on topic :
Well, after the third world war, all civilisation started to slowly fall down. Pollution, as had been predicted for years and years, took over. Without the constant overlooking of governments and people with any sort of common sense, the situation degraded very quickly.
After a few generations, events that had so far only been observed (officially) in places like Tchernobyl started occuring all over Earth.
Nations clashed against nations, and rather than unify and try to work out problems, each and every country broke down into its lesser fragments : one after another, the States of the former USA made secession and slowly redefined their frontiers to encompass the territory that was "rightfully theirs". Segregation, anti semitism, anti communism, all the form of hatred that governments and laws had so far tried to keep in check exploded like a dam breaking down after monsoon.
In Europe, old rivalries and historical grudges awoke from a long slumber, only to show how alive they still were. France, a country of so many cultures patched together, broke down into its various regions. The regional languages that, in the 21st century, had almost dissapeared, emerged with a renewed vigor.
Unfortunately for mankind, if the governments and political appartus that made global relations possible had partially disappeared, the technology that allowed global destruction had not.
Soon enough, local dictators, anarchists, herd of wandering nomads, clans of guerilla warriors had their hands on weapons of mass destruction, on military grade arsenal.
In oasis of relative civilisation, the remains of governments, along with their elite military and scientists, started planning for the renewal of order, the reinstatement of civilisation ... and for revenge.
With no way left to communicate with each others, to pacify and discuss and temporise, the various factions and nations that no composed Earth based their relations on tried and tested methods : "kill it before it kills you".
Paranoia and distrust prevented emissaries from being taken for anything else than potential spies, trojan horses and possible virus carriers. Better shoot them than take a chance.
Without any sort of industry, economy or institutions, the various military forces had no way to resupply their stocks.
First they ran out of ammo. So they started roaming wider and wider areas in order to capture any they could.
After a while, they ran out of fuel.
Fuel became the new money. Those lucky enough to have secured large reserves became the new powers. Countries that actually *produced* the black gold became the stuff of legends...
Worldwide, as soon as the Thord World War had finished, Religion made a massive come back in the heart of the masses.
In Europe, after a few generations of renewed fervor, some heroes emerged from the masses, chosen by God. Those became the new leaders, the new Kings and Queens. Feodality made its reappearance, as if it never really had disappeared...
(I am getting kicked out of the labs, so... so long folks
)
off topic : SnS, the first one is Guilty Pleasures. The exploration of the sexuality of Anita is quite progressive, and the reexamination of her whole way of life and prejudices is what makes the series such a pleasure to read. Do read it in order, as otherwise you lose a lot of the pleasure of seeing her change from simple executioner to stone cold psycho bitch from hell... although she still needs a stuffed pingouin to go to bed
Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !
-----------------------------Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !
