From the Introduction: At the outskirts of town settlements like this have sprung up. Built mostly from cheap sheet metal, often rusty and not acquired quite legally, these quarters for the poorest of the poor have replaced forests and grassy plains. The grass has long since been trampled into the dirt of the ground and the trees have been cut down and used to heat these makeshift shacks. Only two structures stand out from this mass of misery, a small wooden hut used as a tavern and the wooden water tower, the only source of even remotely fresh water for miles.