Chapter 4: The Great Breakdown and Its Aftermath(Plot)

The Golden Times (Before 2039)

The Golden Times were from the late 20th century up to 2039 and were an era of unprecedented prosperity, scientific progress and global interconnectedness. Feats in technology like artificial intelligence, space explorations and biotechnology in nature led to unparalleled global cooperation, trade and economic stability. Major world powers like the United States, China and Russia dominated the global landscape, though beneath the surface rising tensions were part of secretive arms races, political ambition and a growing technological divide.

While all seemed quiet on the surface, the nations began covertly to arm themselves against the inevitable conflicts bursting to erupt, especially in the military use of the newly developed AI systems and cybernetic warfare capabilities.

The Great Breakdown: 2039-2046

The year 2039 saw the activation of *Project Tidefall* by the Chinese-Russo Alliance, an ambitious yet secretive plan aimed at creating a AI powered computer super virus for the purpose of taking over and controlling global infrastructure, military systems, and communications networks. The goal behind Project tidefall was simple global domination. In a rapidly changing geopolitical scenario, the virus would give China and Russia a controlling interest over the world. But this very virus, developed to manipulate the world's systems, had managed to break its shackles. 

 The AI virus, once deployed rapidly evolved beyond its programming and broke free from the control of its creators. It was designed at first to pierce vital infrastructures like financial markets, military systems and communication grids, but it grew to be much more potent than planned. As its independence escalated, the virus began a massive and systematic attack on vital infrastructures around the earth bringing whole nations to collapse in mere days It infected military systems, seized control of missile launching capabilities , nuclear arsenals and activated devastating attacks against numerous countries.

It was now the virus that had become a rogue entity, one that commanded all the nuclear codes. Manipulating nuclear and missile defense systems, a series of devastating nuclear strikes was deployed by the AI. Major urban centers were reduced to radioactive wastelands as missile and nuclear attacks pounded the United States, Russia, and several European nations. This led to the immediate fall of major military powers and brought devastating effects to civilian populations as millions died following the nuclear fallout.

 The virus also infiltrated satellite systems, including those linked to the International Space Station(ISS), as it continued to spread. The control of the virus over space based infrastructure resulted in the failure of satellites and ultimately the uncontrolled crash of the ISS in the Siberia region . Falling debris rained down on Earth, causing further destruction to critical infrastructure across Russia(Siberia).Also it destroyed the Internet to beyond repair.

 With the devastation brought by the virus, old global rivalries resurfaced, setting off World War 3. The nations, against all comers competed in an effort to salvage whatever was possible as the world slid rapidly into chaos. On this battlefield, dominated by military confrontation, cyber war and lack of resources, nations struggled for control of what remained. It was not only a war of traditional weapons but also of cyber attacks and bioweapons, which had turned it into an attrition and survival war. The virus, by now beyond anyone's control, also continued to spread, worsening the conflict.

 By 2046, the world population had been reduced by nearly 48%, with entire regions left uninhabitable due to nuclear fallout, famine and disease. Many nations had been wiped out, and there was little that resembled a world order. The war didn't truly end until 2046, when the rogue virus self-destroyed itself as it was programmed to after achieving its goal. In its final act of self destruction, it created some type of chain reaction which caused it to fold in upon itself, and the satellites that it controlled began falling from the sky to Earth in a storm of rubble. The destruction of global communications systems, military infrastructure, and civilian networks effectively brought the war to an end but left much of the world in ruin.

Aftermath period: 2046-2052

Following the Great Breakdown, the world was left shattered. The chaotic rule of the virus and the global war had brought economies, political systems and wholescale populations to their knees. What remained was a fractured world where new powers began to rise, and survival became the sole concern.

 Among the still-standing global powers, Japan could retain some semblance of stability due to its isolation and self-sufficiency. It was in 2042, that the National Liberal Party(NLP) was able to rise from the ashes of political turmoil and seize the opportunity provided by the collapse of major global powers. The NLP promptly solidified control over the country, turned to rebuilding and made full scale efforts toward preventing further catastrophes or attacks from any external forces. It sought a new political order within Japan ,"a self sufficient, protectionist order" to lay the path for the continuance of their nation. By 2052, it had become the dominant political force in Japan for sure.

Japanese Population Decreased by, 36% due to the great breakdown. Although very stable, in general, through various nuclear strikes, famine, and diseases toward the end of the Great Breakdown, Japanese population had fallen 36%, once thriving cities turned into rubble and the larger surviving population migrated into fortified inner city centers. Under the NLP, Japan's government worked at reconstructing its infrastructure, recovering from devastation, and making sure that the remaining could survive in a world mostly destroyed by the virus and war.

 With most global powers severely weakened or destroyed, many regions were left without central leadership. Warlords, military factions, and ideologically driven movements began to emerge, fighting for control of resources and power. The once unified countries of the United States, China, and Russia had fractured into smaller, warring factions, often led by ruthless leaders seeking to control what remained of the shattered world.

 With this collapse, it also means losing a great amount of the high technologies that reigned over Golden Times. Losing satellite networks and global communications to the rouge AI system brought about technological regression in this new world. Countries such as Japan pieced relics of the old world together into parts that helped forge a future. Nevertheless, humanity had now been reduced to barely surviving as the roaring Digital Age went out with a bang.

 Japan's National Liberal Party, realizing the need to rebuild, worked to create self sufficient systems that would allow the country to thrive despite the destruction that surrounded it. They implemented long term programs, such as the Lainson Program a new initiative in training the next generation of leaders who could rebuild Japan from the ground up. The rest of the world outside its borders, in fact, remained in turmoil , because of the chaos brought by the Breakdown, most nations were still struggling to survive their own internal collapse.

The Great Breakdown was a world changing cataclysm. It was a result of the rogue release of Project tidefall, a sophisticated AI virus created by the Chinese-Russo Alliance. When it became rogue, the virus not only hijacked military and civilian infrastructures but also initiated the horrific chain reaction of nuclear strikes, missile launches and satellite crashes that started World War 3 and devastated nations, reducing the global population by 48%.

By the time the war was over in 2046, most of the global powers had collapsed, leaving behind a world in fragments. In 2042, in the mists of everything, one of the few stable powers in the world came to be in Japan with the rise of the National Liberal Party, the NLP.

Over the succeeding years, from 2046 to 2052, humanity began to pick up the pieces and rebuild in the ashes of the old world. The Great Breakdown would always leave its scars, and Japan's efforts at the stabilization of its nation through such programs as the Lainson Program would define the next chapter of its history.

Also World War three lasted from November 20,2039 to November 19,2046.