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HISTORY OF THE FUTURE

Intrusion

The beginning of the end started in the latter part of the 21st century when mankind experienced a rapid growth in scientific breakthroughs. There were advances in energy, materials, avionics, genetics, cybernetics and artificial intelligence. Near-earth space travel became common and human habitation of the moon was becoming a reality. The advances in technology were not solely for exploring beyond our planet but also used to explore the oceans and mine their wealth. Breakthroughs in underwater mining and aquatic remote drone technology allowed nations to explore the oceans as never before. This brought a new era of prosperity for many nations on earth. New alliances and coalitions were formed by smaller countries as the concept of ‘international waters’ was ignored and nations began to stake their claims. There were minor skirmishes and nearly an all-out world war over the wealth beneath the waves. In the end, old super powers began to weaken in influence and new powers were on the rise.

As this new age of exploration and prosperity began, an ancient and hidden threat rose from the depths of the ocean. In November of 2088, a prospector drone stumbled upon the fabled city of R’lyeh and inadvertently awoke the denizens that protected it. Things quickly escalated until finally the city rose to the surface and hordes of unspeakable horrors burst forth upon the world in defense of their city and its sleeping master, Cthulhu. Soon after, a dozen or more other submerged cities rose from the depths around the world and the battle for Earth began in earnest.

War

The world of Slumbering Oblivion takes place nearly 100 years after the city of R’lyeh first rose from the depths. The intervening time saw mankind nearly wiped out by the enemy. The horrific creatures from the sea attacked in overwhelming numbers and used powerful advanced weapons. Many possessed psychic abilities of devastating power and others were so horrific they could drive a human mad just by their appearance.

Control of the oceans was the first thing mankind lost in the war. Within months just about every major ocean was controlled by the enemy. Only the oceans around the extreme north and south poles were left relatively unmolested. This is where the bulk of the remaining nation’s naval fleets now reside. Locked inside frozen coves and unable to move. Even if they could, there is nowhere safe for them to go.

After the oceans were lost, the attack on the main lands around the world began. Millions died in the first weeks of the war as each nation attempted to repel the invaders on their own with no coordination. The Western Coastal States of America was the first country to deploy nuclear weapons and the aftermath of that attack was so catastrophic that it deterred further similar attacks.

The nuclear weapons were deployed against one of the ocean cities that rose from the depths 150 miles west off the coast of California. In total 4 multi-warhead nuclear missiles were launched. The first one was deflected by the energy shield around the city. The second apparently overwhelmed the shield allowing the two following missiles to impact directly inside the city. It was completely annihilated and was the first human victory of the war. However, the jubilation was brief as shortly after the city sank a large explosion of lava burst from the ocean and a new volcano began to form. At the same time, volcanoes all along the Pacific Ring of Fire began to erupt. The eruptions lasted for hours, some for days, and filled the atmosphere with clouds of gas and particulates that remain to this day and block most sunlight from reaching the surface.

It is theorized that the cities are located along massive geothermal vents that are used to fuel massive reactors to power the cities. When these reactors went critical it freed the previously captured lava flows and created the eruption. Either that or the volcanic eruptions were some form of retaliation. Either way, it became clear that further use of nuclear weapons against the cities would result in making the earth completely uninhabitable and were banned for use against the cities. They are still used occasionally on other targets when all other courses of action have been exhausted but it is not a decision made lightly, or frequently.

Reprieve

All looked lost until the unexpected took place and R’lyeh inexplicably sank several months into the invasion. Up until this point the war had been going poorly for humankind. Civilians were evacuated to the lunar colonies where possible and those that could not make it were pushed further and further inland away from the oceans. The standing armies of the nations around the world had been decimated. The Navies were all but destroyed or frozen in polar shipyards and few planes were capable of flying in the atmosphere laden with particulates from volcanic eruptions.

Then everything changed, almost in an instant. In May of 2090, the hordes of advancing monstrosities suddenly stopped their inexorable push inland. Those who witnessed the event first hand said the creatures all began to croak, wail and flail about. Suddenly, there was a wave of amber colored energy that flashed across the skies and the Warlocks and most of the leadership caste simply exploded or were outright vaporized. By all accounts this happened simultaneously across the planet.

It was later determined that something had happened on the island of R’lyeh at the exact moment of the energy surge. The last image of R’lyeh from a satellite high in orbit was of the city, still surrounded by its energy shield, glowing bright as the sun with temperature readings in excess of several million degrees. It then slowly sank beneath the boiling ocean and has not been seen again since.

Whatever had happened within the city caused a backlash that devastated the psychics amongst the armies of Cthulhu. The intelligent non-psychic creatures retreated back to their ocean cities and the various beasts ran wild without the yoke of psychic control and many even attacked their former masters.

Even now, nearly a century later, no one is sure exactly what happened or why the city sank. What is certain is that it will rise again, when the stars align and Cthulhu awakens from his slumber.

Aftermath

In the months following the submergence of R’lyeh, there was silence from the sea. Humanity began to slowly rebuild and reclaim the severely damaged Earth. The planet is now covered in perpetual clouds and the brightest days are no more than a dim twilight. The unusually dense nature of the clouds, and the unnatural colors and frequency of the lightning that flashes within them, indicate more than natural forces are at work.

For a time the denizens of Cthulhu watched patiently from their protected cities. They eliminated any threats that came close and were particularly baffled by the unarmed vessels that would occasionally approached and utter a human word over and over, “peace”. It was an alien concept to them and it took their human cultists a great amount of time to make them understand the meaning. Once they did, they simply laughed and fed the crews of these vessels to their minions.

Eventually the enemy began their attacks again, although this time at a much slower pace. First, simply protecting their ocean cities and then spreading out to the sea once again and finally the land.

During the brief respite, humanity did not sit idle. There was a change of tactics and for the first time in recorded history, humanity joined as one. They created a united front against the enemy. As part of the H.A.D.E.S. (Human Alliance in Defense of Earth and Sea) Treaty, all the remaining militaries were combined into a unified Earth military under the jurisdiction of the Aligned Nations of Earth.

The human population is now split between the Earth and the moon. Those on Earth reside within heavily fortified cities far inland. Inhabitants of the moon live in crowded colonies inside ancient lunar lava tubes with just enough food and water to survive. Each population center is reliant on the other. Earth provides food and most of the water for the colonists on the moon and the lunar colonies act as a staging point and produce Helium 3. This gas is needed for power generators and weapon systems as most of the natural fuel sources on Earth are now out of reach or too dangerous to collect.

With all the scientists of Earth working collectively, breakthroughs in weapons and defensive technologies has increased a hundred fold. New technologies or reverse engineered enemy technologies are constantly being discovered and deployed to the battlefield. The human armies are a mix of regular human infantry, GECS (Genetically Engineered Cybernetic Soldiers), semi-autonomous robots and mobile weapon platforms. There are also rumors of a top secret project between the H.A.D.E.S. scientific branch and The Order which is said could significantly alter the direction of the war. Little else is known except for a whispered code name, Project Helios.

For now, Earth remains a battlefield and the glorious future among the stars that humanity dreamed of for so long has been denied. In its ever growing desire to expand beyond our planet, mankind failed to see the threat that would shackle it to the ground.