New America

The United States of America was hit hard by the global economic crisis which began in 2015 A.D. As companies and citizens alike fought for survival the United States was the first country to recognise the formation of a true megacorporation which came in the form of Artemis founded in 2028. Several others followed and while their collective power allowed them to survive and even grow during the harsh times it was not so easy for the general populous. Poverty became the typical state of life and cities fell in to a state of disrepair. The resulting growth and criminal activities caused the government to erect fences and makeshift walls within city limits to restrict the flow of the populace into more affluent areas. Out of this grew corporate zones which separated the wealthy Mega Corps from the huddled masses. Crisis led to the election of those candidates who promised radical change and a major turning point occurred in 2048 when Benjamin Rodenberg was elected president. He called a state of emergency and exercised his presidential right to seize land from the people of the US. This event is covered in more depth under the entry for Free America, but the outcome was five years of civil war followed by the succession of the newly-formed Free America from the former United States. At the end of this war, due to the fact that the states of America were no longer United, the country was renamed New America.

After the civil war left New America in a dire state of chaos several Communist countries allied and took advantage of America’s weak position by launching an invasion on American soil in 2054. The forces of Cuba, Korea (North Korea took over South Korea in 2049) and the newly formed USSR (2053) launched a three pronged attack against the United States. Cuban forces took Florida, Korean forces seized the eastern border of the U.S. and took Washington D.C., and Soviet forces invaded Alaska and the north-west states starting in Washington State and moving as far south as California. The former US forces which had been withdrawn from locations all around the world in order to fight in the civil war had taken heavy casualties and despite putting up a brave fight against the communist invaders they were unsuccessful at retaking the invaded states. They reached a stalemate preventing the invaders from advancing any further but the captured areas were overrun. The government of New America which had now been temporarily moved to Chicago had run out of options and in 2055 approached several megacorporations asking for financial assistance to fight the war. All the corps which were approached refused to offer help but three international mega corporations: Artemis, Jupiter and Matsumishi, offered an alternative solution. They asked for the legal right to form their own armed forces on American soil, in return for this they would use their respective militaries to fight off the communists. Left with no alternative the panicked government were reluctantly forced to acquiesce to this request. The three megacorporations quickly established their armed forces employing mercenaries and special forces operatives from all over the world. Within nine months they had successfully driven back the Korean forces and retaken the eastern coast. Three months later the Cuban forces were defeated and forced to retreat. It took two years however for the united Mega Corp militaries to finally drive the Soviet forces out of Seattle. By this stage it was 2057 and the Soviet forces in Alaska were so well entrenched that an effort to retake the State seemed futile. Nobody wanted to fight an arctic war against the veteran Russian military. An agreement was struck and Russia was given Alaska under the condition that they ceased all military action against new America and allowed all American citizens from Alaska to go free.

The American invasion was over but Canada was now feeling the hot breath of the Soviet army right on the back of their neck. Canada had a weak financial position and negligible military following the economic collapse and people began to panic. Following the trend that had begun in the Indo Asian Nations the people of Canada petitioned their government for the country to be subsumed as part of New America in order to gain the benefit of their peace treaty. After brief negotiations the entire Canuck nation was absorbed under the auspices of New America. They lost a national identity but gained a stronger financial position and the protection of the powerful Mega Corp military. After a decade the politics had settled, the New American government had moved back to Washington DC and the country had begun to recover from the enormous economic drain of the war. The three megacorporations who had saved New America however were no longer on friendly terms. As they all grew in economic and military power they viewed one another only as rivals and relations quickly broke down. Modern New America is still run as a democracy and is still dominated by a capitalist mindset, however a good 60% of the population are living in poverty and have suffered severely under the ever diminishing social welfare budget. New America today is in a relatively strong position due to its three megacorporations, however it is but a shadow of its former glory due to the massive loss of oil and mineral deposits in Alaska and Free America. The large Mega Corp presence along with substantial organised crime, eco-terrorism and gang problems provides ample opportunity for the entrepreneurial freelancer.

Teutonic Brotherhood of Nations

Commonly: Teutonic Europe, TBN, T-Bone

Following the horrific economic crisis poverty swept across Western Europe but Austria was less severely afflicted than many of its neighbours. When the Soviet Union reformed in 2053 many Austrians and Germans felt that war was imminent. Russia had been stockpiling weapons for several decades and fear grasped the two nations. At the same time Hungary had been suffering severely from drought, famine and the terror of the fiscal catastrophe. Hungarian officials, throwing up their arms in despair, begged Austria to take them under her wing. The Austrian government had tried to ignore this issue for several years, but finally after much pressure the German and Hungarian people proposed what had proven successful several years back in the former United States. It took several years of debate and negotiation but finally the countries of Austria, Germany and Hungary agreed to unite as a single nation: the Teutonic Brotherhood of Nations or Teutonic Europe for short. In 2062 the concord was signed and a new nation was born. The collective fiscal power, especially with several mega corporations coming under the Teutonic banner, began to stabilise the economic situation. In 2064 Slovakia also came under the Teutonic banner.

