Pro-machine demonstrators are met with violence outside the U.S. Capitol
A vertical panorama of a futuristic Washington.
Washington, D.C. was a major human city that existed before the Machine War. It was the capital of the United States and a major seat of political power.
At the time of the Machine War, Washington was a highly advanced megacity, crowded with immense skyscrapers. Only the area immediately surrounding the National Mall, including the White House, the Capitol Building, and several museums were preserved in their original state as a sort of historic park. Since the layout of the preserved area does not match the present-day city, it is possible that the area has undergone major renovation or changes at some point though it's more likely due to a lack of strict adherence to accuracy on the part of the artists behind The Second Renaissance.
Role in the Machine War[]
The U.S. President speaks out against Zero One
After the trial and execution of B1-66ER, the U.S. Congress along with other national governments passed legislation mandating the destruction of all sentient machines. This incited unrest and protest from domestic machines and their human sympathizers, who demonstrated in Washington as well as other cities before being violently suppressed by the military.
Later on, the President of the United States spoke belligerently against the fledgling society of Zero One, and his administration took part in the economic blockade of the city that would soon lead to the cataclysmic Machine War.