CITY ZERO, a science city somewhere in the United States. Built at the top of the red scare in the 1950's, City Zero was intended as an experimental concentration camp for American dissidents. Residents were subjected to a wide variety of scientific procedures, intended to test the human body to the limits of available technology. Many of the subjects died in atomic experiments, the survivors crammed into unisex barracks. Local fauna include atomic dogs that prowl the area at night, and giant ants formerly kept in flexing cages at the edge of the compound. City Zero was abandoned within a few years, leaving files and equipment behind.

(Warren Ellis, Planetary, La Jolla, 2000)

LAST SHOT, a bar on the west side of Science City 57 in Kazakhstan. A team of ex-Soviet nuclear technicians live nearby, attached to a research team that established the soul is an electromagnetic field. According to them, heaven and hell are nothing but siege engines in a constant tug of war, using souls as their fuel. Electromagnetic fields are terminally disrupted by nuclear explosions, so visitors will have their last drink and photo taken at the bar, then have themselves strapped to an underground nuclear test device. They are often referred to as the triumphant dead since they have cheated the afterlife of their souls.

(Warren Ellis, Stormwatch, La Jolla, 1997; Warren Ellis, Planetary, La Jolla, 2000)

OPAK-RE, a golden city hidden in the jungles of Africa. Though the city is hermetic, their technology is one-thousand years ahead of the outside world. The borders are viciously guarded, and those fortunate enough to survive those initial encounters will find their progress further hindered by the giant snake known as Esin-ka. Visitors who conduct themselves honorably will be welcomed as guests but are required to give something back to the community.

Visitors are strictly forbidden from cross-breeding with the residents of Opak-re. This rule was broken by Anaykah with the British Lord Blackstock (Kevin Sack) in 1934, and as a result the city was sealed.

(Warren Ellis, Planetary, La Jolla, 2003)

SLIDING ALBION, an alternate England ruled by blue-skinned Sicilian princes. Overt contact was first made with extraterrestrial life in the 1500's, bringing together two expansionist and courtly cultures. These similarities led to the aliens interbreeding with European royalty, establishing their seat of power in Sicily. The alien technology was integrated into Earth culture and continued to develop, such that by the 20th century the armies of Albion had the ability to shift into alternate dimensions. Contact with our Earth was made sometime before 1919.

Over time the population of blue-skinned hybrids began to dwindle, the consequence of alien females being scarce and human women rarely strong enough to bear blue children. Brutal campaigns were initiated by the alien leadership to forcefully impregnate human women in rape camps, first in Northern Europe and years later in China. The latest attempt involved our reality's Los Angeles.

For over 200 years Albion was ruled by the Duke of All Tears, also known as the King of Nails. He was deposed in 1919 by a revolutionary force backed by his son Lorenzo Antonio Slzfi, the Windsor Family, and Colonel Jennifer Sparks of our universe's British Space Force. Lorenzo and Jenny were married in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey and attacked by the King's forces immediately after. Jenny electrocuted the King of Nails before sliding back to her reality. Lorenzo quickly revealed intentions of an even harsher reign than before, and would be opposed by another revolution led by his new wife.

A series of wars followed, including a major world conflict between Albion and Europe in 1953. A full scale attack was launched utilizing bacterial weaponry on both sides. Many blue-skinned Sicilians were killed in the conflict. In London the bacteria was vented through a shift door into our alternate London, effectively ending all relations between the two realities. Fortunately, the nature of the bacteria was changed by its passage through the door and resulted in the creation of a sizable posthuman community in Britain.

Albion remained in the hands of the Windsors until 1999, when their patriarch was killed by the blue-skinned dictator Regis. He granted control to Hanseatic prince Yngvi and together they spearheaded the campaign to rebuild Albion. Their armies attempted to invade our Earth in order to convert it into another rape camp. The incursion was repelled by The Authority, a posthuman anarchist group led by Jenny Sparks. The team retaliated by utterly destroying Albion, as well as Sicily and the Hanseatic Regions, eliminating all traces of the blue aliens.

(Warren Ellis, Stormwatch, La Jolla, 1996; Warren Ellis, The Authority, La Jolla, 1999; Mark Millar, Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority, La Jolla, 2000)