Non-Assisted Area
The Non-Assisted Area refers to any part of the United States that is outside the bounds of the Metro Areas. They are called Non-Assisted because people who live in these areas, while technically still U.S. citizens; do not receive any government services or protection.
In 1985, President Ronald Reagan enacted Executive Order 13578 which simultaneously created the Metro Areas and made evacuation to those Areas mandatory. It is estimated that 90% of the population followed the order and migrated to the Metro Areas. The remaining 10% chose to violate the law and stay in their homes.
The Plagues made life very difficult both inside and outside the Metro Areas. Still, living in the Metro Areas improved ones chances of survival. In the 5 years following the creation of the Metro Areas, the mortality rate was 75% in the Non-Assisted Areas compared to 35% in the Metro Areas.
Many people in the Non-Assisted Area formed communities in order to survive. These communities usually were centered in now-abandoned cities. The newly formed villages were a fraction of the size of the Pre-Plague cites. Communities worked together to scavenge, grow, and catch food.
In 1988, the government started codename Reclamation, the military operation tasked with protecting the construction of a high-speed rail system connecting the Metro Areas. As a result of the operation, several communities in the Non-Assisted Area were forcibly relocated to the Metro Areas. This included populations in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Denver.
Since the Reclamation, there have been no further large-scale forced relocations. The government has adopted an attitude of benign neglect towards the population of the Non-Assisted Area. As a result, the population of the Non-Assisted Area is now estimated at around 10 million. This includes large communities in the Pre-Plague cities of Norfolk, New Orleans and Salt Lake City.
