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1983: Doomsday

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The 1983: Doomsday world

Welcome to the Portal Page for the 1983: Doomsday ATL.

This timeline explores the global history after Doomsday -September 26th, 1983.

A worldwide nuclear exchange caused by a minor incident obliterates much of human civilization. This ATL covers everything from the direct aftermath up to the present worldwide situation.

This is a "live" timeline - its story continues to unfold NOW, in real time. See the Live Content section for the latest news updates.

This is also a collaborative timeline, produced by a team of contributors. If you want to join us in developing this world, we welcome your additions.

Before making major edits to the articles within this ATL, please take some time to read the Editorial Guidelines.

Contents

[edit] Introduction

The Point of Divergence of the 1983: Doomsday- Timeline is September 19th, 1983 on which a seemingly unimportant decision to send an ambitious Colonel of the USSR to a training seminar , taking the place of an ill-plagued colleague.

This decision leaves to a different outcome of a well-known though often underestimated event that took place on 26th of September in the year 1983.

HERE, on that day, Colonel Stanislav Petrov was watch officer on duty at the Serpukhov-15 bunker near Moscow, monitoring for a US missile attack on the Soviet Union.

Suddenly, the computer-based warning systems reported several US Nuclear Missiles approaching Soviet territory. "Here", Colonel Petrov believed the information to be false and did not alert the Kremlin to the data he was receiving. Given Cold War tensions at the time, such information would likely have convinced the Soviets that the US had launched a first strike attempting to "cut off the head" and launched their forces, in the belief it was a "counter-strike", not a first-strike.

Consequently, since "here" the world public now knows about this event, it is now often considered to have been the moment closest to a nuclear war between the USSR and the USA in the whole Cold War. Colonel Petrov has been honoured as one of the few true "world saviours" and several documentaries prove the seriousness of this event.

This Timeline postulates the results after Colonel Petrov being sent to another installation before September 26th. The officer now on duty on September 26th takes the alert as correct and immediately contacts his superiors. Within minutes, the leaders decide to launch the whole Soviet Nuclear Arsenal. Logically, the Americans react by launching as well. When the first alerted missile is proved to be a false alarm, it is already too late. Thousands of nuclear warheads consequently detonate at targets worldwide, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. As The People's Republic of China was surprisingly attacked by Soviet missiles as well,part of their arsenal is launched too.

The results of this total nuclear exchange are close to the forecasts of almost complete worldwide destruction and "nuclear holocaust" as predicted by many scientists of that time, resulting in as much as two billion people killed initially, possibly another two billion in the subsequent environmental disaster.

The world largely devastated, most of the northern and parts of the southern hemisphere in ruins, the estimated 800 million survivors desperately try to keep together what is left of human society. They are facing challenges seemingly impossible.

After an incredibly hard and horrifying aftermath during the first few years after Doomsday, at least a few regions, territories and countries stabilize and master basic problems such as food and medical supply. As time passes and the recovery continues, new - sometimes surprising- alliances and a new, fragile world order emerge and manifest. Initial hopes of some survivors for a united mankind or at least warfare and destruction being ended forever quickly prove false. Indeed, the world is lightyears away from any utopian imaginations. Famine, diseases and lack of resources provoke conflicte and wars in large parts of the world thus often devastating all carefully achieved recovery.

But as some surviving and newly founded nations- particularly a unified Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand and a South American Confederation- prove able to master the problems and even intervene internationally, mankind's extinction seems to finally have been avoided.

Now, more than 25 years after "Doomsday" bringing mankind at the edge of total extinction, the foundation of the new "League of Nations" on September 26th 2008- has awakened a glance of hope for a possibly more peaceful future for mankind...

But nonetheless, new dangers are emanating once more all around the globe, threatening most of what has been achieved within the quarter of a century...

[edit] WCRB NewsHour- World Headlines

For all news please refer to our WCRB Newshour Main Page.

November 21, 2009, 5:15pm GMT (6:15pm local time): Samoa takes to the polls: APIA - Polls opened early Saturday morning for Samoa's local elections for Chief of State and members of the Senate. For months, authorities have struggled with the logistics of providing ballot access to the thousands of Samoans who remain internally displaced after the September 29 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the islands.

November 20, 2009: Victoria begins prep for Operation Security Blanket: VICTORIA, Victoria - In a joint press conference the Minister of Social Projects David Widsten, and Minister of Defense Ian Kenworth announce plans for Operation Security Blanket. "With the current economic boom and our success in the former Washington Protectorate, it is our goal to push agressively into the former state of Washington in order to aid what civilians we can and bring more territory into the security of Victoria."  stated Mr. Widsten. "Be assured this is not conquest, we will bring aid to those that need it and negotiate peaceful integration of territory. No one will be forced to live under a percieved opressor, and those who refuse to join will remain independent." added Mr. Kenworth. "We expect our first envoys to reach the Aberdeen area within the next few days, and negotiations have already begun with the surviving state government in Olympia. We hope bringing Olympia peacefully into the republic will help the process in the outlying regions." The Committee to Restore the United States of America responded to the news with this statement: "Again Victoria shows itself as nothing more than a land hungry imperialist state. While we applaud Victoria's efforts to aid the people of the United States, we cannot condone the absorbtion of its territories."

November 19, 2009, 3:02am GMT: Summer Olympics rumored to be put on hold until 2012: CANBERRA, ANZC - The ANZBC television network reported on its morning newscasts that the International Olympic Committee is "strongly" considering postponing the Summer Olympics until 2012. ANZBC cites sources within the IOC and the ANZC Olympic Committee as saying the IOC is concerned about holding the Games, scheduled for next September, in the same calendar year as the football World Cup. Those sources also told ANZBC that some member nations in poorer countries felt two more years would give them more time to prepare their respective national sports federations for an Olympic-type event. The Summer Games have not been held since 1980, in Moscow; moving them to 2012 would put the Games back on the traditional Olympiad timeframe, and close the gap to the next games in 2016 to four years. ANZBC said this development has no effect on the IOC's attempt to hold a limited Winter Olympics in the Alpine Confederation in February, with a full Winter Olympiad to be contested in early 2012 in the Nordic Union or Siberia.

November 19, 2009, 2:49am GMT: Mexican newspaper reports summit between West Texas, Mexico leaders: MEXICA, D.C., Mexico - The Mexican newspaper La Jornada is reporting that Mexico President Marcelo Ebrard and West Texas President Mike Conaway will meet in a summit to take place sometime in January. The story, to be published in La Jornada's Thursday edition, reports that the summit will cap ongoing talks between various representatives of both nations to reestablish formal relations and trade. Neither Ebrard nor Conaway's offices had any immediate comment to Mexican television on the story. It story cites sources in both administrations as stating that a formal announcement will be made early next week and that Mexican businessman George W. Bush has been "heavily involved" in ongoing negotiations between both countries.

November 18, 2009, 10:06pm GMT: Greece and Singapore final qualifiers for 2010 football World Cup tournament: LUQUE, Paraguay - Greece and Singapore's national football teams won their respective playoff series on Wednesday, qualifying for the 2010 World Cup tournament in the Celtic Alliance. Singapore, at home against Guyana, played to a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time; because both teams drew 2-2 last week in Guyana, they went to penalty kicks to decide the series. Both teams made their first seven kicks. In the eighth round, Guyana's J.T. Rodriguez saw his shot hit the crossbar and bounce over the goal. Singapore's Daud then fired a shot to the right side of the goal, barely past goalkeeper Calvin Williams to send Singapore to Dublin. In Trondheim, Charisteas's first-half goal was enough to give Greece a 1-0 win over host Norway; Greece advanced 2-0 on aggregate.

November 18, 2009, 3:11pm GMT: Portland, Tennessee accepts Virginia offer with conditions: PORTLAND, Tennessee - Portland mayor Ken Wilber informed Virginia President-General Jay Rockefeller and League of Nations director Brant McAllister that Portland would accept Virginia's offer to help Portland "secure" middle Tennessee. "We accept Virginia's kind offer, with the conditions that we retain our independence while we discuss all of our future political options amongst ourselves." League of Nations Radio also reported that Portland requested LoN peacekeepers assist Virginia troops in all military endeavors, and that all parties involved be willing to negotiate with any survivor communities in western Tennessee, plus the LoN-recognized provisional republics of East Tennessee and Blue Ridge, regarding any political or military unions. "We are, truly, all Americans, and we are grateful for Virginia's willingness to assist us and work with us," Wilber said. "We cannot change the events that led us here, but we can work together for a bright future for all of us."

November 16, 2009, 10:45pm GMT: League of Nations aware of Virginia offers for aid to southern US region: NUEVA GERONA, Cuba - League of Nations southern United States of America Command Brant McAllister said he and the LoN headquarters in Tonga are aware of the Virginia Republic's offers for aid to the city of Portland, Tennessee. McAllister said he praised Virginia's willingness to extend aid to former U.S. survivor states, but also noted Portland's questions about the offer. "They (Portland) are saying they have held onto control of their own region for the past 25 years, and now as soon as they become aware of the world around them, one of the republics is pressing them on political issues," McAllister said. "It is clear that Virginia's offer would have Portland in political control of the entire state, but Virginia would be the only party of the two that would be able to enforce the peace. I've said this before, but these citystates have been in the region longer than anyone else, and our position remains they need to be able to choose their own destiny, just as Cave City did, without pressure from the LoN nor any other entity." Cave City voted late last week to join the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

November 16, 2009, 20:51 GMT:Election campaigns in New Britain begin: PORT ELIZABETH, New Britain - King Andrew formally declared the beginning of the electoral campaigns in the British general elections. Current thought is that the British Imperial Party will win.

