Earth-That-Was had a place known as New York city; there is a continent that resembles the sprawling streets. There are urban areas similar to Seattle, towns reflective of Miami. The culture is striking to ancient-American, though time has blended this with the Chinese cultures of Sihnon into a singular culture.

Very advanced in terms of civilization and technology; Osiris is the capital of the Alliance. The schools here, though small, are considered the very best, and only the very brightest get accepted. Simon and River are not the first extraordinary children from Osiris, though River was the first to be psychic.

It was a place of prairies and ranches, cattle ranging, and a bit of factories in textiles. The war changed everything, since the entire population sponsored the Independents. Those who weren't killed in the war or imprisoned afterward left to find new homes on border worlds. The Alliance experimented with toxic gases on Shadow, and made it uninhabitable for most life for the next generation, anyway.