Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station (CMAFS) is located within Cheyenne Mountain on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Cheyenne Mountain Complex was first built for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Cheyenne Mountain Complex was, in the pre-Boom times, a military installation and nuclear bunker located at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station. Since the Boom, it has become an enclave of Voices, Mages, Air Force enlisted and officers, and their families. The dragons of the base carve their caves out of the mountainside, but most of their Voices live in the CMAFS or the Complex proper. The majority of the base's population lives inside the mountain, but some civilians and enlisted live outside. There are also watchtowers erected outside the mountain. The current base population is around 3,200 people and 46 dragons. This makes it the largest of the currently known post-Boom residential areas.
Cheyenne Mountain is led by a council of five Air Force officers who took charge of sheltering and protecting the refugees in the immediate aftermath of the Boom. They are:
The Brass is made of a "Conservative" bloc and a "Liberal" bloc, with Lt. Col. Stewart as a swing vote. Most people view them as a monolithic hivemind type of entity, but the NCO's and higher officers are more aware of the divisions and politicking within The Brass's ranks. Regardless, whether a particular person reveres or denigrates The Brass, they all hold to the absolute authority of these leaders. What The Brass says goes, unquestionably, which has led some of those who remember the pre-Boom democratic days to ponder (alone or in whispers) on whether or not they're turning into an authoritarian/totalitarian system.
The population is mostly civilian but the running of the base is entirely military, and it shows. Reveille sounds at 0800 promptly, and not long thereafter, the enlisted and officers get to work with their tasks for the day. All base operations (as in maintenance of the base facilities, as well as security and the like) are staffed by members of the military. Civilian jobs include gardening, scavenging, and helping in the commissary, kitchens, or infirmary (all three of these areas are run/overseen by Air Force personnel, but civilians often fill lower-level jobs; some civilian doctors and nurses also work in the infirmary alongside medics). Voices and Mages are considered civilians unless they enlist/are already enlisted.
The Voices are the main scavengers of the base, given their superior ranging skills and ability to bring back larger amounts of scavenge. Sometimes Voice-less dragons come with to haul scavenge back, but it's rare that a non-Voice goes along to the scavenge unless there is believed to be need for armed escort. (Rarely needed, what with the dragons coming along already.)
All scavenge must be practical, at least at first. No impractical or personal items are to take up space in the first few rounds of a scavenge. Only when everything of any practical value has been brought back to base are unnecessary items allowed, and even then, it's usually to fill space in an otherwise full-of-useful-items bag/box/cart. Trips back to a scavenge site to retrieve decorative/entertainment items have to be approved by leadership, and these rarely happen, as finding and starting a new site is usually deemed more important.
The base does have its own garden, including hydroponics (and even some air plants, which are considered useful for underground living), as well as working electricity (a true rarity in the post-Boom world). Of course, the electricity is highly rationed and mostly goes to things like the sun lamps to help keep food growing. The commissary has been turned into a more general sort of marketplace, where people have stands and booths and can barter and trade goods.
Every family gets a ration of "necessary" food items (proteins, carbohydrates, fruits & veggies if possible, or else vitamin supplements) along with water, cooking oil, etc. In addition, workers/enlisted are paid in a mix of additional food rations and/or points they can use at the commissary to get treats & snacks or household goods. There's a library and several school rooms for the various ability groups, as the base school is no longer grouped by age but by student understanding and ability to grasp the subject matter. Children are encouraged to develop useful and constructive abilities as early as possible.
Formal enlistment in the military is now possible (at Cheyenne Mountain anyway) at 14 years old, though these early enlistees are basically just learning military-level discipline and order, along with the things like the various ranks, slang (most of which they know already), etc. Enlisting is being touted by The Brass as a sort of higher education alternative, and it's an attractive option regardless since officers and their families get higher rations than civilians. Even the enlisted get at least a slightly different ration (tailored more to the more active military lifestyle requirements), though it works out to about the same amount of food, just proportioned differently. Still, anything that breaks the routine and monotony is welcome to some.
