The Fall of Nations
Date of Event: May 12, 20XX (The Lost Year) Casualties: 85% of Global Population Status: Irreversible
“They didn’t just kill the people. They killed the trust. And then they killed the sky.” — Unnamed Survivor, Sector 4
Phase I: The Thinning
It started with the water, then the rare earth metals. Diplomacy didn’t fail overnight; it starved to death. Allies began to hoard. Treaties became suggestions. When the financial markets collapsed, money became paper, and the only currency that mattered was calories and ammunition.
Phase II: The Blind War
History calls it World War Final, but at the time, nobody knew who they were fighting.
- The Betrayal: Nations launched cyber-attacks to blind early warning systems.
- The First Strike: When the first tactical nuke hit, the origin was masked.
- The Response: Panic. Everyone fired at everyone. The doctrine of “Mutually Assured Destruction” became a suicide pact.
Phase III: The Exodus & The Oxide
As the atmosphere began to burn, the “Ark Ships” launched. The wealthy, the politicians, and the lottery winners fled to orbit, leaving the rest of us destitute on the surface.
The fallout wasn’t just radiation. The chemical agents used in the war reacted with the scorched atmosphere, creating the Red Dust (The Oxide). It settled over the ruins, rusting metal in days and choking the lungs of anyone without a mask. There are those that speak of zones worldwide that would have limited affect. Mutations rise and many seem like they may have been like a common specie once upon a time.
Current State: Year 12 A.F. (After Fall)
We are the leftovers. The pockets of humanity that remain are no longer Americans, Russians, or Chinese. We are Scavengers. We live in the rust, fighting over the scraps of the old world while the wealthy look down from their orbital stations, safe from the rot.
Mission: Survive. Scavenge. Rebuild.