Location
In middle-South West England, Maiden Newton lies between the marginally smaller city of Dorchester, and the town of Yeovil. Further south is the city of Weymouth, while northwards is Bournemouth, the largest city in the South-West. Just outside of the western city border is the immense Maiden Forest, an area of unspoiled natural greenery, an almost incomprehensible feat considering the extreme industrialisation of the city itself.
Description
Since its original inception as a �neo-city�, Maiden Newton was planned, designed and built in such a way that its main components each had a designated area of the city; the industrial activity of the city is almost exclusively located in the southern region, while the western part of the city is home to the majority of the city�s residential housing developments. As such, public transportation for the city is concentrated mostly on going between the western side and the city centre.
City Centre
The centre of Maiden Newton is a thriving hub of activity, being the main locale for the city�s retail industry, including the huge shopping centre, The Precinct. The city centre is also home to the bulk of Maiden Newton�s many museums and art galleries, including the world-renowned Museum of Art History, and other entertainment venues, such as the acclaimed Le Petit Canard Theatre, the 14-screen Cineverse complex, and Maurix Square, the centre of the city�s night life. This area of the city s also the situation for the municipal, political and civic services entities, such as City Hall, the recently rebuilt Police Headquarters, the City Courthouse, several fire and rescue stations, and the city�s main hospital, Thomas Pittwood Memorial. Finally, dominating the city and standing in exactly the centre of the city entire, is the monolithic, architecturally momentous Cathedral of St John the Baptist.
South
The largest sector of the city, in the south lies the massive complex of industrial endeavours and plants. The city�s power and gas plants are all located here, as are the dockyard, the sewage works, several car and electronics manufacturers, the printing press for the Newton Evening Echo, and a hive of factories, foundries, plants and other industrial business buildings. Among these is the Titanic Industrial Estate, which houses no less that eighty separate businesses and factories alone, and of course the DiManz Media Group, home to six local television broadcasters and more than thirty radio stations, servicing the majority of the region. Finally, the global pharmaceuticals corporation, Quicksilver, has recently opened its UK offices in a domineering 82-storey gothic-style skyscraper, the largest building in the South West of England, in the south-west area of the city.
North
Much of the commercial aspects of the city are based in the northern part, including the City Library, the Oaktree Park and adjacent Parkside Multi-storey Car Park, the recently reopened Benjamin Martlage Opera House, the city Leisure Centre and sports stadium, and the Maiden Newton International Bank. Also in this part of the city are the University of Maiden Newton, and a host of primary, middle and secondary schools, the Guy Bariffi Psychiatric Hospital, the Crematorium, and a number of the city�s cemeteries.
West
Containing the residential nucleus of Maiden Newton, approximately 80% of the city�s inhabitants live in this area, either in individual houses, or on one of the numerous housing estates. The west is also the location of the Maiden Newton Sixth Form Community College, and several private schools.
History
Maiden Newton has had a chequered past. In the Middle Ages it was a rural farming community, dominated by a grand church (commonly, but mistakenly, referred to by historians as a cathedral), dedicated to St John the Baptist. The church was the epicentre of the highly religious community, and the focal point of many neighbouring villages and towns as well. However, in 1317, the small town began suffering a rash of bizarre murders, in which the victims were found badly mutilated, their limbs and flesh somehow welded together in horrifying displays of twisted contortion. More than six months after the first victims had been found, the perpetrators were discovered, a heretical cult, who had been hiding out and conducting their Satanic rituals within the church, of all places. However, in spring 1318, when the authorities caught up with them, the town was struck by an unprecedented and unexplainable series of tremendous earthquakes, causing the ground to split open directly beneath the church, which was swallowed by the earth. The murders stopped after that incident, but it was not until the late fifteenth century that the church was finally rebuilt.
By the seventeenth century, the town of Maiden Newton had grown from a farming community to a mining community, and it was from here that the industrial �revolution� of the city-to-be began; technological and industrial innovations were born and bred during this time. A major accident in the mines during the eighteenth century, however, almost brought all this to a standstill, and for a brief time those that praised science were scorned. However, by the year 1800 things were back on track, and the town began to expand. 1837 saw the church of St John the Baptist renovated and transformed into the cathedral that now stands in the centre of Maiden Newton, and the town was officially proclaimed a city.
However, since the mid-nineteenth century, the city has suffered an unsightly blemish, and one that simply cannot seem to be purged, and this is the city�s crime, be it organised or unprofessional � the best example being the botched �Gridlock Raid� of 1979, in which the police, closing in on the biggest bust in the city�s history, were caught up in a sudden and inexplicable traffic congestion covering the majority of the city. This demonstrates the power and influence that certain organisations wield; neither the targets of the raid nor any trace of their activities were found. The authorities of the city have always faced an upward struggle against crime � and this has very recently become extremely apparent, with the terrorist attacks in the city, the �cop-killer�, Tomsk Lesteran, the untouchable Cicciosso family, and the open gang warfare that is unleashed across the streets of the city on a daily basis. Police Chief Armin Velderra, who was appointed to the city after his predecessor was murdered by terrorists, has promised to bring about change and clean up the city; after three months in his job the Police Headquarters came under attack by an unknown terrorist group, and the building was destroyed.
Still, the industrial hive of the city, with its high employment opportunity rate, continually attracts new inhabitants and workers to the city, and aside from the crime, it is a pleasurable and cosmopolitan place to live and work.