By 2065 the Teutonic revivalists had already begun to establish themselves and a militant spirit began to arise in the nation. Jupiter Corporation had been permitted to establish its own military in New America a decade previously and had been consistently applying pressure on the German government to allow it to do the same in Europe. With a rise in corruption due to the powerful Mega corporate influence upon the infant government of Teutonic Europe, a bill was passed to allow Jupiter to establish its military in Europe. Several Teutonic government officials believed that such a powerful military presence would provide a bulwark to invading forces in such turbulent times as well as taking the financial pressure from the government to resource the military. Predominantly however, a lot of money changed hands and politicians became wealthy from agreeing to the deal. In November of 2065 Teutonic Europe officially allowed Jupiter to maintain its own corporate military forces. After this the floodgates opened and within the space of three years all other Teutonic megacorporations had agreements to operate corporate military forces.

In 2068 the Czech Republic joined the Teutonic Brotherhood of Nations. Initially the Czech people required enormous amounts of aid which put a lot of pressure on the Teutonic government but over three decades this stabilised and the Teutons were back to a strong financial position. In 2134 the Teutonic European government which was at the time highly belligerent, invaded the Baltic Alliance in an attempt to increase its geographic and mineral wealth. For a short period of time there was a war between Teutonic Europe and the Baltic Alliance, but after experiencing the might of the Teutonic military the government of the Baltic Alliance negotiated a settlement. This involved parts of the southern and eastern areas of what was previously Poland being surrendered over to Teutonic Europe. In 2148 Teutonic Europe invaded Switzerland and a war ensued which lasted six months ultimately ending in almost complete genocide for the Swiss people. Franco Europe protested at the invasion of Switzerland but due to its weak economic position it was not able to mobilise much interest. Several complaints were made to the United Nations from Franco Europe, Latin Europe and Albion but with the U. N. in its impotent state and largely corrupted by Teutonic officials, no action was ultimately taken. Today the belligerent echoes of the mid-22nd century have faded and there is a better balance between modernism and archaic revivalism. Teutonic Europe stands as one of the most powerful political forces in the world and its influence is felt far beyond its borders. The President of Teutonic Europe is Ulrich Schweinsteiger a man of great intelligence and ambition. By all observations he runs the country well but it is rumoured that his hands are in the pockets of a number of megacorporations who clearly have a strong influence in the running of the nation.

Albion

Great Britain suffered a tremendous depression from the economic crisis which led to mass unemployment and social unrest. Peaceful marches on Parliament to push for social and economic reforms turned into riots on the streets. Crime levels soared out of control, and once prosperous, businesses closed their doors. Many larger enterprises shifted to mainland Europe in order to take advantage of progressive political and economic movements which were enabling business survival. Over the next forty years many major English cities turned into slums and in 2052 Ireland passed a policy prohibiting new arrivals from England which were placing an enormous burden upon their nation. Ireland had been coping reasonably well due to progressive economic policies and creative business methodologies. England had now become something of an outcast in the European Community, the European Union passed a bill in 2065 which was essentially a policy of “every man for himself.” The conditions had become so bad and several nations had already begun to band together in national alliances. These nations refused to provide assistance to anyone outside of the alliance because they did not have the resources to assist. By this time the European Union existed in name only and several member nations would not even turn up for meetings. England dragged on and over the next few years it began a slow recovery with an increase in small business start-ups.

