Mombasa

Mombasa
Overview
Location:	Kenya, East African Protectorate, Earth
Notable structure(s):	Vyrant Telecom tower; Mombasa Tether; ONI Alpha Site;

There is more information available on this subject at Mombasa on the English Wikipedia.

Mombasa is a city in the Kenyan portion of the East African Protectorate on Earth. The heart of the city was the prosperous New Mombasa on Mombasa Island. The nearby mainland was the site of Old Mombasa, a comparatively run-down district.^[1]

Mombasa was the site of Earth's first Space elevator^[1] and centuries later, was a battlefield in the climatic year of the Human-Covenant War.^[2]^[3]

History

Pre-2300s

An overhead view of Mombasa in 2552.

The exact founding date of the city is unknown, but it has a long history. It must have been already a prosperous trading town in the 12th century, as one of its earliest mentions is from 1151. Mombasa had always been an important port of the Indian Ocean trade routes and was captured and recaptured countless times by a variety of powers including Portugal, the United Kingdom, and various Arab forces. This violent history led to its Swahili nickname "Kisiwa Cha Mvita," or "Island of War." The city became part of the independent nation of Kenya in the 20th century. During this era, Mombasa became a tourist destination, boasting numerous resorts and clean white beaches. It was also important as a port city, connecting East Africa to the Indian Ocean.^[4]

Interstellar Era

The New Mombasa Orbital Elevator.

Mombasa underwent dramatic change with the arrival of the interstellar era. In response to increasing demand for cheap orbital access, due to its economic stability and prominent location, Mombasa was chosen to be Earth's first Space Elevator city.^[5] The government began construction on one of the wonders of the age: a space elevator (Mombasa's proximity to the equator made it an ideal location) in 2302.^[1] This structure served to lift heavy cargo into geosynchronous orbit without expensive booster rockets filled with fuel.

Over the next eleven years the city experienced explosive growth, but nothing compared to what followed. The city grew out as well as up, its urban sprawl unequaled throughout the continent.^[1]

Mombasa would change dramatically within the centuries that followed. By 2430, New Mombasa had absorbed the entire island and many of the surrounding towns, which became overrun by residents of Mombasa. The switch of name was never official, and though many of the neighborhoods within direct line of sight to the Mombasa Tether still distributed newspapers and Chatter directories under their previous names, all municipalities within a 74 km radius of the island became referred to as "Old Mombasa."^[1]

On December 19, 2512, the Superintendent was activated to manage the city's infrastructure.^[6]

Covenant Invasion

Some of the affects the Covenant had on the Mombasa area.

Main article: Battle of Mombasa

On October 20, 2552, a small group of Covenant capital ships arrived at Earth. Uninformed of the Human presence on Earth, Regret was outnumbered and outgunned against the UNSC Home Fleet. During the orbital battle, the Prophet of Regret's Flagship broke through Earth's defenses and descended to the atmosphere, and anchored itself above New Mombasa.^[2] The Covenant started deploying their ground forces to the city, in search of a Forerunner relic, the Ark Portal, buried under the city.^[7]

However, due to a strong UNSC counterattack and the inferior numbers of the Covenant, Regret ordered all of his forces to be evacuated back aboard the Carrier. After this, the ship jumped into slipspace just above the city, releasing a shock wave and pulling multiple city blocks from the mainland with it.^[3] This event became known as the "New Mombasa Slipspace Event."^[8] In the hours after Regret's retreat, a larger Covenant fleet arrived at Earth. After sending in ground forces and crushing the remaining UNSC resistance in the city, they glassed the area in order to uncover the Portal.^[9] In the final days of the Battle in Africa, only smoldering ruins of Mombasa remained.^[10]

Post-war

Following the end of the war, the Unified Earth Government began Project Rebirth to rehabilitate war torn areas on Earth.^[11] At some point, the Project started work in Mombasa. The old city hall thoroughfare for Mombasa was to be transformed into the UNSC Memorial Park.^[12]

Geography

Mombasa Island, where the metropolis of New Mombasa lies, is separated from the mainland by two creeks: Tudor Creek to the north and Kilindini Harbour to the south. Northwest of the island and between the inlets, there used to be a large peninsula, connected to the Mombasa island by the Makupa Causeway.^{[note 1]}

Old Mombasa

The skyline of Old Mombasa.

Main article: Old Mombasa

Much of the mainland was known as Old Mombasa. This includes parts of Likoni, south and southwest of Kilindini Harbour.^[2]^[13]

The moniker of Old Mombasa was applied to all municipalities in a 74 km radius of Mombasa,^[1] which would include some towns in the 21st-century era Kwale County and Kilifi County.

New Mombasa

The skyline of New Mombasa in 2552.

Main article: New Mombasa

New Mombasa encompasses the entirety of Mombasa Island,^[1] as well as some mainland territories.^[13]

The City Center spans much of the Southeast portion of the island, being divided in multiple walled sectors.^{[note 2]}

While the majority of New Mombasa has been divided to numbered sectors, some districts such as Mbaraki, Kizingo or Kikowani still retain their original names. The original names are often seen in the names of streets or train stations, for example. Some of the districts' names have changed, albeit slightly; areas originally referred to as Tangana and Liwatoni are now referred to as Tanaga and Liwitoni, respectively. The locations of some districts have changed as well. This is the case with most of the districts on the southern side of the island, where the sea has claimed large areas of land.^[9]

On the outskirts of New Mombasa existed an industrial wasteland where a UNSC munitions testing complex existed.^[14]

Industrial zone

Main article: New Mombasa industrial zone

City center

Main article: New Mombasa City Center

Government

The Superintendent's most seen avatar.

