Chromed Out Lore for Dummies

// This article is currently a WIP, please excuse any mid-sentence stops or typos

There's a decent amount to cover, even in a 'For Dummies' article, so if you want a one-line TL;DR right here, look no further than the next sentence.

The British retains their imperial possessions, and it gets worse from there.

Preview of Modern Earth

Total population of Earth is approximately 11,000,000,000, the sea level has risen by 20 meters, engulfing most low-lying coastal areas beneath the waves. The Kingdom of Britannia, backed by the mighty British Empire, is a horrifying instrument of global catastrophe.

America is in tatters, the United States collapsed in 2058, and New England is ruled by the British, the impoverished East Coast serves as the primary battleground for the British war for resources and revenge against North America.

Asia isn't well either. The Republic of China rules over Vietnam, and is in the process of invading Mainland Japan, and Japanese Hong Kong. Japan is wrought with instability, the Communist government of the 1970s to the 2060s has given way to a corporate republic tasked with juggling climate change, Chinese invaders, economic instability, and gang activity.

In all of this horrid violence, there only stands one ugly salvation from British invasion, climate collapse, or total governmental failure. Corporatization of state, courtesy of the Triumvirate. The Triumvirate is the sole governing body of the post-American state of Cascadia. The Triumvirate is a monolith, immovable but unstoppable. The Algorithms that control the Triumvirate autonomously manage everything from laws, to economy, to the very culture of its subjects.

This world, is an ugly one. How did it get here?

History

World War II

American support comes earlier on and stronger, allocated to the African front. The Axis is pushed out of Libya before 1943. Allied landings in Sicily begin in the Spring rather than the Summer.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor never happens, as Roosevelt removed the Pacific Fleet from the Pacific Ocean. As such, the United States enters the war a well-equipped Naval power.

The war ends early, in the winter of 1944, and as opposed to committing suicide, Hitler and other Nazi leaders are tried for war crimes. Hitler is sentenced to life in maximum security prison, and lives until 1969. Japan continues warring with the United States until 1956, but is essentially doomed by 1946.

Post-War

Less damaged by an early victory, the British have the resources to maintain their empire, fighting with insurrectionists and independence movements in their many colonies. British xenophobia and militarism is fueled heavily, by the constant state of warfare between the United Kingdom and its colonies.

The British begin an early Cold War with the Soviets, as the Soviets fund native rebellions in the British colonies from 1944 to 1950. Neither are interested in open war. The United States aren't involved, due to their focus on the Japanese war.

1950 to 1990

The Korean War begins in 1950, between the southern Republic of Korea (backed by the United Kingdom), and the northern Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (backed by the USSR). The war ends in a stalemate after a near-victory by the Republic of Korea.

The Chinese Civil War ends in 1954, with a Republic of China victory. Without Soviet support, the Chinese Communist Party is unable to secure victory. Most CCP officials flee to the USSR, or face execution or life imprisonment in the mainland.

China begins the Lántiān Offensive against Communist Vietnam in 1955, and annexes the nation in 1960.

The Japanese-American war finally ends, with the total internal collapse of the Japanese government. The Japanese Communists

The First Civil Rights Movement begins in the United States. Rosa Parks is killed via cyanide poisoning 166 days into the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by the CIA mere minutes before delivering the'I Have a Dream' speech. Racial segregation remains federally legal in the United States As consequences of this, the Party Switch of the 1960s never happens, the Democrats remain the premier right-wing party in the United states, resentment boils and bubbles in the Black community, and the push for Gay rights in the '60s and '70s is largely rejected.

Turn of the Millennium

In the early 1990s, the Second Civil Rights Movement begins. It is focused on achieving equality for Black individuals, and Queer liberation. The movement is far more insurrectionist and paramilitary in nature than the first. Racial segregation is federally outlawed by 2011 after heavy obstructionism by southern Democrats.