Asphyxiation Point through the ages
Asphyxiation Point wasn't always the town that you see today. In fact, there was a time when it was nothing more than a small rocky outcrop jutting out of the ocean. The only way to get to it was past straits so narrow that sailors would hold their breaths as they made the perilous trip. And so the rock was named Asphyxiation Point and largely shunned for centuries.
All that changed when two fishermen - Jeremiah Newton and Fredrick Perry - happened to venture past the straits in search of new lobster hunting grounds. To say they hit the mother lode would be putting it mildly. Armed with first one boat, then two boats, then three, Newton and Perry soon had enough money to stop making the perilous journey past the straits and set up a fishing outpost on the rocky outcrop instead. Starting with a few ramshackle cabins and a rickety dock where the beach is today, the burgeoning village grew northwards to become what is lower town today.
As the fishing boomed, so did the town itself and before long, Asphyxiation Point was famous as Maine's lobster capital all over the United States. And with fame came business of a different nature - a small but steady trickle of tourists. All of a sudden, the fishing village was not just a fishing village anymore. A beacon was built to make the passage of boats through the straits easier. A hospital, a police department and a theater were deemed necessary and before long the town had expanded to include the theater district.
Of course the lobsters were not really what the tourists came for. They came to experience something exotic. Something they couldn't find back home. And the locals at Asphyxiation Point were happy to serve it up in spades. The Red Light District was born in a tiny corner of lower town. When the National Prohibition Act was passed in 1919, Asphyxiation Point responded by simply moving its drinking establishments away from the docks. Hidden from view, the southeast corner of the island rapidly became Asphyxiation Point's new tourist district where one could find every pleasure the heart could desire. Asphyxiation Point boomed in the 20s.
It was with the emergence of seaplanes that the trouble really began. With no more need to pass through the perilous straits, the trickle of tourists turned into a deluge and a rift appeared between Newton and Perry as to what direction the town should take. Newton wanted to focus on the tourism while Perry was a die hard mariner. A bitter feud ensued that ended with Newton taking complete control of the real estate on the island while Perry retained ownership of the fishing company and moved out.
Both Newton and Perry would pass away shortly after the split but the ramifications of their actions are felt to this day. As the island became more dependent on the tourist trade, more criminal enterprises arrived on the island to supply the tourists what they were really coming for : Wine, women and drugs. While the Newton corporation and associated enterprises grew more prosperous, the lower town (which had been more dependent on the fishing trade) fell into ruin.
The class divide would grow even worse over the next two decades as the Newton Corporation took upon one of the biggest renovation projects in the history of Maine. The original tourist town had been hastily thrown together in response to the prohibition and in doing so, accidentally built too close to the waterline. Plans were drawn up to demolish the tourist district and fill in the area to create what is upper town today. ( Except that the original tourist district was never really destroyed. A large portion of it still buried intact under the surface and is home to the homeless, the hopeless and the truly desperate. )
The continued increase in the class divide and the unchecked rise in crime would prove to be unsustainable beyond a point of course. As competition increased, the fighting on the streets grew as well. Which in turn eventually took a toll on the tourist trade. Business was down and Asphyxiation Point was getting dangerously close to turning into yet another ghost town. And that's when everyone finally got on the same page. Even if they hated each other, they all called the same piece of rock home and they needed each other to survive. And so the compromises began.
The first step was taken by the under-staffed police department. In addition to ignoring lesser crimes such as drug use and prostitution, the cops declared they would focus their efforts on preserving the peace on the surface. What anyone did under the surface was their business. The various criminal enterprises naturally responded by retreating to the storm drains and other underground areas while maintaining respectable business personas on the surface.
As the streets grew safer, the tourists started trickling back. While the gangs continued fighting underground for control of vital shared resources such as hidden warehouses, tunnels and docks, the extra money brought by these tourists made ongoing turf wars look increasingly stupid. Three loosely banded groups of criminals emerged. The docks became a hub to get drugs in and out of the island under the cover of darkness. The Red Light District continued doing what they did best - subverting innocent souls to the dark arts of seduction. Upper town became the hub for the more sophisticated criminals trading in rare books, art and money.
Thus a tenuous peace has lasted for the last 40 years with tensions below the surface ready to erupt at any time. There have been the occasional sparks of course - A rookie cop who got a bit too enthusiastic about enforcing the law and climbed into the storm drains, the RLD gang-member who decided strike off into the drug trade, a hooker who latched onto the wrong customer and got arrested. But the streets have remained quiet at least if not always safe.
With the delicate peace holding, Asphyxiation Point has prospered. Tourists such as you have flocked to it not knowing... or perhaps daring... the dangers that lie just under the surface. Will you brave these dangers or will the darkness consume you? Will it end up being the place you call home? Asphyxiation Point is a land of opportunity where your world could turn upside down in an instant. The mighty might fall and the weak might persevere. What will you discover and where will your destiny lead you?
