The Actionator: Issue 2

At the height of the Cold War, the old city of Gnotus was cut off from the rest of Europe by a volcanic ash cloud for 47 days.

During that period, western and eastern intelligence agents, trapped together, operated against one another in more open fashion which included aggressions that, according to experts, “would have led to irrevocable actions by the global powers, had they known. At that time, it was truly the Third World War in a city.”

The small and remote European city-state of Gnotus is often overlooked in history, but it played key roles in global affairs throughout the Cold War.

Known as “The Fugitive City”, its complex political makeup made it a boiling pot of spies, criminals and adventurers.

It’s rumored that many foreign crises were both started and resolved in smoky backroom conversations in the taverns, safe houses and hotels of this dangerous and largely lawless micro-country.

In the late 1800s, US Space Force agents evacuated 15,000 islanders from the Param Archipelago before it was destroyed by volcano eruptions intentionally triggered by the mad volcanologist and terrorist Dr. Magma.

In 1939, US Space Force Guardians infiltrated a rogue robotics black market in the remote European city-state of Gnotus.

Guardians seized an untold quantity of dangerous and uncontrollable technology that had been prepared to be delivered to Central Asia and then the Americas.

It’s not widely known, but a conspiracy of American nation-state adversaries stood up their own counter-Space Force organization at the height of the Cold War which included an experimental cloning program.

When one of their monstrous experiments escaped and caused lethal chaos during the ‘77 Moldovan World Greco-Roman Wrestling Summit, a lone US Space Force Guardian applied some quick thinking to lure and trap the abomination within a burning stadium.

Sempra Supra

American adventure Banner Western lived abroad for a decade in the mid-20th century, spending much of that time in the remote and mysterious European micro city-state of Gnotus.

Locals there credit him with saving hundreds of lives when the entire city was held hostage by terrorists during its centennial holiday.

The once-“closed” city formerly known as Ж-17 straddles a remote patch of territory between Europe and Asia. Despite decades of attempted reforms, only thieves and fools visit this dangerous ramshackle collection of ruins now.

The volunteer police force (known locally as “The Lights”) wear a distinctive orange uniform. It is said that if an officer approaches you, he is as likely as not to rob you himself.

Elizabeth PW Malone was a fixture on the 19th century American circus routes. Known as “The Falconista”, she delighted crowds with her falconry and firearms skills.

American folklorists later suggested that The Falconista was more than a performer.

Evidence indicates a formidable female falconer vigilante was active in the region at the time. That roving woman of action is said to have regularly righted wrongs and saved lives with her trusty falcons at her side.

She was known as Phobos: the ninja crime lord of the remote European city-state of Gnotus. While Interpol regarded her as a reclusive and most-wanted villain, there were others rumors too…Some believed she was the alter-ego shared by several regional leaders.

By pooling resources (and loot) and assigning crimes to the “Phobos” persona, such politicians would have diverted attention from their own misdeeds and give the international community a common enemy.

Every summer solstice, the major street gangs of Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, send their best fighters into the desert for a drug-fueled hand-to-hand battle that determines control of narcotics corridors for the year. It is believed that state law enforcement allows and even participates in the contest.