Federal Disaster Response Agency

The Federal Disaster Response Agency (FEDRA) is a fictional US government agency originating from The Last of Us video game and television franchise. According to the franchise's lore, the initial purpose of FEDRA was to be a government agency that coordinated a response and relief to natural disasters, like flash floods and earthquakes, similar to FEMA, a real-life disaster response agency.
Following the cordyceps outbreak and societal collapse after it, the agency became militarized and eventually organized a , replacing US government with military junta. In an attempt to contain the outbreak, FEDRA established multiple quarantine zones in major cities of USA, moving all uninfected civilians here. During FEDRA's control over the quarantine zones, they shifted to an authoritarian rule, enforcing strict quarantine laws, and executing any civilian who disobeys.
History
Federal Disaster Response Agency first appeared in the first The Last of Us game in 2013 created by Naughty Dog. FEDRA was a minor antagonist which player fought during the gameplay.
In 2023, FEDRA was featured in The Last of Us TV series that were created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. It served as one of two main factions in the series. It appeared in multiple episodes of the series.
Lore
According to The Last of Us lore, FEDRA was a standard emergency response agency that was created by US government to provide support and relief to civilians during natural disasters like flash floods, earthquakes and other crises, akin to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a real-life disaster response agency. When the outbreak of cordyceps infection started (2003 in the television series, 2013 in the games), turning humans into zombie-like creatures, the agency started working with US military who was ordered to stop the infection from spreading at all costs and execute any civilian that they suspect to be infected with cordyceps. During the outbreak, FEDRA had already controlled majority of US military, and eventually took control of the country through . FEDRA represented what was left of the government and military, later becoming the biggest armed organization in the US.
FEDRA, together with military, established multiple large quarantine zones in major cities of USA in an attempt to stop the infection. FEDRA's rule over the quarantine zones eventually devolved into opressive military dictatorship with many crimes against civilians being committed. Fireflies demanded FEDRA to give up their military rule and organized riots in the quarantine zones. In the The Last of Us 2013 game, FEDRA served as a minor antagonist, mostly because the gameplay happens outside of cities controlled by them. The soldiers of FEDRA, which player occasionally fights during the game, are mostly drafted civilians instead of actual FEDRA officials. The agency is known to have its own headquarters that are independent from quarantine zones. In the The Last of Us Part 2, another rebel group was revealed, named: "Washington Liberation Front" or WLF. They are one of the main factions in the game, with lore letters showing that they rose to power by fighting the "fascist oppression" of the government and FEDRA in mid-2020s. WLF was responsible for overthrowing FEDRA in Seattle quarantine zone with hit and run attacks, assasinations of FEDRA officers and other guerilla warfare tactics. By the time The Last of Us Part 2 takes place, FEDRA had already been disbanded or destroyed, with its former members being killed by rebel groups.
FEDRA is responsible for protecting and maintaining concrete-walled quarantine zones which they set up during the cordyceps outbreak in an attempt to contain the infection, save the remaining non-infected people and maintain law and order. FEDRA, with the help of a military, had all uninfected civilians forcibly moved into the quarantine zones which were located in major cities of USA like Boston, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Kansas City. Boston and Pittsburgh were declared maximum security zones. FEDRA performed checks in the zones using special scanners that detected cordyceps infection, any person who was infected was summarily executed.
The quality of live in FEDRA's quarantine zones varied from place to place. Some areas like Kansas City were notorious for brutality committed by FEDRA, with cases of corruption, rape, and extrajudicial killings being reported. The city of Boston on the other hand, was more stable and maintained well-structured authoritarian control. FEDRA has created its own infection protocol, dividing infected civilians in Boston into 2 groups and ensured that infected or sick people do not enter the city. The city also had its own factories controlled by FEDRA to manufacture goods. Boston quarantine zone was the city where Joel Miller lived at the start of the game.
Trivia
In the 2013 The Last of Us game and television adaptation, Joel Miller, the main character, had his daughter named Sarah killed by one of FEDRA's soldiers, severely traumatizing him. Ellie, an important character in the franchise, was grown up in FEDRA military school.<ref name=":0" />

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