Perhaps the Capitol's leaders thought that, without help, 13 would die off on its own.
The Capitol demolished the visible remains of the district and cut off all access from the outside. The Capitol had another nuclear arsenal out west, but couldn't attack 13 without certain retaliation.
During the Dark Days, the rebels in 13 wrested control from the government forces, trained their nuclear missiles on the Capitol, and then struck a bargain: they would play dead in exchange for being left alone. Most important for the people of 13, it was the center of the Capitol's nuclear weapons development program. There was already a substantial underground facility here.
' In the seventy-five years since the Dark Days-when 13 was said to have been obliterated in the war between the Capitol and the districts-almost all new construction has been beneath the earth's surface.
