Spire City

With the exception of the Sylvan Enclave, which is almost entirely populated by Viran expatriates, the city has a relatively even mix and distribution of mutant variants, nationalities, and ethnicities. Though citizens tend to live in districts corresponding with their home country, this is by no means a rule, and people from all nations can be found in each district. People from outside Altea are uncommon, but by no means rare, and are granted full rights upon obtaining citizenship.

Spire City is governed by the local city government. The city council is made up of elected officials from each district, who ensure that each district's needs are met. The mayor is elected by the entire citizenry. The chief of police, or commissioner, is appointed by the council and the mayor. The Spire City government, while generally made up of well-meaning people, is frequently unable to run itself or the city effectively. The city's immense size of the city and the constantly growing population has resulted in rampant financial inequality, with a vast majority of the civilian population living in or near poverty. As a result, crime has increased in recent years, giving rise to an organized criminal underground. Police corruption has become systemic, with officers and even entire precincts in the pockets of corporations and crime lords. The city council, either completely clueless or in on the game, continues to over-fund the SCPF, which has become heavily weaponized and now deploys autodroids alongside it's regular officers. Perhaps coming as no surprise, crackdowns on petty crime and labor unions have become significantly more brutal, while organized and corporate crime runs mostly unchecked.

The city has no walls, but is protected by the Spire City Protectorate, which includes a standing army and fleet. It is said that the Spire itself has the capability to protect the core of the city with an aether shield.

A vast network of roads connects the districts to each other, allowing for relatively easy travel around the city. There are also the beginnings of a public transit system of trolleys going along the major thoroughfares of the city. Automobile traffic is minimal, as the price of personal autocars is prohibitively high for most citizens, but the number of autocars on the street is slowly but surely growing as more wealthy individuals flaunt their mechanized luxury.   There are a huge number of ports along the Western shore of the island where ships dock to unload or receive goods and passengers. Some of the tallest buildings in the city double as docking towers for airships, another prohibitively expensive mode of transport. On the East coast of the island are three train stations near the bridges that connect the island to the mainland.