World Guide

Putting this together so we have a guide to call upon for events and timeline stuff that we've started to establish. If I've missed something please post it and I'll add it in. Going to keep them vague as well so characters can fill in some of the details and not be locked in to already established lore. Can also add more in here if anyone thinks of something.

Timeline

2037-2039: South China Sea War (referred as the Third Sino-Japanese War by China)

2052: The Big One

2060s: Arctic Rush

2071: Current time

Other Events

Argentina has annexed Uruguay and Paraguay and has split Bolivia with Brazil. There is an armistice line between Argentina and Brazil in old Bolivia but there are endless skirmishes and provocations along it.

The third Sino-Japanese War is probably referred to that way by the Chinese (who want to paint the Japanese as aggressors) but in reality it's an excuse to take over the whole South China Sea area; upon reflection, probably many/most nations refer it to as the "South China Sea Conflict" or "South China Sea War". I'm thinking China moved in on Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, and possibly Indonesia, installing puppet (or at least accommodationist) governments in those countries. Kusanagi had to leave or face hostile takeover by the Chinese government. The war itself probably lasted 2 years(?)2036-2037 and another 2 were spent putting down resistance movements (2037-2039).

I'm picturing China subsequently reaching south towards Australia and sponsoring a 'Civil War' because they've got Chinese-government-owned mining corps there who are 'rising up for their rights' (profits) but to go so far south is a bit of an overreach and so the Australian Civil War is something of a perpetual stalemate.

Tencent-Disney's history mentioned a "Cherry Blossom Revolution" in China? We might need more details on that; I picture China remaining a hardline hybrid corporate/governmental entity similar to how it is now (Xinjiang is almost a cyberpunk dystopia already, if reports can be believed) but I am open to any and all modifications to make sure everybody gets their ideas in.

In my conception for Elena's backstory, Argentina becomes (remains?) a hard-line conservative/corporatist state while the smaller states move in a more leftist direction. It would make sense for the U.S. to support coups or their annexation by a more reliable (right-leaning) party, which I think dovetails nicely with 'Stache's CIA background working in South America. Brazil would not want to be left out of the land grab, and by this time have finished burning down all of their sections of the Amazon and they need more virgin land to plant their cows on, hence their interest in the Bolivian lowlands.

Of course the majority of this is just made up off the cuff for the sake flavorful details in the blurbs I have written so I'm happy to modify/change as needed.

Blurb away I say. More details to grab upon and work with.

For the South China Sea War to add some more detail in. At the outset of the North Korea was given the green light to go after South Korea. Mainly to distract the US and occupy South Korea from intervening with the war. The DPRK was expected to hold out and just being a distraction. It back fired badly for China as US support was overwhelming for South Korea. Part of that was a plan to stress China from further gains in the South China Sea as they rolled over the DPRK and actually made inroads along the China border but were hesitant to push further for a risk of nuclear retaliation and a repeat of the Korean War.

So while China got the SCS, Tawain, Japan, and Indonesia there is now a unified Korea on their border and they are very friendly with the US.

I'll say the US checked China pretty hard from moving eastward with a old fashion island hopping campaign. So any gains out there China lost.

Basically the two big bullies on the street going at it. China gets most of their goals but the US got itself some victories as well.

As for the Arctic Rush I mention in Stache's background this is the time when there was a serious push into the arctic region. Ice almost already gone and the climate around the circle was lightening up for the past 30 years where new settlements were starting to pop up. The arctic rush really began in the 2040s but it reached its peak in the 2060s. Basically a wild west like rush as people moved in to take advantage of new trade routes (for legal and illegal purposes), off-shore drilling, and sticking a flag in places where people never could of lived until now. It's a hotbed of activity between the US, Russia, a much more powerful Canada, a new emerging world power that is Greenland, along with the UK, Sweden, Norway, and Finland being big players.

The north west passage is open and there's no putting the genie back in the bottle. Things have cooled down in 2071 but while parts of the world have flooded a new area has opened up.

(Heavily inspired and ripped from Arctic Rising by Tobias S. Buckell).

Those are cool details. I'm curious how Greenland becomes a thing. Aren't they just a Danish colony right now? Does the EU stake claims on the unburied resources after the glaciers melt off?

guilersk wrote:

Those are cool details. I'm curious how Greenland becomes a thing. Aren't they just a Danish colony right now? Does the EU stake claims on the unburied resources after the glaciers melt off?

Denmark says they're part of it but it's kind of murky water with the self rule Denmark has given it. It's not a colony anymore but actually a danish county. It's been given further ability to self rule itself over the years.

I see by the time of the Arctic Rush and the expansion and influx of population on Greenland that it holds a referendum that sees it become fully independent.

I was thinking of the Cherry Blossom Revolution as a military-led return to Imperial rule from communism. Essentially nothing much would change to the country at large, but a charismatic general managed to get the backing of the military and the largest companies in China, and executed a swift, mostly bloodless revolution. In exchange for their backing, the corporations gained much more autonomy, but they are still Chinese companies in culture and viewpoints.

This return to imperial rule could have precipitated China's new aggression. How better to show the new power of the new regime than by expansion?

Flelmo wrote:

I was thinking of the Cherry Blossom Revolution as a military-led return to Imperial rule from communism. Essentially nothing much would change to the country at large, but a charismatic general managed to get the backing of the military and the largest companies in China, and executed a swift, mostly bloodless revolution. In exchange for their backing, the corporations gained much more autonomy, but they are still Chinese companies in culture and viewpoints.

This return to imperial rule could have precipitated China's new aggression. How better to show the new power of the new regime than by expansion?

Ooh, interesting. At first I thought it was some kind of Japanese revolution after the South China Sea War.

I can dig a return to a more Imperial China. Kind of gives me Yu Jing vibes if anyone is familiar with the Infinity wargame/RPG.

APSAZ (Appalachian Semi-Autonomous Zone) or just Apsaz (AE-p-SAH-z):

A semi-autonomous region consisting of confederated groups that call the Appalachians home. They are considered a separate entity from the states they trace their borders through but still belong to the US. The split started around the 2040s after the SCS War with an influx of returning veterans and a decline in quality of life and industry in the area once the war effort was over. Groups started to spring up talking about how their state governments have forgotten about them. The region started to operate more autonomously and actively started to push out state representatives, workers, and law enforcement. This came to a head at the Battle of Banner Hill when Tennessee national guard were called in to deal with the fortified town. No one recalls who fired first but it turned into a bloody brawl that saw the national guard retreat.

This galvanized the region and soon occupations of towns like Banner Hill were happening north and south. Town's County Militia rebuked a joint-operation by the FBI, ATF, and DHS to arrest some of its members. The Roanoke Skirmishes were some of the bloodiest and contained morally and ethically questionable acts committed by both sides. Nationwide protests against the violence were the external force needed to see the creation of the APSAZ Treaty.