A Brief History of Earth, Part 2

The Americans decided to leave the Middle East in the 2010's. The region was in turmoil while religious leaders and politicians vied for power in the area. Eventually, Iran stepped forward as the major power in the region. The smaller states of the region unified under its leader's persuasive religious ideology. Mussad Al Mardiin was able to bring together the disparate states with anti-semitic rhetoric, the same strategy used by Germany eighty years earlier.

In 2021, Mordiin threatened the use of nuclear weapons on the Jewish state of Israel, essentially for being Jewish. The hot-headed American "rock star" president Zachary Edlebrock retaliated by threatening to nuke the entire area if the Israelies and Iranians didn't "shut the fuck up about the god-damned holy land." This, of course, was scandalous, but President Edlebrock's career and political power seemed to thrive greatly on scandal.

When Iran finally attempted an invasion on Israel later that year, President Edlebrock made good on his promise. Following a very brief but intense and totally wicked awesome air battle between Israel, Iran, and the United States, all major military targets, factories, and cities in both Iran and Israel were destroyed with nuclear weapons. The once "holy land" remained a radioactive wasteland for centuries.

Earth's other nuclear powers were outraged at the American actions, and threatened retaliation if the US didn't do something to rectify the situation. President Edlebrock was quickly impeached, tried, and executed for mass murder. To his credit, he plead guilty to all charges and had his own Attorney General prosecute the case. His famous quote, "Kill all killers then kill yourself," was made as he ran himself through with a sword in a traditional act of Seppuku, followed quickly by a lethal injection and a hanging. The whereabouts of all his remains are still unknown.

The nuclear war was the last straw for both the American political climate and the Earth's ozone layer. Several thousand oil fields caught fire in the blast and sent poisonous gases into the atmosphere, greatly accelerating the oncoming greenhouse effect. Countries neighboring the nuclear hot-zones demanded environmental reparations and support for the flood of refugees.

As America collapsed into depression and the global temperature soared, the Chinese took the lead as Earth's reigning power. Their economy had thrived on America's spiral downwards. It soon became apparent, however, that the Chinese economy was as flimsy as the materials used to build their cars. As the Chinese people became richer, more manufacturing was outsourced overseas to cheap American labor.

By the 2070's, both America and China were equalized as super-powers on Earth. The US had reconfigured into the United States of North America, including both Canadian and Mexican provinces. Environment suits and medical advances had been greatly accelerated by the conditions now present in the Middle East. Environmental control systems and non-gasoline powered vehicles were invented to combat the growing global warming crisis. Cold fusion had been harnessed at last. The first permanent Martian colonies were established, and humankind was on its way across the galaxy.

In 2082, the long dormant country of North Korea re-emerged. Feeling that its once friendly neighbor, China, had abandoned its Communist ideals for Capitalism. North Korea declared war on China and the Unites States by launching fighters into space to destroy satellites and communications systems. Space had long been kept un-militarized by mutual agreement, but North Korea had finally broken that pact.

By continually knocking out satellite communications, North Korea had effectively wiped out a good portion of command and control. This kept their borders safe for nearly three years. In that time, they were able to launch military colonies and factories to the Moon, Mars, and several asteroids. The North Korean borders on Earth were soon overwhelmed, but invading Chinese and US forces were surprised to find seemingly endless resistance coming from nowhere. It was soon discovered that the North Koreans had spent the last hundred years building a huge underground complex to house nearly four fifths of their population, all of whom were in the military.

The years underground had greatly advanced the North Koreans' ability to survive in space. Although their home on Earth was overtaken and captured, they had already established themselves on Mars and the Moon. By the 2090's the conflict had died down greatly while the North Koreans, now referred to as the Ex-Koreans, built up their forces and resources elsewhere in the solar system. Minor skirmishes still occurred on the moon and in the asteroid fields.

To be continued further