The Fall
June 23rd, 2031 the United States Center for Disease Control in Atlanta indexes a previously unknown virus as a Level 4 agent; as with others of its type such as Marburg or Ebola, there are no effective cures. The seemingly non-weaponized virus, a radical variant of hemorrhagic fever, was indexed by accident and only truly discovered by subsequent remedial review later. Its exact origin unclear because of this error, the true extent of its impact is unknown. With an estimated 87% fatality rate, it signals the beginning of the end of the human race.
July 3rd, 2031 the United States issues a sweeping preemptive enactment of martial law across the nation as the first reports of Rel Type 1 Virus reach the media. The pandemic affecting almost every continent, strikes with such suddenness that few nations are prepared, with many becoming crippled by hysteria and mass panic. The mobilized United States initiates a radical lockdown across almost every front it can muster, utilizing agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and conventional military force.
July 4th, 2031 using special authority granted to it, the Federal Emergency Management Agency employs untried instances of vaccines and, more disturbingly, genetic alterations in an attempt to grant immunity to the virus. These permanent genetic alterations incorporate material imported from other animal species and rewrite portions of human genetics. In spite of this being the only effective means of immunity, many citizens are left horrified at the prospect and decline. Some of those that accept these untested treatments die abruptly after as their body rejects the alterations, others become successfully genetically modified and immune.
July 5th, 2031 despite these measures, the first infected person crosses the largely unsecured southern border of the United States. This Patent Zero inadvertently ensures the downfall of the country they have fled to, infecting initially only a handful, who in turn infect many. It is still unknown that the viral agent is also partially airborne and waterborne, in addition to being blood-borne.
July 6th, 2031 the attempted censoring of incoming media displaying the events abroad is mostly unsuccessful. It is widely known that "the Rend" is a horrific hemorrhagic fever iconic of its subtype by uncontrolled shaking spasmodic fits and the development of deep bleeding sores. The citizens of the United States protest en masse demanding to know the true scale of the pandemic in spite of continued warnings to avoid congregating in large numbers. In major cities, many of these demonstrations turn violent. The detachments of the United States National Guard and police forces are left with no choice but to quell their attackers.
July 7th, 2031 illicit transmissions of the armed forces of the United States firing upon their own citizens are circulating. Treated as propaganda, they inspire a number to openly rebel. These accounts fail to mention the rioters attacking the National Guard. At the same time, the majority of the state of Texas is contaminated by refugees and those willing to assist them; the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its compliment are overwhelmed. The Rend has officially set a foothold in the United States in the midst of its impending chaos.
July 14th, 2031 after one week of suppression of hostile forces as well as media, the stability of the situation is in large question. With the virus beginning to afflict so many of its victims, the clock is moved to not even a minute from midnight as many desperate nations consider the nuclear option to sanitize the affected areas. The United States' armed forces are placed on high alert, predicting an impending nuclear strike. During this time, the state of Texas is quarantined to the best of the ability of the withdrawing forces; those that follow in their withdrawal are eliminated as well to prevent the virus' spread further. The path of destruction they leave is known as The Wake of Sorrows.
July 15th, 2031 for the first time since the Second World War, countries engage in short-lived nuclear war. The United States sounds the first and last Emergency Alert System broadcast of an impending nuclear attack against the nation. This attack never comes for reasons unknown to the public as the rest of the world seemingly enters a vast silence. The heroics of a few dedicated men and women ensure the United States manages to avoid an atomic end. Their deeds are never known.
July 16th, 2031 instances of the Rel Type 1 Virus are in the process of being sanitized across other portions of the United States. It is now recognized that the virus is partially waterborne, but more worryingly airborne. Many previously secure sites resort to far greater extremes in their measures to contain and eliminate any instances of the disease. It is at this time the viral agent is now completely deconstructed and understood as a coordinated mass bioterror attack. It is the single most devastating terrorist attack in human history, having claimed hundreds of millions of lives, eclipsed only by the estimated casualties caused by the brief nuclear exchange.
July 21st, 2031 having in part regained control of its remaining populace, the United States finds itself alone and facing outright civil war. There is little federally left, with many of the remnants of governmental capacity eliminated. Most agencies are operating on a limited basis with one another, attempting to not breakdown what last bits of order they can maintain. The Free States, those opposing any intervention by the last vestiges of order, are made up of military deserters and survivors alike; they are willing to fight to the death to prevent any further control imposed on them. Most citizens ally heavily with the United States of America or the Free States, which stand at an uneasy truce, determined only by the uncertain fate of Texas.
July 23rd, 2031 no "All Clear" is issued for the state of Texas by the United States' remaining operating organizations. A mass air attack is deployed using conventional weapons to sanitize the area. Most major cities are subsequently reduced to rubble and char in a hope that the Rel Type 1 Virus' hosts will be eliminated as well as those afflicted. The campaign is mostly effective.
July 29th, 2031 between the desperate employment of experimental vaccines, minor genetic alterations, military action and precautionary techniques, the number of reported cases of "The Rend" begin to radically drop as their victims succumb to the disease's effects across the United States. Some forms of general communication and media have been restored by either the Free States or the remaining United States of America.
