[@BingTheWing] Mmm, I'm expanding as we speak, but to quickly answer your questions:

1. I imagined Paradiso to be settled somewhere in the US, primarily for natural fuel resources.

2. Paradiso is very much independent, but holds strong influence over it's smaller neighbours.

3. Resources are drying up, and it's almost as if the world is shrinking. When the ice you're standing on begins to melt, you head closer to the centre, right? Imagine Paradiso is at the centre. People flocked from all over the world to bury themselves in its prosperity. They had advanced and adapted to the changing world faster than anyone else, and sprung new technologies and methods for renewable energy unlike anyone had ever seen. And of course, he who controls the resources also controls the people. Paradiso was originally built upon a mining and oil business, which bloated with time and in recent decades was renamed as The Geiger Corporation.

I'll have a better explanation of it soon, I think. :cool