Old New Mexico Tales

Bermuda is a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean over a thousand miles east of continental North America. The Islands were very densely populated and the arrival of the Stands Virus on a tourist flight from the US caused a major outbreak. Bermuda was reliant on many imports that ended with the Fall. Only 20% of the islands were farmed on a small scale for mainly bananas, vegetables, citrus, flowers, dairy products and honey. The Islands relied on rainwater and water extracted from underground lenses for the bulk of their supply. With rainwater contaminated from atmospheric pollution and the increase in contaminants, like Salmonella, many people left the islands to escape rapidly deteriorating conditions. Within a few years the population fell from over 60,000 to several hundred.

Twenty two years ago an English exploration vessel docked at the old cruise ship dock which was, ironically, once the old Royal Naval Dockyard. The crew found an empty group of islands were the last of the population had either fled or died out decades earlier. England is part of the Anglo-Celtic Confederation (ACC) along with Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and the Isle of Mann. All are independent states that co-operate for their combined common good though Ireland and England are the most influential. A debate began about whether to salvage what could be had from the islands and abandon them or to occupy and invest in repairing them. After a heated debate a compromise was agreed with England settling Bermuda but access rights would be given to all the other Celtic nations as well.

Years of abandonment had left Bermuda in a poor condition but the Old Dockyard was repairable and after ten years of steady investment the base and islands recovered to a degree. Repair and refurbishment of the water system was carried out by the Irish company Bord Uisce who cleaned out the storage facilities and fitted an improved filtration system. The oil storage facility was rebuilt along with a refuelling dock by Ola Albannach, a Scottish company and Dyfrhau Cymru, a Welsh eco-intensive farming company, set up an efficient agricultural system. The Cornish electricity company, Howlyow, created a electricity grid based on solar and wind power and the Isle of Man based Ronaldsway company repaired the airfield. Singh Construction, an English building company, rebuilt the dockyard, housing and road network. Bermuda was praised as a fine example of co-operation with every one of the Anglo-Celtic Confederation nation’s getting something and all were happy.

The plan was to then use Bermuda for further exploration and hopefully trade with the Americas. Survey ships did travel up and down the coasts of North and Central America giving the Anglo-Celts a large amount of information but things were worryingly different. It was not the devastation of the Fall or even the legacy of bio-weapons that the explorers were susceptible to but something far more unexpected. The tale of a Cornish Captain cursed to death in Haiti could be laughed at, when the Celtic Explorer reported the sitting of a sea monster of Florida it was written off as a hoax but when an antique airplane landed at Bermuda Airfield with a group of passengers claiming they are from 1948; it is hard to disbelieve. Though the passengers of the BSAA Star Lion flight soon fell ill and died, possibly from the Stands Virus, their stories and possessions backed up their claims. The Avro Tudor IV airplane was looking in remarkable condition for a plan over 150 years old and no inconsistencies could be found in the luggage or cargo. Further reports of ‘real’ supernatural and paranormal activity worried the Anglo-Celts who shelved their plans for a trade boom with the Americas and have looked elsewhere.

Despite the official moratorium the English colonists made some overtures. Limited trade was established with Cuba and Scottish refined oil was traded for sugar cane and nickel. Relations were good, if limited, with the Communist government that had no time for superstitions and magic. Attempts to contact the xenophobic Québécois failed badly but the New Englanders of Maine were open to possible trade. Covert attempts to enter in to talks with the ARC fell flat with talk of the Monroe Doctrine souring matters.

Bermuda carried along building up its farming with the traditional local crops of mainly bananas, vegetables, citrus fruits, dairy products and honey being successfully re-established. The fishing industry was re-built, the dockyard maintained and the airfield kept operational for the occasional supply flights from home. There were over 5,000 residents from the ACC; the majority of them English but with all the other ACC nations present. A small garrison of the English military was present but by far the most exotic presence was the Para-Normal Research group (The Practitioners) led by Occultist and White Wizard Myfanwy ap Hywel and English spiritualist Dorian Stokes. Established on the remotest part of Bermuda they delved in to ‘matters not known to man’.

At first it was but Myfanwy, Dorian and a handful of true believers but as they made progress their numbers grew. It was claimed that they summoned the spirit of Baby Doc Duvalier who initiated them in to the mysteries. They have over a two dozen of acolytes of a wide range of backgrounds and claimed abilities. They have recently claimed get breakthroughs and that they are now attuned to the ‘new alignment’ that is present in the Americas. Were it not for past matters they would be mocked but less than a year ago they ‘summoned’ a small pre-Fall light aircraft that successfully landed but once again the pilot died on exposure to the environment. What the ‘Practitioners’ do is not understood by the Confederation Council nor any of the nations. Opinions are divided with a more culturally conservative Ireland generally against and a more reckless England for its use. Their activities are approved on Bermuda and for the exploration and possible exploitation of the Americas; this has ignited activity back on the islands.

At present there is a company of Naval Engineers to maintain the dockyard and airfield where a Fleet Air Arm Sea King helicopter is based with crew and support staff. There is a small platoon sized Army training cadre which supports a company strength Territorial Army unit, the ambitiously named Bermuda Regiment. Order is kept by the Navy Police and a small civilian constabulary. Recently a squadron of English Navy vessels has arrived led by ENS Argonaut, a helicopter carrier, with the intention of re-opening the Americas with practitioner support.