Megaphiladelphia, PA - March 2033
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> “Friends, neighbors, and guests, welcome to this beautiful new city that we have built, and will continue to build together. Over the past three years since the inauguration of our new nation at the first meeting of the Senate, the ashen ruins of the old city of Philadelphia have been buried and built upon anew. The former United States government left our city as little more than a stain upon the map when they used us as a testing ground for their horrific node weapon. In the new nation our people have built together, our new city will be a beacon of hope and unity, and a symbol of all that can be achieved when people work for the common good of one another.
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> The process that has led us to today has not been easy, we have had to put thousands of tons of dirt and stone on top of three hundred years of our home’s history and memories. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes to temporary residences outside the city. It is however a testament to the strength of our new nation that those people have lived comfortable, supported lives while the laborious work of building new permanent homes for all of them has been done. Today, that work continues but we are able to start welcoming the first residents to our new city. Today we hold this symbolic opening of New City Hall, modeled after the original building now buried one hundred feet below us, the clocktower of which has been carefully moved to the courtyard outside. As we formally open municipal offices we are officially at capacity to assist the citizens of the new city as they begin their lives. I say to the essential working class who will be the first to move into your new homes, who will be the ones to bring this city to life as we eventually welcome in other residents and the businesses and institutions whose buildings are still being finished, welcome to Megaphiladelphia.
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> It is important on this day to acknowledge the key moments and actions that have led us to where we are right now. First and foremost, it must be said plainly that no form of the City of Brotherly Love, Megalopolitan or otherwise, would be standing today were it not for the revolution. Without the dissolution of the old nation and the creation of the United New States, fascism would have destroyed the very fabric of what our city has always stood for, the fabric of our communities, and of all our lives. Modest heroes who have chosen not to be exalted and venerated by name for actions of the common good fought tirelessly to root out fascism and to make way for a better future, which we find ourselves in today. In honor of those heroes, in the position held by William Penn atop the Old City Hall, we have placed upon this new structure a one hundred foot statue of the Unnamed Comrade, representative of the revolutionary fighting spirit that motivates us to be always vigilant against fascism and corruption, and always working for a better future for our communities. The statue also serves as a Node Field Regulator, which will help to improve the lives of everyone within the city as we adopt public nodal technologies over the coming years. After the revolution came the workers who have been tirelessly rebuilding this great city for the past three years. We would be here until tomorrow morning if I listed the name of everyone who contributed to the construction of this city, but every single one of those names has been etched into the foundation stones of this very building. Finally, I must acknowledge the Senators from Pennsylvania who have made sure the new federal government supported our citizens in the interim period that is finally finishing and supported financially the construction of the new city.
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> As I close my remarks, I want to say that as it has been for the past three years since my election, my primary drive is to ensure the wellbeing of every single resident and guest of this city. My office doors will always be open to speak with you and to know how I can do better. Finally, welcome once again to Megaphiladelphia -gosh that just feels so good to say- and please join me in welcoming Senator Hall to the podium.”
—Mayor Kalisha Amadeus speaking at the opening ceremony of Megaphiladelphia City Hall on 7 March 2033.
Mayor Amadeus’ remarks were followed by further comments from Senator Morissette Hall and Governor Albernard Grover before the formal schedule of the ceremony concluded with a symbolic ribbon cutting. A semi-formal catered party followed the ceremony in the courtyard of the New City Hall with a chamber orchestra performing from within the Old City Hall Clocktower, but across the city newly moved-in residents held informal and impromptu gatherings and block parties of all sorts, celebrating the beginning of a new chapter of their collective history.
This record courtesy of the National Register of Historic Events.