Sanctions on the Open Cities

Sanctions on the Open Cities (2490s). For 150 years the Settlement and the Mandate tolerated the Open Cities' refusal to cap births, because the Open Cities hold the Elevator's platform. With the Mandate's elevator open in 2488 and the Settlement's under way, and Open City numbers estimated past their treaty share for the first time, both begin sanctioning them to make them keep their share of the birth cap (see Where the wealth is, in Economy).