Aspect™
Tinkering Away.
District 9, now known as the "Outland Zone" or simply "The Outlands" by the general populace, is a vast area surrounding City 8, sealed off from the rest of the city by Combine Smart Barriers.
During the reign of the city’s previous Administrator, The Outlands served as a designated 'cast-away zone' for those who fell to Minimal-Class citizenship - or the equivalent of such class, back then. This policy was a relic of a bygone era where individuals deemed unfit or unworthy of living within the city’s walls were exiled to its outskirts. The Outlands were a grim and harsh place, a dumping ground for the undesirables and the powerless. Crime was rampant, and lawlessness was the norm, with makeshift shanty towns sprawling in the shadow of City 8's towering skyline.
When Benjiro Nakamura came into power, he quickly abandoned the policy of exiling Minimal-Class citizens to The Outlands. Recognizing the strategic and administrative burden of maintaining control over such a chaotic and unregulated area, Nakamura ordered the relocation of all inhabitants back into the city. This decision was driven by the need to consolidate the Combine's power and streamline their control. The Overwatch forces found it increasingly difficult to manage and suppress the rampant crime in The Outlands, which often spilled over into the city, undermining its stability.
Bringing the minimal-class civilians back into the city was a contentious move. It lowered the socio-stability of City 8 by a minor margin in the long term, as these individuals struggled to integrate and find their place within the city's rigid societal structure. However, this move was deemed necessary to ensure the Combine's full control over all districts of the city and to eliminate a significant source of harassment towards Overwatch activities in the area, such as imports.
Today, The Outlands stand as a haunting reminder of the city's past. It is a mostly desolate wasteland, with abandoned shacks and dilapidated structures scattered near the city walls, remnants of the once-bustling settlements that housed the exiled. The area is now populated by the occasional zombie or other hostile fauna, products of the Combine's activities and the region's neglect. Sparse rumors persist of small groups of refugees who have taken shelter further away from the city walls, eking out a meager existence while avoiding Overwatch patrols that occasionally venture into the desolate zone.
