Casablanca

Casablanca _was_ a city in Morocco until October 22, 2023 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca).

That's when it became the epicenter of a 100-mile nuclear explosion due to a power plant accident generally known as "the Casablanca incident". West Africa, impoverished and beset by an incompetent and corrupt governance, was still using fission reactors for power. The accident also contaminated the area around the city with highly radioactive fallout.

After the Casablanca incident, the use of fission reactors on Earth was in fact made illegal.

It remains quarantined until 2073.

The Casablanca incident is frequently credited by historians and sociologist for the relative ease with which VIPER took over the Zu nation, and as one of the causes of the Neo-Luddism movement.

The tragic accident that destroyed Casablanca is cynically used by media tycoon Robert Westwood. Media outlets owned by the tycoon promote an anti-science campaign seemingly intended to boost the corporation's ratings. When the campaign seems to strike a chord with many people who are fearful and ignorant of science a number of political opportunists jump onto the bandwagon. This becomes known as the Neo-Luddite Movement. (note: The author of the controversial book - Guilded Promises, Alien Lies - claims the Guild instigated and supported the Neo-Luddites with the intention of slowing Earth's scientific progess.)