1990:
Start of the first Central American Conflict. U.S. engages in interventionist actions in Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador. Military forces are sent to secure the Canal Zone from an ex-U.S. puppet dictator.
West and East Germany reunite. Warsaw Pact breaks up into separate nations.
Breakup of Soviet state. From this point, the U.S.S.R. begins a new era of rapprochement with western Europe; by the 2000s, the Soviets are the EuroTheatre's most powerful allies.
Soviet president Gorbochev appoints successor Andrei Gorborev.
The US-EEC "Quiet War" begins. It will last until 1994.
Fall of South Africa. For the next 4 years, there is little or no communication, although terrible atrocities and genocidal wars are rumored.
Richard Night, a young partner in the Halsey, Ferris and Night construction firm, departs to found Night International and plan Coronado City on the central California coast.
Jonathan Meta participates in "Operation Blind Faith," attempting to control the Panama Canal Zone.
1991:
EuroSpace Agency launches Hermes Spaceplane.
Gorborev regime purges last of old hardliners.
CHOOH2 developed by Biotechnica.
First arcology built on ruins of Jersey City. 16 "Arcos" begin construction over the next 5 years, until the collapse of 1997, leaving the huge structures half completed, filled with squatters and the homeless.1,8
Artificial muscle fibres developed at Stanford Research Center.
1992:
The Treaty of 1992 establishes the European Economic Community. Zones of control and protective tariffs regulate the activities of member nations. A common currency unit (European Currency Unit, ECU, or, as it is more commonly known, the EuroDollar) is established, based on the average value in gold of all currencies combined. As a result of individual nations currency inflation or deflation, only Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Germany are financially fit to join the ECU-union. Trapped in paranoid isolationism, the U.S. declines to enter.
In Vietnam, Doi Moi policies (and giving up on socialist economics) opens the door to foreign investment.
Arasaka, EBM and Petrochem provide Richard Night with the raw cash he needs to build Coronado City. In exchange, he provides the corps with the design and construction capacities to build the urban zones they are seeking to create.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency develops and spreads several designer plagues worldwide, targeting coca and opium plants.
As a result of the creation of the ECU, economic turbulence spreads throughout Europe, especially in France and Great Britain. This results in labour uprisings and general rioting. The four core ECU countries set up a prototype "Fortress Europe", in violation of the EEC treaty. Closing their borders to European labourers looking for work results in a mass of illegal immigration. Most illegal workers are quickly found and expelled.
Governments of Chile and Ecuador collapse.
The Aldecaldo "clan" forms as a protection society in East L.A.
As cropland dies and rainfall declines, farmers and rural populations are forced into migration to the larger cities. These "Jodes" are labelled as parasites by the media and some city governments.
A savage drug war breaks out between EuroCorp-backed dealers and the DEA all over the Americas.
First use of HELL (High Energy Laser Lift) arrays in U.S.S.R.
Prototype mass-driver established in Canary Islands by the eight member ESA (European Space Agency).
Maoist Loyalist Cabal (MLC) is formed in Hunan Province (China) by Hua Yuchi.
1993:
First TRC (Transferred Reflex Conditioning) biologic interface chip developed in Munich, United Germany.
All western European countries, save for Italy and Portugal, are ready to join the ECU-union.
The EC Ministry for Economics is founded, to provide structure to advanced scientific progress and to prepare the government of the EEC for confrontation with the rising megacorporations.
Interpol/Europe receives sanction to operate outside EEC borders.
AV-4 aerodyne assault vehicle developed to deal with increasing riots in U.S. urban zones.
Colombian drug lords detonate small tactical nuclear device in New York City. The bomb is detonated in the middle of the work week, destroying Carnegie Hall and Rockefeller Centre, and gutting U.N. Headquarters. At least 15,000 killed are killed in the initial blast. Thousands more die and local government collapses over the next week as the city is abandoned.
The Japanese Self Defence Force (SDF) begins research and development of "Cyberwalk" legged vehicles. Foreign media and military establishments ridicule the idea.