All that changed when two fishermen - Jeremiah Newton and Fredrick Perry - happened to venture past the straits in search of new lobster hunting grounds. To say they hit the mother lode would be putting it mildly. Armed with first one boat, then two boats, then three, Newton and Perry soon had enough money to stop making the perilous journey past the straits and set up a fishing outpost on the rocky outcrop instead. Starting with a few ramshackle cabins and a rickety dock where the beach is today, the burgeoning village grew northwards to become what is lower town today.
As the fishing boomed, so did the town itself and before long, Asphyxiation Point was famous as Maine's lobster capital all over the United States. And with fame came business of a different nature - a small but steady trickle of tourists. All of a sudden, the fishing village was not just a fishing village anymore. A beacon was built to make the passage of boats through the straits easier. A hospital, a police department and a theater were deemed necessary and before long the town had expanded to include the theater district.
Of course the lobsters were not really what the tourists came for. They came to experience something exotic. Something they couldn't find back home. And the locals at Asphyxiation Point were happy to serve it up in spades. The Red Light District was born in a tiny corner of lower town. When the National Prohibition Act was passed in 1919, Asphyxiation Point responded by simply moving its drinking establishments away from the docks. Hidden from view, the southeast corner of the island rapidly became Asphyxiation Point's new tourist district where one could find every pleasure the heart could desire. Asphyxiation Point boomed in the 20s.
It was with the emergence of seaplanes that the trouble really began. With no more need to pass through the perilous straits, the trickle of tourists turned into a deluge and a rift appeared between Newton and Perry as to what direction the town should take. Newton wanted to focus on the tourism while Perry was a die hard mariner. A bitter feud ensued that ended with Newton taking complete control of the real estate on the island while Perry retained ownership of the fishing company and moved out.
Both Newton and Perry would pass away shortly after the split but the ramifications of their actions are felt to this day. As the island became more dependent on the tourist trade, more criminal enterprises arrived on the island to supply the tourists what they were really coming for : Wine, women and drugs. While the Newton corporation and associated enterprises grew more prosperous, the lower town (which had been more dependent on the fishing trade) fell into ruin.
The class divide would grow even worse over the next two decades as the Newton Corporation took upon one of the biggest renovation projects in the history of Maine. The original tourist town had been hastily thrown together in response to the prohibition and in doing so, accidentally built too close to the waterline. Plans were drawn up to demolish the tourist district and fill in the area to create what is upper town today. ( Except that the original tourist district was never really destroyed. A large portion of it still buried intact under the surface and is home to the homeless, the hopeless and the truly desperate. )
The continued increase in the class divide and the unchecked rise in crime would prove to be unsustainable beyond a point of course. As competition increased, the fighting on the streets grew as well. Which in turn eventually took a toll on the tourist trade. Business was down and Asphyxiation Point was getting dangerously close to turning into yet another ghost town. And that's when everyone finally got on the same page. Even if they hated each other, they all called the same piece of rock home and they needed each other to survive. And so the compromises began.
The first step was taken by the under-staffed police department. In addition to ignoring lesser crimes such as drug use and prostitution, the cops declared they would focus their efforts on preserving the peace on the surface. What anyone did under the surface was their business. The various criminal enterprises naturally responded by retreating to the storm drains and other underground areas while maintaining respectable business personas on the surface.
As the streets grew safer, the tourists started trickling back. While the gangs continued fighting underground for control of vital shared resources such as hidden warehouses, tunnels and docks, the extra money brought by these tourists made ongoing turf wars look increasingly stupid. Three loosely banded groups of criminals emerged. The docks became a hub to get drugs in and out of the island under the cover of darkness. The Red Light District continued doing what they did best - subverting innocent souls to the dark arts of seduction. Upper town became the hub for the more sophisticated criminals trading in rare books, art and money.
Thus a tenuous peace has lasted for the last 40 years with tensions below the surface ready to erupt at any time. There have been the occasional sparks of course - A rookie cop who got a bit too enthusiastic about enforcing the law and climbed into the storm drains, the RLD gang-member who decided strike off into the drug trade, a hooker who latched onto the wrong customer and got arrested. But the streets have remained quiet at least if not always safe.
With the delicate peace holding, Asphyxiation Point has prospered. Tourists such as you have flocked to it not knowing... or perhaps daring... the dangers that lie just under the surface. Will you brave these dangers or will the darkness consume you? Will it end up being the place you call home? Asphyxiation Point is a land of opportunity where your world could turn upside down in an instant. The mighty might fall and the weak might persevere. What will you discover and where will your destiny lead you?