In 2076 however everything changed. Astronomers from the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program never saw it coming. A huge asteroid about the size of a small town was supposed to make a near pass by, however a small chunk of it broke off and came rocketing into the Earth’s atmosphere. This small chunk, about the size of a skyscraper hit the Earth with only a couple of hours warning and impacted in the Celtic Sea 120 km west of Cardiff. Despite landing in the Celtic Sea this event became known as the Great Atlantic Meteor Strike by all the news media and popular press. It caused a tidal wave 60 m high which hit the United Kingdom and Ireland with full force. Millions were killed in a matter of minutes and many more died later from drowning or starvation as the rescue effort was slow to reach all of South and West England. The tidal wave also hit the Western coast of France and the northern coast of Spain resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. Effects of the strike were also felt on the other side of the Atlantic causing many deaths in the islands of the Antilles and the northern coast of South America. The eastern coast of the United States was also hit but few lives were lost due to the travel time and subsidence of the wave. Many other nations around the world were affected by secondary wave effects but Great Britain was almost wiped out. Only a small proportion of the bodies were recovered but estimates placed the mortality rate at approximately 65% of the total population of England and about 50% of the population of Ireland. The population of Wales was almost entirely wiped out. There were few resources to assist survivors and many people with the means abandoned their homes for mainland Europe. Those who remained suffered for the next four years under an epidemic of pestilence which spread throughout the nation. The unclean conditions following the floodwaters combined with the drastic lack of medical care facilities and personnel and a food shortage resulted in an enormous outbreak of cholera and several nasty cycles of influenza which caused the deaths of approximately half of the remaining population.

By this stage the government of Great Britain had fallen over and the nation had become a wasteland. In 2081 William Knight a wealthy English businessman based in Stockholm issued a public statement calling for all expat Britons from around the world to return to their motherland, roll up their sleeves and begin rebuilding her. There was a surge of interest and many expats returned to restore the great nation back to her former glory. Knight initiated a massive program of urban cleanup and personally financed a police force in order to keep law and order in the wild remnants of what was England. Restoration was slow but over the next twenty five years London was returned to a liveable state and large tax incentives invited many offshore businesses to ply their trade in what was now popularly called Albion. The northern parts of the country were wild lands where bandits roamed freely, but slowly order was returned to most areas by 2127. In 2094 the new nation was officially named Albion, the name attached to the island in many poetic writings. The former Ireland and Scotland were no longer associated as they had formed the Reunified Celtic Nation several years earlier in 2089. Today Albion is an unusual mixture of several very large cities dominated by bustling corporate zones and urban sprawls, and rural areas which have become overgrown, wild and dangerous. What was formerly known as Wales is now little more than a wild land, as are certain parts of the midlands and northern areas of the country.

Maya

Mexico was on the rise financially when the economic crisis hit, but its people, well used to living under challenging economic conditions endured the crisis well. As America suffered more and more, and less jobs became available for seasonal and day workers, less and less Mexicans moved north and many subsistence farming communities began to emerge all over the country. The population generally fared well and overall the country emerged quite quickly from the downturn. Its central American neighbours however did not fare so well; many having governments riddled with corruption and on the verge of collapse. Nations like Honduras, Belize and El Salvador rapidly descended into anarchy. By 2025 all three of these countries had no government to speak of. Crime began to rise and many regional and tribal differences degenerated into conflict. Tribespeople began wearing war paint and dressing in the attire of their Aztec forebears. Mutilations and local genocide became common place. Panama attempted to intervene in 2029 by sending in military forces to try and restore some order. They did not make it however as a failure in communication led to the border Security in Nicaragua believing they were under attack. A full on assault was initiated against the Panamanian military and both nations found themselves at war after a dispute over who was in the wrong. Neither nation could afford to engage in an ongoing conflict, but that didn’t stop them. Costa Rica who were also suffering substantially from fiscal downturn, were caught in the middle. Both sides used Costa Rica as a battleground and pillaged its countryside and its people for resources. In 2031 Mexico intervened with an attempt to negotiate peace. It was unsuccessful and the people of Costa Rica begged the Mexican government to send in military forces in order to resolve the situation. Hesitantly Mexico complied and by the end of 2032 Panama and Nicaragua had both been defeated. By that stage the people of both countries were malnourished and disease ridden as all economic resources had been poured into the war effort. Mexico took all three nations under her wing and began a program of restoration providing education, health and assistance with food.

