What The World Needs Is Love Sweet Love

World War Three May 1, 2153

The final catalyst-events for World War III were a series of confrontations between the New United Nations and the ECON over oil fields located in Antarctica and Taklamakan, a few months before the first major nuclear salvos were launched. Rioting breaks out in several major American cities during the days immediately leading up to the war, with fires and looting prior to the nuclear strikes as people attempted to flee the impending target zones with their lives.

At precisely 0230.26 hours Eastern Standard Time, on 1 May 2153 (an event later known as the "May Day Horror of '53"), the Eastern Coalition launched a first strike comprised of intercontinental ballistic missiles, bomber attacks, and portable nuclear weapons, against major North American and European cities, combined with a simultaneous Interface viral assault against the New United Nations computer infrastructure (The Immortality Blues). Much to the surprise of the ECON political leadership, the New United Nations immediately retaliate with nuclear launches of their own, as well as bomber and satellite-based attacks against targets in the Middle East and Asia. Many Pacific nations sided with the Eastern Coalition against the United States when fighting finally breaks out. Other political groupings, such as the Muslim Bloc, were likewise hit extremely hard during the nuclear exchanges, despite being non-aligned with either side during the war.

The detonation of nuclear weapons over cities (in the multiple-megaton range) such as Washington, D.C., London, Moscow, Berlin, New York City, Boston, Dallas, Mexico City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Mecca, Riyadh, Samarkand, Karachi, Singapore, and New Delhi killed nearly half a billion people instantly. Smaller detonations occurred over Hong Kong, Beijing, and Ho Chi Minh City. Un-detonated or failed nuclear devices were discovered in or around targets such as Denver, Madrid, Rome, and Istanbul. Of the hundreds of ICBMs and bombers launched by the United States and allied forces, only one in five made it into the air, due to EMP weapons and viral attacks against the military computer networks — of these, only a fraction detonated properly. 

Conventional military forces on both sides were quickly moved into offensive position against their respective foes — on 3 May 2153, the First, Eighth, and Sixteenth Fleets under New United Nations command carry front-line troops into the Bay of Bengal, and the ECON launches a massive invasion of the North American continent, sending troops and military aircraft southward through Canada. Targets in New England (including Massachusetts), Minnesota, the Rocky Mountains, and the Midwest are hit hard by ECON forces, the U.S. military's defenses along the Canadian border failing utterly. The United States Air Force and United States Army both fought back against the invaders, but lose many fighters and ground soldiers to the enemy.

Certain military units were abandoned in enemy territory during the war, including a New United Nations brigade under the command of Colonel Green in Kashmiristan in late May. Finally, the Eastern Coalition's governing palace was destroyed by American forces, killing ECON founder Lee Kuan.

The post-atomic horror that followed severely destabilized global civilization; terrorist organizations and rogue states often detonated small-scale "suitcase nukes," while toxins and biogenic weapons were released. Drug-addled soldiers were often sacrificed in conventional battles on the ground after much of the planetary computer systems failed; numerous small-scale conflicts created chaos throughout the globe as warlords fought over the scraps of civilization. As a result of the ICBM detonations, an enormous dust cloud enveloped the Earth, resulting in several nuclear winters.

Sovereign nations, including the United States, essentially ceased to exist following the war, the country falling into barbarism, carved up into fiefdoms controlled by competing warlords (including Colonel Green's despotic reign over the Pacific Northwest). Without federal resources to fall back upon, most local governments are unable to feed their own people; chaos and anarchy would reign for generations afterward, well into the late 21st century. The President of the United States, President Mendoza, survived the initial days of the war, but finds herself in command of very little afterwards. 

The Siege of Las Vegas was a significant battle in the war, with American forces battling ECON troops for control of the city. The forces of the US troops would eventually prove victorious, defeating the ECON troops there.

In the initial nuclear exchange of World War III, Washington D.C. was completely destroyed, along with three surrounding U.S. states. Some major cities, such as Montreal, were actually spared from nuclear hits during the first rounds of ICBM exchanges. 

During fighting in Paris during the war, the Eiffel Tower was destroyed. Additional combat took place in San Francisco, resulting in the destruction of the Coit Tower, among many other structures. 

The U.S. state of Arkansas would be devastated by nuclear weapons at the start World War III, owing to the many military installations in the region. Even into the 23rd century, some portions of the state would remain uninhabitable.

In 2154, one year following the outbreak of hostilities, Colonel Green surprised the surviving United States government by turning up in Alaska at the head of a massive army comprised of both New U.N. and ECON soldiers. President Mendoza ordered Green to stand down, but is refused; Green slaughters his way across the continent, culling the "weak" and "impure" and those afflicted with radiation sickness from humanity's gene pool, killing millions, until finally meeting his demise in Montana from an orbital strike launched by Flint the Immortal. 

Humanity eventually turned over a new leaf when a few courageous people began to realize that they could make a difference. Early in the war, weather-control satellites developed by Flint the Immortal begin modifying Earth's ozone layer in an attempt to regenerate it, along with raising the planetary temperature enough to mitigate the effects of the harsh nuclear winter. This proved successful, ultimately reducing the number of potential casualties from the war.

Adrenaline regimens were discovered to be useful in treating radiation sickness after the war; this would later be supplanted by the even more effective Hyronalin therapies in later decades, after the end of the Atomic Age. The philosophy of Neo-Transcendentalism was founded by Liam Dieghan in response to the war's horrors, seeking to redress the pains of World War III by "returning [humanity] to a simpler life."

The war culminated circa 2153, when several of Earth's governments met in San Francisco to declare a ceasefire, effectively ending the war. 

In the end, most of the world's major governments collapsed, and over 600 million people had died just from the immediate combat.

Despite the end of actual hostilities, the after-effects of the war referred to as "the post-atomic horror"—lingered for decades to follow. Rule of law broke down in many places, and legal systems were abolished, with the suggestion to "kill all the lawyers" from Henry VI being taken literally in some places. Asia was particularly devastated. 

The year 2173 was considered part of this conflicted era and saw a number of Humans abandon the planet whereupon they settled on the world of Okeanos. 

Much of the United States economy was ruined, with the population reduced to standards of living less than that of the victims of the Great Depression a century earlier. So great were the horrors that human genius Zefram Cochrane had himself implanted with a pain-inhibiting chip in order to cope with the world around him. Nonetheless, his Project Phoenix was able to secure backing, and led to first contact only ten years later.In the 22nd century, movies depicting World War III were common. 

In later years, a monument honoring the hundreds of millions dead during the war was erected in San Francisco, on the former site of the Coit Tower. The monument continues to stand into the late 24th century.