====== L'Île des morts ====== L'Île des morts (Isle of the Dead), previously known as Thermal-Electric Plant 01 and Eastrock Island, is a small islet located around 800m from shore. While originally home to the first ever [[eastrock_electric|Eastrock Electric]] Thermal-Electric plant, it is now used by [[WasteWorks|WasteWorks]] to dispose of bodies and ashes. === History === L'Île des morts is a small, barren island which was first inhabited by mechanic [[Aquila Sully|Aquila Sully]] who built a small cottage and workshop there. He soon discovered several narrow fissures running across the island, many of which emitted intense heat and an unknown gas. He used his mechanical skills to develop a small system to convert the heat and gas into usable electricity, and for several years he used this setup to fuel and heat his cottage. By this point the nearby coastal town of [[Limebank|Limebank]], having grown in population substantially, was experiencing extreme strain on its electrical grid resulting in regular blackouts. A friend of Sully's on the shore who had experience in electrical engineering proposed an expansion on Eastrock island to increase the generating capabilities and sell the extra electricity to Limebank. This led to the formation of Eastrock Electric, and a large shaft was drilled down through the center of the island to house the upgraded generation systems. Over the next several decades the facility was expanded and the shaft deepened, until Eastrock Electric employed over two hundred people and provided power to numerous coastal townships. Sully remained CEO of the company and was the only permanent resident of the island, still living in the original cottage. === Closure === After some time, Sully's health appeared to be rapidly deteriorating. On the eve of the thirtieth anniversary of the company's founding, night shift workers found the cottage burned to the ground. Sully was soon located unharmed in the Central Conduit Control room, seemingly in a state of psychosis. Workers attempted to calm him down, but he broke free and stumbled onto the maintenance catwalk around the edge of the geothermal shaft. A large burst of smoke erupted from the natural vents far below, and at its clearing it was evident that Sully had fallen off the edge into the shaft. The abruptness and unusual circumstances of his death brought the plant into a state of disarray, and all operations were halted as investigations began to take place. === Acquisition === Early to the site was a team of [[monarchy_of_ivykeep|Crown]] military personnel and scientists, who claimed jurisdiction to investigate Sully's death. The quickly determined that the gasses contained an unusual chemical compound which had the potential to build up in a person's brain, potentially diminishing rational behavior and reasoning skills. The Crown used this assessment to justify the insertion of numerous Crown personnel into Eastrock Electric's organizational structure in order to "...ensure the future safety of plant workers and nearby civilians." While still technically independent, after this point the company remained subsidized and essentially controlled by the Crown. While Crown assessments of the gas's effects were later proven to be accurate by several independent researchers, conspiracies around Sully's death abounded. Some posited that the Crown's initial determination of the gas's dangers occurred too quickly, suggesting that they knew about his condition much earlier and were counting on his death to justify semi-nationalization. === Abandonment and resale === Under Crown control the island was mostly abandoned. Focus was instead placed on building new geothermal plants nearer to larger settlements, and generating power solely from heat instead of both heat and gas. It was eventually sold to WasteWorks, who hoped to use it as a solid waste disposal area. WasteWorks soon discovered that the strange gas drastically increased the speed of biological decomposition, and opted to use the shaft as a disposal unit for human remains. The island is now known colloquially as L'Île des morts, and is avoided by many superstitious locals due to its past history and present use.