Editing Setting:Nutopia/Locations (section)

=='''Gibraltar Gateway'''==
A confluence of political and economic events would haul The Rock of Gibraltar, a nigh inconsequential speck of stone at the mouth of the Mediterranean, back into a focal point for world wide contention. Before the establishment of extensive maglev rail networks for high speed heavy freight movement, sea cargo held sway as the chief method of moving masses of goods and material around the world. Even after the construction of the new mega trains the immense robotic macrofreighters still held currency if only due to their ability to transport stunning amounts of cargo.

The method proved especially important for the Nation Corp Illium, who relied on shipping to evenly distribute their massive imports and exports on both Eurasian and American coasts. Goods coming to and from the East coast of the United States interfaced with the massive distribution yards of Volgograd, which in turn were fed by docks in the Black Sea. Increasing instability in the regions surrounding the Suez Canal made the mouth of the Mediterranean much more attractive. Armacor, sniffing the potential for profit and a chance to kneecap their largest rival, worked via contacts within the increasingly privatized British Commonwealth to acquire nearly the entirety of Gibraltar. This allowed the corporation control of the critical passage, and more importantly the ability to charge tolls on every boat that crossed their borders.