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| − | ==Background info==
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| − | In year 2022, Earth got struck by a gamma ray burst in an incident that has become known as The Storm. This came as a complete surprise, since until that point gamma ray bursts had been something that happens in distant galaxies and not a single one within our galaxy had been observed. Even more perplexingly, the source of the burst remains unidentified. The Storm remains a mystery to the scientific community, but a widespread belief is that bursts like that may occur more frequently than we thought but some of them are "dark" bursts that our equipment has difficulty detecting.
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| − | Initial effects were drastic. Everything in orbit was lost, and a large number of unprotected electronics on the surface got destroyed in a global shockwave. This is another mystery, since most of the radiation that reached the surface was UV radiation that does not affect electronics. There is an unconfirmed suggestion that when our atmosphere absorbed the burst it caused an electrical discharge that manifested as a global electromagnetic pulse.
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| − | The shockwave caused numerous secondary disasters, including the loss of most aircraft in flight. Many ships at sea were also lost as their electronic equipment failed and they got caught in the storms following the incident.
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| − | The problems continued in the years immediately following The Storm. Abnormal, often extreme weather. A notable spike in illnesses caused by the UV radiation that reached the surface. And the widespread destruction of electronics caused a massive disruption of global trade and communications that our society had become dependent on. As planes were grounded and most ships unable to leave the harbour, transportation economy stalled, which led to global shortages. And with no access to their bank accounts, plenty of people ran out of money to buy even those products that were available. This led to widespread looting and rioting.
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| − | As governments and corporations scrambled to restore the lost electronics, a supply problem arose. In many resource-rich regions, oppressive governments that had been propping themselves up with the sale of those resources were weakened by the stalling of global trade, leading to uprisings. For example, Congo, the world's largest producer of cobalt ore, is currently in the throes of civil war, making the cobalt supply unavailable. And China, who in 2010 had produced over 95% of the world's rare earth supply, also suffered the unthinkable. The government had come to rely on trade and increasing standard of living to keep the population happy, and massive internal surveillance to keep the insurgents in check. As the standard of living plummeted and the destruction of electronics disrupted the surveillance, the so-called Neo-Yihequan Movement, an anti-globalization group taking its name from the old Boxer Rebellion, seized the opportunity. They staged uprisings in several rural regions, executing the local authorities and seizing control. In a surprise development, the military units initially sent to suppress the rebels instead ended up joining them. Currently, the Chinese government still controls the coastal region, but large parts of the countryside, including the rare earth sites, are in the hands of the Neo-Yihequan Movement, known in the West as Neo-Boxers.
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| − | Governments all over the world rushed to reopen closed mines and seek alternative sources for the needed resources. The nations with no domestic resources were in the worst position. United States fared somewhat better than most, having already reopened some of its own resource sites, such as the Mountain Pass mine that repopened in 2012. Still, demand vastly overwhelmed the supply, resulting in rationing and prioritizing.
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| − | It is now 2028. Six years after The Storm.
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| − | Abnormal weather conditions continue, but the most extreme weather patterns occur increasingly less freguently.
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| − | Banks are functioning again, but in many regions withdrawals need to be done in the office as ATMs are currently something you only see in the most wealthy areas.
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| − | Many products, such as several kinds of food, are rationed.
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| − | Internet still functions, but cell phones and personal computers have turned from everyday items to expensive luxuries only used by the rich. Instead, payphones in public locations are back and in several regions old landline connections have been reactivated. Televisions, too, are still rare enough in personal use that many people gather in public spaces to watch the news.
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| − | In United States, a state of emergency was declared after The Storm and is still in force. The current president is Charles Devereaux. Largely a political unknown, he is a charismatic IT billionaire who based his election campaign on the promise to begin restoring the nation back to information age and the former standard of living. Something that he argued that he, as a successful IT billionaire, was uniquely suited to accomplish. Devereaux had more than promises, he had a plan. That plan won him the election. It is called the Five-Stage Restoration Plan.
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Revision as of 01:00, 24 March 2018
Hat Creek Radio Observatory, California
Dr. Alexandra Bell forced herself to remain calm, mentally counted to ten and took a sip of her tea, as all around her the room was a scene of frantic activity. People were padding away at their workstations, others were running from display to display checking data. Questions were shouted but few answers given. Dr. Bell put down her cup, stood up and raised her voice: "Would everyone stop for a moment!"
The activity stopped.
"Let's look at what we know," Dr. Bell said. "Clarence?"
"I have nothing," a woman at one workstation said, spreading her arms. "I have lost contact with all the satellites."
"Same thing with all the antennas on the surface," a man at another workstation said. "I have tried to reach maintenance but they aren't-"
"Responding!" A voice interrupted and a bearded man in overalls stormed in. "The antennas are fried. Their electronics, that is. All the electronics on the surface are fried." Waving a cell phone in his hand, the man continued: "Even my phone."
"My phone is still working," one man in the room said. "I just cannot reach anywhere. Everything here seems to be working. I wonder why that is."
Dr. Bell pointed at the roof. "Concrete. Thick enough that the effect did not reach down here."
"What effect, Dr. Bell? Do you know what happened."
Sitting down and taking another sip of her tea, Dr. Bell said: "I believe that Earth just got directly hit by a gamma ray burst. A strong one, if even the surface electronics were affected. I just wonder why we had no advance warning. Gamma rays do not travel at the speed of light so we should have noticed something before they hit. Perhaps the source was somewhere very close."
There was a moment of silence, then a voice asked: "Are we going to die?"
"No," Dr. Bell answered. "Earth's atmosphere is very good at absorbing gamma rays. But this is definitely a disaster, and will have a death toll. The satellites and orbital stations had no chance. If we lost even surface electronics, I think it is safe to say that all the planes that were in flight have gone down. And the long term effects will be worse. I think that we will see a significant increase in the number of cancer cases in the years to come. According to the models, a gamma ray burst would cause up to 16 times the normal levels of DNA damage. And absorbing the burst will cause chemical reactions in the atmosphere. This will have an effect on us, and on our ecosystem."
"What kind of effect, Dr. Bell?"
"That is the problem," Dr. Bell said, sipping her tea. "No one knows for sure. There is not enough data about an event such as this."
