Gropius
Named after the founder of the Alliance, the city of Gropius is the result of a merger between numerous small towns in the Trondheim Valley. The city lacks a downtown core, and is instead divided into sixteen boroughs. Unlike Perth, Gropius is devoid of the Alliance’s predominant geometric architectural style. It is a city of narrow paved roads and gravel paths, of whitewashed cottages and cobblestone plazas, but most of all, it is a city of grape fields and wineries.
Gropius’ fine wines are a popular delicacy across Terra Nova. Before the collapse of Earth’s colonial system, even wine lovers on other planets praised the region’s wines. Ironically, normal grapes grow very poorly on Terra Nova, and only account for 10 percent of Gropius’ fields. The other 90 percent is seeded with a hybrid plant called the elohar grape. The elohar grape vine is a heavily modified Terranovan creeper vine which was genetically engineered centuries ago to produce a fruit which is almost identical to a normal grape. Unlike the struggling grape vines, the elohar vines grow prodigiously. Elohar vines can often be found covering the sides of old Humanist buildings. The resulting wine tastes almost as good as the original.
Gropius is the artistic center of the Alliance. Many amateur artists make pilgrimages to Gropius to mingle with their favorite preceptorcaste classical artists or business-class popular artists. Alliance artists welcome these guests since, according to Alliance tradition, the success of an artist is measured by the number of people who wish to become his disciple.
The only local event which is more important than the grape harvest is the Terranovan Olympics. This massive athletic event features almost every sport played on Terra Nova and occurs in early Summer, once every four cycles. Every league, city-state and village on the planet is invited to send their athletes to compete in the Olympics. However, until the recent political détente, the vast majority of contestants have been Southerners.
Recently, a controversy has arisen over the participation of genetically engineered “supersoldiers” from Port Arthur competing in the events. Many athletes have cried foul, claiming that the Port Arthur Olympians are not true humans. Most Terranovans have dismissed the debate as a silly sports argument, but some political analysts warn that the outcome of this debate will set a legal precedent for determining the rights of genetically engineered individuals across the entire Allied Southern Territories. And, despite all the good will of the Olympic organizers, most Southerners find it hard to be defeated by outsiders — genetically engineered or not — and it is not unusual for athletes to try to gain an edge by using booster drugs.