The geography of the A.N.S.

The geography of the Federation of the Abnormally Normal States (A.N.S. for short) can be summed up by a single word: desert. This is because the landscape of the A.N.S. is entirely occupied by never ending deserts, save for the occasional state. Each of these state's are circular in design, with the sprawling suburbs encircling the central city. This city serves as the home of the nation's major businesses, as well as the state's capital, though the regional governments of the A.N.S. have little to no autonomy. The A.N.S.'s seat of government is state #001, with most of the Citizens in that state being bureaucrats who spend all day dealing with all the paperwork involved with handling the A.N.S.'s administration. In fact, each of the states of the A.N.S. are specialized to perform one task. For example, one state may be constructing automobiles, while another is programming the nation's computers. As a result, all of the separate states of the A.N.S. are connected by railroads that send supplies to and from each of the states of the A.N.S. Due to the fact that the states only construct manufactured goods, foodstuffs and lumber are acquired by trading with the various small nations located near the A.N.S. As for the other, geological, resources that are needed for the A.N.S.'s economy, those are gained in remote mining colonies located in the middle of the desert. These colonies are rarely inhabited by humans as robots serve as the operators of the machinery of these colonies, in order to avoid the costs of shipping food to the remote colonies and making them habitable to humans.

A satellite view of the northern portion of the A.N.S.

A mining colony in the middle of nowhere.

One of the many trains that trek across the A.N.S.'s deserts to ship supplies between states.