August 11th, 2031 the United States' last victim of Rel Type 1 Virus dies in Oregon. The disease, despite having at last burnt itself out, leaves many worried that it will again surface later. Others worry that the end is still upon them. The global temperature has marginally begun to decline slightly due to the presence of fallout in the atmosphere.
August 13th, 2031 the first human chimera is born in Colorado. The child of two parents who received genetic alteration, she bears distinctly inhuman hybrid qualities and capacity. Placed under the protection of the United States of America and remaining elements of its agencies, this situation indicates an alarming development that the processes involved do indeed result in unforeseen alterations to the child in utero. This first instance is minor; the ones that follow will cement the human chimera as a subrace of human beings in the future. To the misfortune of many, few children between altered parents reach term and those that do are true parahumans.
August 16th, 2031 engagements between the Free States and the United States of America increase in severity. Previous clashes were often caused by territorial disputes, but have since grown to tactical military engagements. A warning is issued to citizens on both sides to persuade those around them to not inflame the fighting. While moderately successful, the two factions refuse to acknowledge one another's rights.
August 18th, 2031 the Federal Emergency Management Agency makes the announcement that some instances of the genetic treatments they employed did affect the patients in ways which were unforeseen. They reveal that those children of persons who received these treatment are likely some degree of true parahumans - human-animal chimera - rather than merely augmented persons. The resulting public backlash is immediate and brutal on both sides, with many of those who opted for such treatment receiving retribution for it. Many citizens refuse to recognize and accept the notion of human chimera.
August 19th, 2031 the United States of America through its reorganized structure issues a special order to acquire, protect and assist chimera. They are granted all associated rights as with other human beings within the remains of the nation. The Free States openly oppose this turn of events. Many see this as a move to consolidate power.
August 25th, 2031 remaining United States Navy submarines detect distant communications beyond the Northern Hemisphere, off to the West. This intelligence indicates that it was not only the United States which survived the ordeal. The message, incoherent and warped, is a simple communication of native Russian speakers attempting to contact one another over great distance with varying types of radio equipment. There is no detectable communications on both the mainland of China and Korean peninsula. Both are assumed destroyed.
August 28th, 2031 unable to secure or contact every lost target of importance, the remnants of the United States of America begin re-mobilizing and begin a dedicated effort to cross the plague and war-torn nation after some unknown major incident completely annihilates the state of New Mexico. The Free States, made up of militia units, survivors, deserters and anyone else who refuses to acknowledge their authority begin a guerrilla warfare campaign, seeing the attempt as an invasion, starting an unofficial war. The ensuing conflict lasts over twenty years and continues until this day.
March 4th, 2053 (Current Day): The United States of America, backed by its dwindled military forces which survived the supposed end fights a losing battle against the same people it once swore to protect. Although finding itself with superior training, equipment, weapons and mobility, their foes out number them and many see them as a tyrannical remnant of a once noble nation. The Free States, having suffered tremendous casualty between their ongoing war and the superior mobility and technology of their enemy, wage a war of principal, refusing to live under a military state. Backed by countless non-combatants, they eke by through sheer resolve and belief.
It is accepted by many neutral forces that neither faction has true claim to the wasteland of the continental United States; there is still only survival. These factions such as the Crimson Hand and the Argent Army control the area around what remains of the Four Corners states. Employing military grade hardware and tactics, these largely mechanized militias prevent all cross-continent travel through the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, as well as portions of California. Both the United States of America and the Free States avoid this territory.
The fallout of the nuclear war having cast a great shadow over the planet, much of the environment has cooled by several degrees. This pales in comparison to the presence of human chimera, which while rare, represent roughly 7% of the remaining population in the United States. Those chimera not affiliated with the United States of America serve under the Crimson Hand and Argent Army. They, along with humans who received gene therapy, are eradicated among the Free States and hunted as though they were monsters.
The remains of Texas, having been reduced to rubble, are the crux of the Free States' and United States of America's conflict as both factions are unwilling to give up the location. Currently, the Free States unofficially control the territory, but the United States of America maintains active forces in the region as well as complete air superiority.
Those not involved in the fighting seek assistance from any willing to assist, having few loyalties. Worryingly, unconfirmed reports of "the Rend" surface from time to time - it is uncertain if this is prolonged paranoia or fact.
This is one of those sorts of interest checks I'm putting out there to see if anyone would want to run, in the sense I need a very active Co-Game Master. There's more details, but I can handle those; I just simply lack the time and ability to run it in day-to-day operations, which is what I would require. More than anything I am merely just curious if this can garner interest.
In short, this is a very gloomy pseudo-realistic survival-military science fiction setting, with everything from a deadly plague to a post-nuclear war, with dashes of hard science fiction and even a bit of very subtle fantasy mixed in that remains otherwise not yet mentioned. Most likely an "Advanced Casual" topic wherein Casual posting will be the minimum expected results.
If you have questions, ask; this is just the General Interest check.