First organized Nomad "families" appear on the West Coast and in the South, and are identified by the corporates and the media.
The Jodes leave Oklahoma, heading both north and west in an attempt to escape the "New Dust Bowl."
The Aldecaldo Clan, because of increasing pressure from police and gangs, is forced to move out of East Los Angeles.
Gangs war openly with police and each other in Miami. After a six-month siege, the government gives up, unable to commit resources which are needed elsewhere. The gang war lessens and several power structures begin to form.
The Australian government announces intentions to recognize Aboriginal ownership of traditional lands. Pressure from mining and farming interests prompts government to give priority in land claims to holders of existing leases. While most Aboriginals protest peacefully, some begin quests for foreign recognition and aid for their cause.
1994:
World stock market crash of `94. U.S. economy teeters, then collapses. Other industrialized nations scramble for bigger markets and cheaper labour. EEC countries are not as hard hit as the rest of the west, due to internal trade. SEA countries thrive.
Nuclear accident in Pittsburgh kills 257. Cancer deaths soar over the next ten years. The government declares "The Pitt" a superfund site, but no assets are allocated to deal with the problem. After a very public debate it is determined that nomad labour will be used in reclamation. The Aldecaldo Clan is hired to administer the project. The clan must travel almost two thousand miles to Pittsburgh, but accepts the contract.
Coronado (Night) City, California, is incorporated in May.
A new wave of immigrants hit Europe's shores. EEC uses military to enforce it's borders. As a result, many refugees are killed. Numerous new human rights groups begin to form as word leaks out. Some of these groups form terrorist cells to articulate their position.
After suffering from extensive strikes, Polands' president Walesa declares martial law.
1995:
Kilimanjaro mass-driver begins construction, under joint agreement between ESA and Pan African Alliance.
The EEC decides to implement the "Fortress Europe" system continent-wide. A surveillance-satellite program is initiated. A totalitarian ID card system is also started. These cards are programmed with the individuals fingerprints, retina scans, DNA prints, profession, health status, and any licenses. Many civil rights groups fear a "1984" scenario and react accordingly.
The MLC conquers Guangzhou Special Economic Zone (SEZ), working its way towards Hong Kong.
The Bloods officially run (or own) all of Miami. Other gang structures are subsumed into the Bloods by relatively peaceful treaties or agreements.
The "Grand Unification of Ministries and Agencies" is carried out in Japan. The political influence of Arasaka and right wing parties increases.
Beginning of the Emergency Welfare Relocation Program in the U.S. The program is administered by the newly created Bureau of Emergency Relocation.
1996:
The collapse of the United States. Weakened by losses in world stock crash, overwhelmed by unemployment, homelessness and corruption, many city governments collapse or go bankrupt. The U.S. government, snarled in a staggering deficit and the machinations of the Gang of Four, is totally ineffective.
First appearance of booster gangs in the U.S.
The Japanese Constitution's Article 9 (renunciation of war) is suspended for an indefinite period. Due to intense outrage and riots by the public and left wing groups, no "Japanese Army" is re-established.
After years of support, Portugal and Italy finally join the EEC.
The Far Asian Co-prosperity Sphere (FACS) is established to counter Arasaka.
Lawyer purge. Irate citizens lynch hundreds of criminal defence attorneys.
The U.S. military in Japan and Korea is withdrawn to the American mainland.
On August 17th, U.S. President and Vice President are assassinated in separate incidents. With the Speaker of the House undergoing cardiac bypass surgery, the Senate President Pro Tem refuses to assume the presidency. Secretary of Defence Jonathan Seward, as ranking member of the executive branch, suspends the constitution and declares martial law. The "Gang of Four" (NSA, CIA, FBI, and DEA) operate with near total autonomy within the U.S. federal government.
Nomad riots. (In actuality, few of the aggressors are actually nomads; the term is misused by a popular media figure and sticks.) By now, 1 in 4 Americans is homeless. Hundreds of thousands riot for living space throughout the U.S. Nomad packs spring up on the west coast and spread rapidly through the nation. Millions of homeless people are killed or imprisoned.