjects, victims, sources of wealth and decoration^[1].

The settlement eventually known as Mechanicsburg grew up around the castle that the Ht'rok-din's son, Knife, first built in 1042^[2]. The Castle, centerpiece of the town, was razed and rebuilt three times before the current structure, dating from 1298, was erected. At some point, Faustus Heterodyne (the surname seems to have been westernized at some point) created an artificial intelligence for the castle which allowed it to help with its self-defense and that of the town^[3].

The town currently has a strongly built curtain wall set with strategic gun placements. The gates have been built with visual intimidation in mind^[4]. One gate lets out onto the sharp drop down to the river bounding one side of Mechanicsburg, and appears to be the entrance for most casual and commercial traffic, as the bridge across the river allows two wagons to pass with plenty of margin. A well-paved road runs along the cliff margin on the opposite bank^[5].

The Heterodynes deliberately left a large open plain free for potential invaders on the Black Gate (eastern)^[6][7][8] side of the town. The "screamer gun" crews, trained to have a perfect knowledge of every centimeter of the plain could precisely target any opponent (for example, the late X de Destroyer, prominent in stories told by Da Boyz) on command^[9]. Watchtowers stand around the outside edge of the plain^[10].

At some point, possibly as a result of the attack on the castle, the screamer guns were disabled^[11], leaving the castle and town in a precariously defenseless position. However, The Baron's Peace has kept Mechanicsburg from needing a full-scale defensive suite. Currently, Mechanicsburg is "merely" a magnificently-crafted machine designed to separate tourists and the gullible from their money. It is also the center of several thriving black markets and smuggling operations. Still, many of the older people fondly remember the Glory Days, when "Made in Mechanicsburg" brought terror to the world at large^[12].

The town recently suffered an attempted takeover by the Knights of Jove in order to further the restoration of the Storm King dynasty as rulers of Europa. Gilgamesh Wulfenbach installed his own experimental weapons system^[13] and foiled the attack spectacularly.^[14]

[edit] Outside World and Speculation

Tucked into a particularly advantageous spot in what appears to be the equivalent of the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, just north of the river Olt, possibly in the location of modern-day Sibiu,

The Ht'rok-din himself may the chief of a particularly brutal tribe which is speculated may have come from the east, perhaps Huns, or some other predecessors of the Mongol armies.

[edit] References

1. ↑ Adapted from the Secret Blueprints.
2. ↑ "The first Castle Heterodyne..."
3. ↑ "...it was keenly intelligent."
4. ↑ Death cradles the Trilobite
5. ↑ "...much traffic today?"
6. ↑ "An army is advancing on the Black Gate!"
7. ↑ "Where are we now?" "On top of the eastern wall."
8. ↑ "An army of war clanks, coming from the east."
9. ↑ "SPLAT!"
10. ↑ "Hey! Dey busted de tower!"
11. ↑ "Disabled, I'm afraid..."
12. ↑ Adapted from the Secret Blueprints.
13. ↑ "Some project of young Wulfenbach's."
14. ↑ "CRAKOOM!"

See also: Characters from Mechanicsburg