It's not all early morning wake-up calls and "sir, yes, sir" at Cheyenne Mountain though. There are regular holiday parties organized by base personnel, and children's birthday parties are common (you can usually even find a way to get some baked goods for the parties, though it may not always be a cake). A non-denominational winter holiday is observed, and the base chaplain is always ready and willing to help with various religions' rituals and traditions, including weddings. Sunday nights will be two to four hours of showings of various pre-Boom TV shows (usually an episode each of at least four different shows; the time length of the entire showing will depend on which shows and what format they're in (half hour or hour)), and Saturdays are a weekly movie night. Board and card games can be checked out of the library along with books, and the base has a band that plays live music shows every Friday.
As noted above, the Voices are responsible for most of the scavenging. Beyond that, they are encouraged to spend time with their dragons and develop a strong bond. The Voices and their dragons also do fly-overs of the nearby area, noting any changes. Thanks to the dragons, the base knows the location of every chaos zone, town, and raider encampment within 50 miles. The Voices also are the main traders with the towns, since they can reach them easier.
Most people in the base view the dragons as a necessary evil of sorts. They don't like these walking, talking reminders of how much things have changed, but they're better than the Mages, and they're really goddamn useful. For younger children who can't remember pre-Boom life, the Voices are more interesting, and it's not uncommon to hear a child express a wish to be chosen by a dragon.
This is one major improvement of base living as opposed to the towns: dragons don't have to cart off a potential Voice, swooping in out of nowhere and traumatizing both the Voice and the people around them. When a dragon decides to try to find a Voice, all non-Voice/non-Mage residents will be brought before the dragon in a sort of assembly gathering. The dragon chooses someone or doesn't, and then everyone goes home (except the new Voice, if chosen, who will stay and get to know their dragon). There is no surprise and no mistaken belief that the dragon is going to eat them.
Beyond the scavenging, trading, and doing fly-overs, most Voices' time is their own. They tend to take on part-time work with a family member or friend, or helping out with odd jobs as needed. The Brass strive to keep them busy though; some of the Voices whose dragons have more sensitive "noses" for it are sent out to help track and capture Mages.
Mages are feared and usually shunned by the populace (whether civilian or military). The Brass have created a threat level color coding system to classify the mages, and some are even under permanent draconic lockdown. The Brass has gotten it into their heads that dragons exist to find and control Mages, that keeping magic "in check" is their primary purpose and the Voices are just there to facilitate this function. This stems largely from a misunderstanding of what the first Voices told them, mixed with their own paranoia.
The Mages are kept under psychiatric evaluation and observation. Copious notes are taken on any displayed abilities. With the exception of those who display a particularly helpful aptitude (such as Oscar Kobierra and Leo Norcliffe, who can both heal and thus work in the infirmary, or Alana Demead and Melissa Griffith, who both have plant growth powers and so work in the gardens), most of them do not hold jobs. They are encouraged to keep calm, still, and quiet, to do restful things like read or paint, and to generally suppress their more passionate emotions.
The helpful Mages are generally viewed as a fortunate exception, and there's a certain amount of "but you're not like those other Mages" that goes on when dealing with them. When children display magical abilities, they're watched closely. Depending on the age of the Mage and any abilities displayed, they may be taken from their family, but this is avoided whenever possible so as not to upset the Mage. (It should be noted that once marked as a Mage, it becomes one's title, one's designation. A five year old girl is no longer "a girl" or "a child"; she is now and forever "a Mage".) Mages born on base are treated a little better than those recovered from the wilds or towns, simply because they are a familiar face and name here. They know the way things work. It's the complete outsiders who tend to get the brunt of fear and anger from the citizenry.
The Brass have instituted a policy that, as much as possible, Mages should be "heavily encouraged" to marry Voices, and vice versa. This keeps a dragon in near constant contact with the Mage so that they (the Mage) can be locked down immediately should the need arise. Since the oldest Mages are barely 15 or 16 at this time, this policy has not yet been implemented, but the "encouragements" are already beginning.
Cheyenne Mountain has a very insular culture, wary of outsiders. The majority of the people remember and long for the pre-Boom days, and the security of a proto-totalitarian state is as reassuring as it is stifling. Still, aside from Dragon Valley/Camp Camelot, the people here are some of the healthiest and happiest of the post-Boom era, and there's no denying that this is the closest thing to a post-Boom city that exists.