Weather Control is the large atmospheric control strato-station that flies above Mega-City One, allowing Justice Department to keep control of the elements themselves. The installation could predict storms in the Cursed Earth, give specific sectors their own temperature, and carry out localised weather conditions. The ground control body that oversaw it was the Weather Congress, though the Chief Judge and Weather Division had final control and the citizen's vote could be overridden by the Grand Hall. [1]
Citizens are allowed to vote on the weather, usually going for sunny (including on Christmas). This was a distraction from the real point of Weather Control: keeping the rad storms and other terrible Cursed Earth conditions out of the city.[2]
At the start of the 2080s, Mega-City One had the best weather-control system on the Earth. By the 22nd century, Weather Control was old and beset by faults that cause fog, floods, and other disasters in the city.
History[]
In 2081, Chief Judge Clarence Goodman worried that controlling the weather in Mega-City One was disrupting the weather in the Cursed Earth and causing storms.[3]
Thanks to Weather Control, there had been no snow in the city for decades by 2099. It changed in 2099 because Whitey's cellmate, Einstein, invented a localised weather control device of his own. [4] Lightning had been banned for many years.[5]
During the Robot Wars, Dredd used Weather Control to create a lightning storm and take out Call-Me-Kenneth's robot hords. Weather Control was also used to reduce the impact of a nuclear attack by Captain Skank[6]. During the opening phases of the Apocalypse War, Orlok used it to spread block mania contagion via the rain; when the Sovs invaded, Dredd had it create flash floods shortly before the Apocalypse War and later create a flame filled sky to intimidate the invading forces. This latter event caused unpredictable weather to further ravage the city. Bits of the station rained for miles.
As part of the dirty tricks campaign against the 2109 democracy march, Weather Control made it rain to further reduce turnout.[7] This would be done a few more times. [8]
During Necropolis, the Dark Judges slaughtered the Weather Control technicians and used it to smite the city with storms and, in a macabre flourish, a hailstorm of severed heads. [9]
In 2122, Weather Control broke down and the city was hit by blizzards and flash floods - unable to repair it, the crew abandoned the station as it exploded. Citizens mused that letting the old system crash and die was cheaper than repairing it again.[10] A new one would be put up later.
Prior to Chaos Day, Weather Control had a 98% success rate. This had slipped to 81% by 2136.[11]
In the 2137 invasion from Enceladus, Weather Control could not prevent the ice storms. Similarly, in 2142, a hurricane hit the city when the Four Horsemen were abroad and Weather Control could not stop it - their attempts to try caused the station to explode and fall from the sky.[12] The loss (again) of Weather Control was another major infrastructure cost for the post-Horsemen city.[13]
Other cities[]
Luna-1 had weather control, using it primarily to have snow on Christmas.[14]
Trivia[]
- In the early appearances, Weather Control was called Atmosphere Control.
- Lightning has been banned since 2012 - decades into the future when the prog came out.
References[]
- ↑ Progs 21, 31, and Judge Dredd Year Two: The Righteous Man
- ↑ Retcon of Weather Control's purpose in Judge Dredd Year Two: The Righteous Man
- ↑ Judge Dredd Year Two: The Righteous Man
- ↑ Prog 31, "Devil's Island"
- ↑ Prog 16
- ↑ Pirates of the Black Atlantic
- ↑ Democracy
- ↑ Hershey: Deathsquads
- ↑ Plagues of Necropolis: The Reign of Fear
- ↑ Progs 1207 top 1208, "Turned Out Quite Nicely Again"
- ↑ Prog 1862
- ↑ End of Days part 2 and 3, prog 2185-6
- ↑ Carry The Nine
- ↑ Prog 44