In 2034 a movement that had begun from the poverty stricken peoples of Panama declared that they were ashamed to be called Panamanians any longer and stated that they would hereafter be known as Mayans according to their noble heritage. This began what amounted to a civil war between those who still wished for the nation to be called Panama, and those who wished to call it Maya. Similar problems began to arise in Nicaragua and El Salvador where a large movement who were heavily influenced by archaic revival and their tribal revitalisation also wished to call themselves Mayans. As no government to speak of existed anymore they all adopted the same title and started large disputes with their countrymen which quickly turned to violence. The Mexican government attempted to calm the situation, but the idea caught on like wildfire and very soon people from Belize and Honduras were also engaged in the same conflict. All of Central America bar Guatemala were at war over archaic revivalist heritage. It seemed insane, but in a time where there was nothing solid to cling to, this sense of identity became all that people had. These conflicts continued until 2038 and were marked by brutal and bloody warfare where women and children alike were massacred. Some sects even engaged in human sacrifice reusing the ancient temples for their original dark purposes. Death cults grew stronger and stronger and tribal superstition rose to a new high allowing witch doctors and high priests to wield enormous influence over their followers. In 2039 the government of Mexico, realising that they could not control what was happening here decided to make a political move in order to end the bloodshed. They declared that all of these nations would now be formally known as Maya. This included Mexico itself as many death cults and revivalist purists had also arisen inside her borders. This began a new era under a new flag and for the most part the conflicts eased off. There are to this day however many tribal groups and death cults who are still active in local conflict, genocide, and human sacrifice to seek the favour of ancient Mayan gods. In 2042 Guatemala joined Maya on request in order to re-establish its economic stability. Today Maya is a diverse nation, struggling to bridge the gap between the modern and the ancient. The AzTec megacorporation provides jobs for many, but the vast majority still live in poverty. Corruption within the government and the financial sector is overwhelming, and modern Maya is strangely intertwined with superstition, death cults and archaic revivalist societies.

United Latin Confederate

Commonly: Latin Europe, ULC

Following the crisis the nations of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece all experienced strikingly similar fates. Greece was the first to fall, its economy was so poor that the government became bankrupt within the first three years of the downturn. Those of Turkish heritage who had moved to Greece under the Treaty of Lausanne were invited back to Turkey, and most took up the invitation. Meanwhile, Greece turned to anarchy, with no substantive government the country quickly turned into a dangerous dog-eat-dog environment. Many people fled the nation and took up residence in other locations as refugees, although many of them became gypsy travellers as few nations had the resources to be able to support a migrant population. Many lived on the outskirts of cities as second-rate citizens, but at least these nations had laws. In 2029 Turkey seized control of Greece and implemented sharia law. Spain fell into enormous trouble over its substantive debts and as the government collapsed one of its nation’s Generals, Iago Morales seized control. The nation quickly turned into a totalitarian regime. The tight controls and fiscal tightfistedness kept the nation afloat, however poverty and a poor quality of life thrived. In 2033 General Morales invaded Portugal which had fared relatively well during the crisis. The nation however quickly fell to his superior military numbers. Italy struggled along for several years but ultimately in 2043, its economy collapsed under the weight of overseas debt and internal corruption. A former military commander, General Ciro De Luca arranged a false petition demanding that he should be given power and then organised a rigged election. He took control of the nation and it quickly became a dictatorship. In 2045 General De Luca invaded Greece and began a war with its Turkish controllers. The war waged for nine months until an agreement was arranged between General De Luca and his fellow dictator General Morales of Spain. They agreed that they would join forces against the Turkish occupiers of Greece and then split the nation once it was captured. Within three months the Turks were forced to withdraw from Greece. The country was then divided up and infrastructure was reintroduced. General De Luca leaned heavily upon certain powerful corporations within Italy who were in turn given freedom to practice business using questionable standards. In 2066 General De Luca’s replacement, General Claudio Greco, forged an arrangement with Gucci to declare the island of Sicily under quarantine, claiming that there had been an outbreak of highly contagious disease. In reality the population of Sicily were turned into slaves who were forced to work for Gucci as sweatshop labourers. On discovering this fact the people of Italy protested and started rioting in the streets. In order to quell the rebellion General Greco placed all of the blame on Gucci and some other corporate supporters. An agreement was made with GruppaItalia to step in and buy out these companies as a sign of governmental goodwill. By 2080 however the people of Spain and Italy had grown tired of living under these oppressive dictatorships and murmurings began of a united public uprising of both peoples. The citizens of Greece also caught wind of this and joined the party. It began with small guerrilla attacks on government buildings and officials for which there were swift punishments. Ultimately, by the middle of 2080 a full rebellion began under the leadership of two strongly charismatic figures. In Spain; Renaldo Augusto led the charge while in Italy; Cristiano Ricci organised the forces. The civil war was bloody and lasted for 18 months. Ultimately, General Greco and his Spanish counterpart were captured and executed by the People’s Army. The military laid down their arms and a new government was formed. The leaders of the rebellion collectively decided that they should form one united nation incorporating Spain, Italy, Greece and the former Portugal, they called it the United Latin Confederate (ULC). Rome was adopted as the capital due to its historic significance. The country is more commonly known today as Latin Europe. In 2085 Cyprus also joined the Confederate. Today the ULC is one of the most democratic and patriotic nations in the world. It is not without venality and Mega Corps certainly wield a great deal of power, but it is far less corrupt than many of its other European neighbours.