From HOTGT
| Paradox City
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| Information
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| Name | Paradox City
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| Location | Mendocino County, CA
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| Population | 51,519
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| Median Income | $69,000
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| Median Age | 30.4 years
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| Average Home Cost | $300,000
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| Mayor | Madelyne Holt
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History
Before 1950, Paradox City was the Monroe Island Wildlife Preserve. Originally, the government planned to develop the island as a military base but as part of a conservation program, Theodore Roosevelt named it a wildlife preserve. During World War II, the island was purchased from the government by William Henry Holt. The island was sold in order to help finance the war effort. Holt owned and operated Holt Nautical, the largest small craft manufacturer in the world.
In March of 1950, Holt broke ground on his grand vision: Paradox City. Holt hated automobiles with a passion and hated the country's love affair with them. A lover of puzzles, Holt decided to create his 'own personal paradox': a city, modeled after Venice, with no streets and no cars. Holt Nautical moved headquarters and manufacturing to the city. Holt created Paradox University with an endowment and attracted several leading professors who were seeking shelter from the eye of
the Committee on Unamerican Activities. Holt's financial clout and ability to contribute to the right political parties ensured he could protect his people.
Paradox City continued to grow until the energy crisis in the late 1970s. Faced with rising energy costs and competition from overseas, Holt Nautical entered bankruptsy and had to lay off a great deal of the workforce. People began to flee Paradox City for other jobs in other locations. Paradox City was a one company town and when the company declined, so did the town.
Paradox City continued to languish through the 1980s. The canals begin to suffer from neglect as taxes failed to raise the money needed for proper maintainance. The only bright point was Paradox University, which continued to be an outstanding academic institution with a reputation for an excellent history department.
In the mid-1990s, mayor Madelyne Holt persued a new strategy. She courted small businesses on the leading edge of technology. These included ePublish (what would later become Paradox Press), one of the first major internet publishing companies; Catship Games, a video game design firm; Intellisoft, an artificial intelligence designing company; and NeoMonster, a company based on Japanese virtual pet models. The city began to rebound and grow again.
With the reemergence of Impossibilities in 2000, the city's growth sky rocketed. A long-time resident, Erma Brodie, founded the SciTech Foundation, a not for profit dedicated to studying and understanding Impossibilities and Impossibility technology. She built the SciTech HQ in Paradox City and some of the finest minds in the country were attracted to the city. Between SciTech and the other, cutting edge businesses making their home in Paradox City, growth was assured.
Now, Paradox City is working on an Olympic level athletics park, hoping to attract large scale sporting events. An entirely new section of the island is being dredged up from the ocean to help house the growing population. Paradox University has become the first institution in the world to offer a degree in Impossibility Studies.
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