Leadership and management

New Mombasa has a mayor.^[12] The Superintendent, a second generation "dumb-AI,"^[6] managed many of the municipal functions in New Mombasa^[15] and in Old Mombasa.^[16]

Departments

Numerous departments existed in Mombasa including; the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Recreation, the Department of Streets and Sanitation, and the Department of Utilities and Transportation.^[17] The city also maintained a public works department.^[18]

Organizations

The transit of Mombasa is run by the New Mombasa Transit Authority. They are known to operate the extensive Maglev train network within the city.^[15]^[19]

The New Mombasa Police Department is the police force of the city. They have stations in Old Mombasa^[16] and their headquarters is located in New Mombasa.^[20]

The waste management of the city is handled by the New Mombasa Waste Management. They operate all sorts of garbage cans throughout New Mombasa and Old Mombasa. They also operate the Olifant.^[9]

The parks and greenspace of Mombasa are handled by the New Mombasa Parks and Recreation. They managed the Uplift Nature Reserve,^[9] and most likely the Kilindini Park Cultural Center.

Mail in New Mombasa was handled by the NMPost.^[15]

Economy

The economy of Mombasa is vast, ranging from interstellar/multi-planetary corporations of varying sectors to smaller local Earth businesses.

Corporations in city

Interstellar/Multi-planetary

Local/Earth

Unknown

Franchbot Industries

Culture

Media

Multiple media organizations exist within Mombasa. The city has two newspapers, the Daily Bulletin and The Mombasa Times.^[16]

Architecture

The variety of architecture in Mombasa.

The architecture of the city is different depending on the location. Old Mombasa's architecture was an odd hodgepodge of old and new: 16th-century Muslim arcades, aging 21st-century office buildings, looming 26th-century power couplings, old concrete homes secured with computerized locks. Clotheslines strung next to power lines, and mechanical gates set into ancient brick walls.^[2]^[16] In some areas, newer skyscrapers had found their home.^[9]^[21]

New Mombasa is composed differently. In some areas there is more use of a commercial focused arcology,^[15] while in another, it is more focused on industrial design.^[3]

People

The culture also seems displaced between the different parts of the city; while New Mombasa was populated with industrial workers and ambitious cosmopolitans, Old Mombasa was considered to be more of an old rundown slum that deteriorates by the day. The denizens of the old city were largely isolated from the residents of New Mombasa; even their dialect was completely different from the standard language.^[7]

Other

Mombasa also had its own circus called the Mombasa Circus. As well, rock concerts were held in the city by bands such as Fluke of the Narwal.^[16]

Known residents

Gameplay

Mombasa and surrounding areas appear numerous times in Halo games.

Halo 2

Main article: Halo 2

Mombasa is one of the locations visited in Halo 2's campaign. It is featured in two campaign levels; Outskirts which takes place in Old Mombasa and Metropolis which mostly takes place in the industrial zone of New Mombasa. Several multiplayer maps take place in the Mombasa area as well. Terminal, Ivory Tower, Tombstone, District, and Turf are all in various locations and various points in the city's history.

Halo 3

Main article: Halo 3

Mombasa is not a playable space in Halo 3's campaign. However its ruins can be seen in Tsavo Highway and The Storm across the other side of The Portal. The Mombasa area, specifically the Mombasa Quays, is playable in the map Longshore from the Mythic II Map Pack.

Halo 3: ODST

Main article: Halo 3: ODST

The playable area of Mombasa in Mombasa Streets.

Save for the very final cutscene, every level of Halo 3: ODST's campaign and every map in Firefight take place in Mombasa. Most prominently, the levels and maps are set in the New Mombasa city center. Mombasa Streets allow players to explore several sectors of the city center. The placement of some landmarks, like the Orbital elevator is different than what is seen in Halo 2.

Halo: Reach

Main article: Halo: Reach

A mainland portion of Mombasa is playable in the map Breakneck as part of the Anniversary Map Pack. Numerous landmarks can be seen outside the boundaries of the playable space. This version appears to be very similar to ODST's design of the city, though some elements of the city geography do not line up with any known depiction of Mombasa.

Halo: Spartan Strike

Main article: Halo: Spartan Strike

The city is seen in the first operation of Spartan Strike; Operation A: Orphic Spear. All the missions of this operation take place in New Mombasa and takes elements from Halo 2 and ODST.

Production notes

Unused concept art of "Mombasa Heights" produced for Halo 4 multiplayer.

The Mombasa area was first seen during the Halo 2 E3 demo where it was significantly different than designs of the city seen in released media. In the demo, the city was a large tree like structure stretching into the sky. This structure was removed for the final game where the designers wanted the city to feel more real. They then based it more on the actual city using photographs to help imagine what it would look like 500 years into the future.^[22]

During the production of Halo 4, concept art by Michael Pedro was produced for a potential multiplayer map set in "Mombasa Heights".^[23]

Gallery