November 16, 2009, 2:28pm GMT: Douglas comments on LoN southern US command: MIDLAND, West Texas - Vermont President Jim Douglas told West Texas Radio this morning that he was happy to see the League of Nations and Mexico taking an active role in reconstruction efforts for the southern former United States. In a live interview done before Douglas left Midland International Airport for the Republic of Lincoln, Douglas said "I'm happy to see Mexico leading this thing. There are political and business leaders there who lived in that region, and they have a vested interest in helping rebuild that area to modern standards. The best scenario is for the LoN to work with all North American nations in this endeavor, and if the LoN invites Vermont to participate, we'll certainly do our part." Douglas stated he was heading to Kentucky that day to meet with President Jim Bunning before returning to Vermont Wednesday night.

November 16, 2009, 2:15pm GMT: League of Nations peacekeepers begin arriving in the southern United States; McAllister comments on LoN work in the region: NUEVA GERONA, Cuba - League of Nations peacekeepers from Mexico and the East Caribbean Federation began arriving Monday morning (local time) in the city-states of Asheville, Hattiesburg, Morristown and Portland. Brant McAllister, the director of what is now being called the League of Nations southern United States of America Command (SUSAC), told League of Nations Radio that this is "the first of multiple steps" in regards to extending aid and enabling reconstruction of the area. McAllister also told LoN Radio that Mexico and East Caribbean Federation would initially provide the peacekeepers for the entire region, and confirmed that Hattiesburg was the "probable candidate" for relocation of the SUSAC headquarters. McAllister also said that Mexican and West Texas interests "in the public and private sectors" had expressed interest in doing reconstruction work in the region. He also said he was aware of Virginia offer of reconstruction aid to Portland, and to help the citystate "reclaim" the entire former state of Tennessee. "There are a lot of things going on here, a lot of balls to juggle and keep in the air," McAllister told LoN Radio. "In some areas, progress can be made very quickly. In some other areas, particularly in regards to borders and the like, working through the process will take time and simply requires patience and working through each step. We are not here to challenge any existing power, nor are we here to gain power for ourselves. We simply want to help these cities get back on their feet and into the 21st century, and help them have the best resources at their disposal to determine their own future."

November 15, 2009: Cave City to Be Annexed by Kentucky : CAVE CITY - After fours days of fierce nearly non stop debating amongst the leaders of Cave City have agreed to President Bunning's offer of annexation. The leaders of Cave City made a speech saying that Kentucky has "Upheld the values and liberties of the United States since their founding." and are the "Clear choice for a new country to call home." Cave City will official be part of Kentucky at 12:01am EST tomorrow. Celebrations have already begun in Kentucky and in Cave City. President Bunning issued a brief statement welcoming the citizens of Cave City to the Commonwealth of Kentucky and said "This shows the power of diplomacy and good will. I am over joyed that we are finally reuniting with some of our fellow Kentuckians and more importantly our fellow Americans."

November 13, 2009, 8:00pm GMT: Douglas arrives in West Texas; George W. Bush congratulates Conaway: MIDLAND - Vermont President Jim Douglas arrived in Midland at 12:43pm local time (6:43pm GMT), to begin two days of talks with West Texas in regards to formal relations and trade. Douglas and West Texas President Mike Conaway will sign a treaty Friday evening to formalize relations between the two countries, and Douglas will also tour selected portions of West Texas and speak with east Republic of Texas governor Roger Van Horn via secured telephone. Earlier today, Conaway received a messenger from Mexico who presented to him written congratulations from Mexico City businessman George W. Bush, a childhood friend of Conaway who also is the son of the last U.S. President, George H.W. Bush. West Texas Deputy Press Secretary Lauren Sanchez said that G.W. Bush extended his congratulations to "my old friend" and was hopeful of improved relations between the two countries. Sanchez did not comment on rumors that G.W. Bush was acting as an intermediary between Midland and Mexica.

[edit] Recent additions

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[edit] Recently Confirmed Additions (Canon)

[edit] Work in Progress (Proposal)

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[edit] Principal Content

  • Timeline - the general timeline of this ATL, providing the background and the timeline from 1983 up to the present day"
  • Geopolitics - Geopolitical background, Alliances, Cooperations, Rivalries
  • Economics - Background regarding economical topics
  • Nuclear Weapons - Post Doomsday's major problem of nuclear weapons still operating, out of control, terrorism etc.
  • Die Deutsche Version "1983: Tag des jüngsten Gerichts" findet sich hier

[edit] Extras: Images, Statistics, Figures etc.

  • Maps - diverse maps displaying the situation from 1983-today
  • Flags - gallery of the flags used in the ATL"
  • People - collection of information regarding important persons
  • Languages - languages spoken in the world before Doomsday, immediately after and in 2009, political, commercial and cultural languages
  • Externals - collection of material related to this ATL, wikipedia etc.
  • Sports - Information regarding international and domestic leagues, major events, etc.
  • Communications and Mass Media - Information outlining the current status of telecommunications across the world

[edit] Contributors

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