This article is a segment of lore from the Warpmancer Series.
From Fall to Fall is a history book written by New Brazillian author Jonathan Mygiel. It was published in 3001 by the University of Mars Press. Very few copies are still in circulation.
The book outlines the history of Earth society from 2200 to 3000. This period is set from the beginning of the Earth War to the Blighting of Earth.
The Earth War (2246-2256)
This event was also known as Word War 3. Little is known about the causes. What has been surmised is that a portion of Earth’s pre-war nations formed a bloc on the continents of Asia and Africa united under views that the other nations of the world couldn’t tolerate. A war eventually erupted, resulting in a decade long conflict as the combatants found themselves evenly matched. Eventually, in 2256, the Alliance posed against the bloc managed to occupy the home of the leader of the bloc. Knowing that his time was up, orders were sent to launch the nuclear arsenal of the entire nation. Despite attempts at disabling the ballistics and hidden explosives throughout the world, Earth was thrown into a nuclear winter.
Nuclear Winter (2256-2390)
The future balance of power was determined overnight, as many continents were bombarded more than others. Superpowers were overthrown and nations were destroyed. Many societies had been preparing for such an eventuality, however, and had prepared nuclear shelters. The societies that were hit the least, and those with adequate shelter, would come to be the next superpowers.
Post-War Society (2390-2700)
Post-War society started archaically and in conflict. Those who had managed to build an Ice Age life for themselves were met with the descendants of survivors from the shelters. One such encounter was in the Cape, where a scouting team from the Table Mountain Shelter eliminated a tribe and heralded the end of the Winter.
Around this period, many societies began to emerge from their shelters or settle down from their nomadic lifestyle. Some examples are as follows:
- The Cape Republic
- Kingdom of Maluti
- North African League
- Nippon Shogunate
- British States
- Republic of Scotland
- Duchy of Ireland
- Tibetan Oligarchy
- Grandy Duchy of Brazil
- German-Holland
- French Union
- Estonia
- Switzerland
- Mauritius Enclave
The list goes on to include many minor nation states. In this period of warfare and conquest, many of these nations were conquered or willingly joined others. In 2412, the Cape Republic merged with the Maluti Kingdom to form the Cape Federation. Similar alliances also formed, as the British States formed the Commonwealth with Scotland and Ireland.
The territories previously belonging to the United States and China were mostly devastated, but a few city states prospered from their natural hegemony of the regions and their monopoly access to the warp crystals forming in the areas that were hit the hardest by World War 3’s heaviest weapons of war.
By 2700, Earth had risen back to its pre-war levels of prosperity and technology – and then grew further.
Golden Age (2700-2900)
The Golden Age saw the domination of much of Earth by a few enlightened superpowers. These were the Cape Federation, controlling Africa and much of the Indian Ocean, the Grand Duchy of Brazil controlling South America, and the Commonwealth controlling their original territories. This multipolar global political system, rather than resulting in open warfare, resulted in international cooperation and peace. Conflicts still existed, but were minimised by joint security forces. Earth was not a utopia, but was as close as it ever had come to one.
In this era, medical technology reached its veritable peak. Cybernetics replaced limbs, a myriad of diseases were wiped out or made irrelevant. Pharmaceuticals, under a vibrant global free market, were the cheapest they had ever been in history.
With this age of peace and prosperity, a global initiative formed to look for more. A multitude of nations and corporations formed the United Space Exploration Initiative, and moved Earth into its new era.
United Space Exploration Initiative (2853-2980)
Humans had never managed to accomplish efficient space travel, until forays into the still heavily decimated Badlands of America and China revealed a new mineral. The mineral was called tenebis crystallis. We know them today as Warp Crystals. Scientists soon discovered that these crystals could be used to manipulate a ships position in space, flinging it faster than the speed of light.
After years of research and development, a Warp-capable ship, the Erikson, was invented and put into action. In 2862, the Erikson arrived in Alpha Centauri. As they arrived, their surveying equipment picked up life. An alien vessel was located near to them. In a situation of panic and excitement, both the Erikson and the alien vessel fired at each other. Both projectiles hit one another and caused no damage to the other ship.
Attempts at communication were made by both parties, and after finding a common method of communication through radio signals, the aliens and humans began the lengthy process of greeting one another.
The aliens were Exanoids. After a joint effort between the two races, they finally managed to develop easy communication, as interpreters fluent in both languages developed. Trade began and the two races began working together to expand their reach in space.
During this period, many nations conducted their own space expeditions. With the cost of space travel rapidly decreasing, even small and weak nations could explore the stars and colonise habitable worlds.
With such a large diaspora of humanity, new species and alien races were discovered and contacted. Besides the Squogg, an isolationist race, these races were primarily friendly. This was until an Imperial ship entered the Turiel frontier system.
Imperial-Human War (2980-3000)
With a precedent of peaceful cooperation with other races, the Icelandic colony in Turiel attempted to contact the unknown ship, using a system of waves and signals that seemed to be a sign of parley among many of the mammalian races that they had encountered. In response, the ship fired upon the parley ship, decimating it with unknown technology.
A distress call was sent out across a series of space outposts, termed the Network, and finally reached the Sol system, where forces from Earth and Mars were rallied to investigate. Frigates and military vessels, developed in case of this situation, reached Turiel and found the system decimated.
The small settlements around the system had been wiped of all life. People were found incinerated. Structures were kept intact. The weapons that had been used left no residue other than their victims. As they were about to leave the system to report back, however, they were faced by an armada of alien vessels.
At this point, a message was sent telepathically to all the humans in the investigation team. The Imperial leader introduced himself and announced that he was to be one of their new leaders. They had slain the people of the system as a show of force, so to not waste time with any initial resistance. The Imperial gave an ultimatum: subjugation or death.
Then the armada warped away. The message got back to Earth quickly. The investigation team was ordered not to return to Earth, lest they be followed. In a period of 6 years, Earth built up their military capacity. Mars was turned into a planet-sized factory, churning out battleships daily.
In 2986, the Imperials revealed themselves once again. They had reached Alpha Centauri, and reminded the humans of their ultimatum. The combined forces of humanity responded. With the increased capacity of the united human military and their Exanoid allies, a rapidly deployed armada crushed the Imperial fleet. The humans had taken heavy losses, but had annihilated the aliens.
In response, the Imperials mounted a full-on war against the Human-Exanoid Alliance. The war was fought across space for a period of 14 years. Billions lost their lives.
Even so, humanity kept fighting. Neither side knew the homeworld or base of power of the other, preventing any possibility of encirclement. Neither side was losing the will to fight.
This ended on the 25th of December 3000. In a case of poetic coincidence, the Imperials had found Earth and waged a full invasion of it on Christmas Day. In the end, the human defence was inadequate and the Imperials blighted Earth, rendering it uninhabitable.
The Fall
The war and the Blighting of Earth left humanity shocked and broken. Their Exanoid allies stopped the war against the Imperials, not wanting to risk their homeworld being blighted. Luckily, the Council did not press their advantage. They were content to let the humans wallow in their defeat, perhaps expecting them to surrender on their own terms.
There was no official treaty or end to the war. The only signal of humanities’ loss was the darkening of their blue skies. The end of their total war on their would-be oppressor. But has humanity really lost? So long as they think they have – maybe. But, the will of humanity stays strong, and it will reclaim its world.
If you are intrigued by this, check out what happened half a millennium later by checking out Fall of Zona Nox.