Cobalt City - a visitor's guide

For those who wish a look into Cobalt City, I present a visitor’s guide. I apologize for the quality of the map. It is merely a reference copy that I’ve held onto for a while as I wrote the novels.

Lafayette Park - Think Central Park in a lot of ways. Real estate along the long north/south axis of the park are pricy. There is a memorial park/cemetery deep in the park, with graves dating back to the end of the Revolutionary War, its name honors the French who helped win the war.

Parkside, on the east edge, is expensive high rises. Think Park Avenue in New York.

Lafayette Park Boulevard on the west side has more exclusive condos and boutiques and a wide, tree-lined street.

Morrison is a bedroom community/neighborhood. Think of neighborhoods like Wallingford, Maple Leaf, or Magnolia (all in the Seattle area). Not hip, not happening, just kind of there. The exceptions are the sports venues located just off the highway just north of the dividing line between Morrison and Downtown. There are a Football and indoor arena which features Hockey and indoor soccer there.

Karlsburg, however, has old-school ethnic charm. It has a lot of characteristics of Ballard and even Levenworth (both from the Seattle area), to a degree. It's in the hills, so the streets are not generally straight, and tend to be a bit winding. The old buildings and rustic-ness becomes a bit more run down the further south you get. The bottom third is very low rent, and while not as bad as The Hollows, some people refer to that neighborhood as South Karl, Crack Hill, and now that Mister Grey has made it his personal business, Grey Hill.

The Hollows -- I think I might have listed it as the Hollow on the map...my bad. This used to be swamp and fen before it got filled in. It has missed the gentrification that has hit the rest of the city, and is run down buildings, liquor stores, gun shops, strip clubs, and seedy dives. The worst part of town, hands down.

Cannonade – This area used to be primarily military -- a place for to mount cannons to defend the harbor and the mouth of the river. The fortifications are still there, as are the many buildings built to support the military, though they've all been repurposed. A long walking park runs along the shore, above a heavily buttressed sea-wall. The neighborhood has elements of Freemont and SoHo funkieness, blended with Sand Point architectural elements in places (yes, another Seattle reference). This is the "Hip" neighborhood.

Quayside -- Working class, the majority of docks and freight hits here, making it a commercial and industrial hub. But it isn't without its nightlife. Gambling was legalized in Quayside in the fifties, and there are several casinos here, including the Forbidden Palace, run by a suspected gang leader (Donald Lo…he has had several run-ins with the Protectorate). This neighborhood has a mix of urban working class and urban nightlife. Very few people actually live here, commuting for work and play.

The Oriental -- Wild Kat's headquarters, and the place where Simon "Mr. Grey" Floyd was killed and interred for 70 years. Still a matter of historic significance.

Starcom -- The headquarters of Stardust's business, his home, and his not-so-secret lair.

The Keep -- A blocky, sturdy building surrounded by a walled garden, it is six floors high with deep roots, and is tapered slightly towards the top. The design is deep grey granite in appearance, with copper-tinted glass fronts.

UCC - The University of Cobalt City, it is a big campus, similar to New York University. It has a separate biotech campus up in Morrison.

Monday already?

For those of you eager for Chapter 7, it is going up today...first thing when I get home from the salt mines. It should be live by 6pm Pacific time at the very latest, still very much a Monday update, but not as early as I would like.

Chapter 7 finds our heroes back at the Keep. The more science-minded types (Stardust, Worm Queen, and Knockabout) are trying to investigate the Mirror of Shadows while occult-oriented Mister Grey and Doctor Shadow try to wring information out of the captive Louis Malenfant.

I won't give away secrets, but I will hint that those who have been wondering about the "iteration" designation with each chapter are about to see your curiosity rewarded.