by Steve Worley
Boston, the largest city in New England and the capital of Massachusetts, is the center of business for the entire area. With a population of about 2,000,000 permanent residents, it has many facilities for all aspects of autoduelling. With the nation's third largest AADA chapter in the New Downtown section, autoduelling, both in the arena and out, abounds.
Boston was hit hard by the Food Riots of 2016. Because it had to depend on farms in the Midwest, there were few stockpiles of food when the riots started. Boston was one of the pioneers in algae research for food. Once algae farms were developed, the rioting stopped, but not until much of downtown Boston had been destroyed.
Today, Boston is one of the most modern cities in existence. The old downtown was abandoned, and the town rebuilt to the west, across the Charles River. Its algae farms, coupled with a growing weapons and computer industry, helped Boston to recover from the riots and enjoy the security and prosperity it has today.
![[Boston map]](https://thetrove.is/Magazines/Autoduel%20Quarterly%20%28Car%20Wars%29/img/boston.gif)
The Reading Strip. Just north of Boston is the large open-air "arena" called the Reading Strip. It was once a high school campus; the paved driveways, destroyed buildings, and unusual terrain made it perfect for outdoor autoduelling.
Strip combat resembles a demolition derby more than real autoduelling. If a driver manages to incapacitate any other vehicle, the remains are tagged, and he may pick it up for salvage that night. Packs of cycles or teams of cars are not allowed. Many Amateur Night winners who want to increase their bankroll before entering pro duelling have found "the strip" to he a profitable but risky alternative. The arena is also rented by autoduelling groups who use target ammo to practice in safety.
Route 128. This is the heavily fortified highway surrounding Boston. Municipal patrols - occasionally reinforced by state troopers - cruise the highway enforcing the "no combat" ordinance in effect. Although it is not patrolled as heavily as the famous Los Angeles-San Francisco tollway, it is not a place to start a fight.
Uncle Albert's Catalog Showroom. The showroom adjoins UAI's Boston plant. They have the latest in weaponry and gadgets, including some that have not been released to the public yet. Because buying direct saves the cost of shipping, packing, transporting, etc., walk-in customers get a 10% discount on all merchandise. Even though any sane AADA member already knows better. it should be mentioned that no one should even think of attacking this building. Their numerous, well-trained, and incredibly well-equipped guards will blast the most powerful vehicle into confetti.
Boston Hospital. The main hospital of Boston. Gold Cross has a complete cloning facility here. This is also the medical facility preferred by most duellists, chiefly because of the short distance to the Yelrow Duelling Arena.
Yelrow Duelling Arena. The largest duelling arena on the Eastern Coast. This arena boasts such big-name regular participants as "Warmonger" Ahearn, "ViceSquad" Vibber, "HitMan" Hamm, and the New England triple-ace champion, Chris "Destroyer" Woods. There are usually two or three duels here a night, except on Sunday.
The Old Downtown. Destroyed in the Food Riots, there is not much left in the old downtown except for the numerous cycle gangs. This is extremely dangerous territory - AADA members are advised to avoid it unless they are specifically looking for trouble.
The New Downtown. Relocated west of Old Downtown, this is the center of business and government for all of New England. As in most large Eastern cities, armed vehicles are not permitted, although most hand weapons are tolerated. Municipal police patrol the area on foot and light cycles to break up any fights. There are also frequent " surprise" searches to prevent any large-scale attacks on any government buildings or large businesses.
The Boston College of Learning. The curriculum includes such courses as Gunnery, Combat Driving, Highway Knowledge, and other duelling-related skills.
The New Boston Duelling Arena. Although the NBDA is not as popular as the Yelrow arena, the AADA holds its premier events here because of the larger spectator capacity (52,000 people).
The DeBeck Medical Center. DeBeck is the main medical facility for the rural areas of Eastern Massachusetts. Gold Cross does not have full cloning facilities here, but can prepare a body for transfer to Boston Hospital.
Boston has a wide range of duelling and trucking facilities. There are 5 truck stops surrounding Boston, all with garages, complete shops with tools and lifts, and power rechargers. There is also a multitude of private mechanics, weapon suppliers, and charging stations.
There is only one TV station currently operating in Boston: the other (WMAS) was destroyed last year when an angry duellist attacked it because of the station's failure to cover his duels. The duellist was immediately hunted down and had his arena permit posthumously revoked, but the remaining station took the lesson to heart. It always has two copters in the air during the day, looking for road duels to broadcast.
WBOS claims to cover 50% of all road actions taking place within the county; its score approaches 100% of those duels the station has been warned about in advance.
The Boston Municipal Police Force is the main law-enforcement agency duellists are likely to encounter in Boston proper. The BMPF employs over 550 officers and sports nearly 400 patrol cars, 50 of which are heavily-armored and armed with multiple lasers; they also have 75 cycles, 5 helicopters (used primarily for spotting purposes), and 3 heavily-armed patrol boats to work Boston Harbor. These boats are only used when necessary - most waterfront security is handled by the Boston Harbor Port Authority forces, numbering about 75.
The only other official force duellists may encounter are the Massachusetts State Police, who are occasionally found on the main highways, helping enforce the "no duelling" ordinances. State troopers drive a variety of vehicles, all in simple black-and-white colors. The Port Authority forces sport green-and-white vehicles and uniforms, while the BMPF colors are black and orange. The Boston College of Learning has no police force and depends on the BMPF for protection. There is a Boston College Student Defense League organized on campus, but its size and organization vary widely from semester to semester as key personnel fail to return to school for a variety of reasons.
There are several rival cycle gangs in Boston, most notably the Pulsers and the Hellriders. Both are constantly fighting over their "turf" in the old downtown section. They are both extremely aggressive, and attack any unescorted vehicles. A recent punitive raid by combined BMPF and state trooper forces has cooled both gangs' desire to make trouble in the populated areas of town. The Pulsers fly red colors, and the Hellriders feature a "winged H" logo on their machines.
The Boston Beacons dominate the area autoduelling scene - there are other duelling clubs, but none with even a fraction of the membership or prestige of the Beacons. Preferring sky-blue colors, the Beacons are a model of what a local AADA chapter should be. While not afraid to use their guns in defense, Beacon members do not pick fights and obey the area "no duelling" ordinances strictly. The Beacons save it all for the arena, where they are noted for both ferocity and technical excellence. They have one of the best duellist-training programs in the AADA, and a surprising number of regional and national champions have risen from the Beacon ranks.
The three autoduelling arenas located in Boston guarantee a variety of action on any given night for both the duellist and the fan. The Yelrow arena attracts the biggest crowds, as well as the best duellists from all over New England. Two-time Eastern Regional champion Chris "Destroyer" Woods, a former Beacon member and local favorite, is a regular Friday night participant. The New Boston arena is larger, and therefore used for major AADA events, such as the New England championships and the Eastern Regional championship every third year. The Reading Strip, with the addition of armored spectator areas, has recently received AADA sanction, making it the third approved arena in the area.
Duelling is strictly prohibited on the major highways of Boston, particularly Route 128. BMPF forces patrol these main highways (including Routes 93, 2, 90, 21, and 95) very heavily, and will terminate any violations of the no-duelling ordinances with extreme prejudice. While not strictly illegal, duelling is frowned upon in the other populated areas of Boston, and duellists may be found responsible for damages if things get out of hand. Police often look the other way, however, if the action involves attacks on any of the local cycle gangs - and of course, any action taking place in old downtown is of no concern to the authorities.