History Lesson 02

Europe

The EMP over in America in late 2012 had no direct effect, but the sudden collapse of the USA sure did. No one had seriously expected things to go down hill so suddenly and so totally. Governments and corporations all over Europe were in a panic. As the economic domino effect of global market meltdown loomed, they frantically searched for salvation.

At the same time the economy was crashing, a great deal of social conflict came to a boil all over Europe. There were a wide range of groups who were angry at other groups, but the most common rally cry is “Burn the Bankers” or BBQ ( burn bankers quickly ) In some riots this was exactly what the people did, as the police fell back instead of opening fire on the mob.

Some nations like Greece, Spain and Italy quickly descend into anarchy early in the 2013, other places like Britain and France took a bit longer, while a few countries like Germany and Poland keep order by installing harsh martial law.

The EU continued to exist officially but in most ways it disintegrated, temporarily. The people saw it as part of the corrupt government that brought about the economic crisis. In some cases officials are lynched along with the bankers. The most spectacular battle of this kind is in Brussels, when the IMF offices with a private security force holds out against the mob for three days.

Of course violence is not only directed at institutions, in many nations race riots are serious problems also. The Muslim community in France takes a beating. There were no formal wars between European nations. But there were several clashes at the boarders, as all countries temporarily restrict movement.

The Middle East Mess

Early in 2013, the Arab nations launch an attack on the stranded US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and also declare war on Israel. The British after failing to pressure the EU and NATO into sending troops in, begins their own relief mission. “Our American cousins may be wankers some times, be we are not going to stand by and let them get slaughtered.” said the PM to a reporter outside parliament. The rescue operation of course got more complicated and messy than the public wanted to tolerate.

At the same time other European nations were hotly debating involvement, to save Israel. Many chose to send mercenary units, which included regular military troops of Jewish decent, who were officially on extended vacations.  

The Save Canada Project

In 2014 after some of the worst anarchy in Western Europe was over, Britain pushed for a plan to help Canada recover. Other countries quickly joined the initiative. They wanted to restore a valued trading partner and source of raw materials. However the new Canadian government refused any deals that involved long term debt. So things moved along very slowly.

Russian

They laughed long and hard over the situation in America. But at the same time they worried about what China might do now that the USA was effectively out of world politics. For most of 2013 Russia had no external problems, and its internal troubles were driven more by its own factors than by those of the global economic collapse.

The war in the Middle East is seen as a good thing in Russia; as an opportunity to sell weapons and test some experimental equipment. Also it was satisfying in watching the American forces being attacked from all sides.

The war in Korea was like wise seen as good for business, especially because it offered field testing for equipment against Japan.  Although not officially involved in the war, Russia maintained a large no-fly zone around Vladivostok and so got into a few dog fights.  

Politically there was a hot debate between those who wanted to crush the Americans and those who wanted to help them. However tempting it was to take direct action against the old enemy, the Americans still had several bases and submarines with nuclear missiles able to damage if not destroy Russia. So a more pragmatic and daring policy was put into play.

The owning of orbital infrastructure.

Over two years Russia sent dozens of missions into space to physically high-jack US satellites. They not only installed new software, but replaced key hardware, including self destruct devices. By 2015 the only satellites in American control were the ultra high orbit ones, which were not worth the cost of capture missions. 

End of Section 02.