In 1988, following a 400% increase in crime, the United States government has turned Manhattan into a giant Incarceration in the United States#Security levels. A containment wall surrounds the island, and routes out of Manhattan have been dismantled or Land mine, while armed helicopters patrol the rivers, and all prisoners there are sentenced to life, with no means of leaving.
In 1998, Los Angeles has become immensely crime-ridden and decadent, ultimately being directly governed and patrolled by the recently created United States Police Force. Two years later, on August 23, 2000, a massive earthquake strikes the city, the San Fernando Valley floods, and the Los Angeles area turns into an island from Malibu, California to Anaheim, California. A theocracy Presidential candidate declares L.A. to be sinful and punished by God.