HOME | DD

Description
My own take on The World of Tomorrows , with some new -punk additions, made with the help of CastleGreifenghast . This is not a straight sequel, despite the name. I just like riffing on Emmerich.

---

The Second World War ended with the defeat of the Third Reich, but not without considerable difficulty. With the assistance of advanced sciences, the Nazis managed to multiply the effectiveness of their forces, even if this was not enough to grant them the final victory. After the war, the Allies took the spoils of the Third Reich for themselves. The Americans got Konrad Zuse and most of his team, allowing them to gain the edge in the Computer Race decades later. The Soviets managed to capture the Uranverein, the scientists who were mere weeks away from completing Germany's first atomic weapon, one more efficient than the four dropped over Japan at the end of the war. But the British managed to take the ultimate prize: General Wilhelm Strasse, the infamous "Deathshead," architect of the advanced Nazi machinery that forced the Allies to fight until mid-1946. These Nazi scientists were granted amnesty in exchange for their knowledge, and as the Cold War between the British, Americans and Soviets continued throughout the 20th century, shaped the technological base of these three distinct societies.

With the help of Deathshead, the British were able to quickly rebuild their empire. Human colonial enforcers were replaced with machines and cyborgs, which were far more dependable and loyal. Disloyal colonial elements were used as organic stock for the first cyborgs, but the British quickly turned to cloned parts. Advanced German architecture and construction allowed bombed-out British cities to become sprawling metropolises of steel and concrete before the decade was out. Britain needed only raw materials, and those were plentiful in the colonies. With Persian oil and Australian iron, Britannia continued to rule the waves. As tensions between the British and their wartime allies escalated, the British slowly turned to autarky. Conservatives and liberals alike believed that involvement in the world outside of the Empire was unnecessary and destructive, so Britain turned inward. The British split with the Soviets over Berlin, the Americans over the Suez, and Western Europe over the militarization of the Channel. Splendid isolation returned, and it has been thus since. The British may have lost parts of their empire, most disastrously India in the 1990s, but by that point, they made up for it. Oil from the North Sea and Canada, and eventually biodiesels, allowed the British engine to chug along. British politics have not changed much from the post-war era, only that the Tories and Labour have mostly agreed on a general policy of a regulated market with considerable spending on empire maintenance. The only disputes are over degrees of commitment. British technology has advanced considerably since the 1940s, but is still built on the concept of steel and diesel. British engines are now more efficient, but they still need some sort of petroleum fuel. Pollution is a problem, and the British Isles themselves are constantly covered in smog. With regards to the military, energy weapons are only used on large ships, and most of the military uses weapons little different from those used during the Second World War. Automation has kept the British population low, but the British are still competitive.

The Soviets saw the atom as the future, and used it to electrify their nation. Nuclear power plants were built all throughout the communist world, which combined with industrialization did improve the lives of the people considerably (at the expense of a few million that died in the process). With the help of transatomic elements found in Tunguska, the Soviets were able to advance further than their rivals in the atomic race. Nuclear weapons, once an American monopoly, became more powerful and numerous in Soviet hands, allowing them to dominate the world in the 1960s and 1970s. The Soviets extended their iron grip over Eastern Europe after East Germany successfully overthrew their communist government in 1989; in response, the Soviets annexed the entire Warsaw Pact. The Soviet economy would never move past its dependence on atomics, even as the transatomics in Tunguska run out. Of course, Soviet nuclear technology has become more efficient. Every city, and now even the villages, are powered by nuclear reactors. The Soviet Union remains under the total control of the Communist Party, and Stalin is still celebrated as a hero. The Soviets continued to maintain the second largest military in the world, second only to China's, and perhaps the most powerful land force in the world. The Soviets make extensive use of energy weapons, particularly Tesla weaponry. Tesla weaponry, which utilizes powerful electrical charges, can reduce a man to ash. This is why Tesla coils line the Soviet border, both to keep the capitalist invaders out, and to keep the Soviet people in.

The Americans lagged behind the British and Soviets in the early Cold War era, but they jumped ahead to first place in the 1980s as the computer revolution took off. American society did not really reap the benefits of computing until the invention of the Internet, a network of instantaneous communication between computers. The Internet, and advances in automation that made the British machines seem primitive by comparison, allowed the American economy to take off. The Americans shared these benefits with their Western European allies, and by the turn of the century, the American-European bloc was the most powerful in the world. The Internet allowed the American government to spy on its people, as its leadership grew more corrupt and out of touch, but it also allowed the free spread of ideas, which had a detrimental effect on the American government by the 2020s. Resistance and disgust with the American government was at an all-time high, with publicized scandals, riots and general chaos consuming the media, both within the Internet and outside of it. Civil unrest came to a head when the American government decided to use its drones against its own people. The American people rose up against the government, using the Internet to coordinate their resistance and to spread ideas. These ideas were mostly oriented to increasing the power of the individual, but others disagreed. These ideas included a rejection of that old idea that all men are created equal, a rejection of democracy, and the necessity of a hierarchy. In the chaos following the fall of the American government, the Dirigist movement coalesced power and, by taking advantage of the infighting among their opponents, managed to defeat them one by one. In the United States' place, they created the North American Directorate, a society where the state has total control of the population, for Dirigism is not merely a political system, but a way of life. Morality, which includes such quirks as forcing women in the house, and pedophilia being natural, was enforced by the government. The Directorate's advanced computer technology has allowed them to maintain their iron grip. Drones, large and small, hover across Directorate territory, watching the people. Of course, the people readily provide information to the government, as they are encouraged through social media to give away their location, acquaintances, and even their innermost thoughts. On the front lines, the Directorate employs traditional gunpowder weapons, with a smattering of railguns, and exoskeletons.

The European Union took a different route from the Americans. Historically, the Western European states have been staunch American allies, but this caused resentment among younger people, who did not see the Soviets as such a great threat. The EU federalized at around the same time as the Second American Revolution, under German leadership. Disgusted with the Dirigist regime and other "regressives" elsewhere, the Europeans adopted the progressive social justice politics common at the time with zeal. The EU went about destroying their independent national heritages, labeling them "racist" and "oppressive," and keeping national borders only as a means of administration. Foreign cultures, or rather pastiches of them (while the EU would welcome anybody in, immigration out of most countries is limited), along with a general "European" identity were imposed on the people instead. While championing freedom, the EU censored anybody who spoke out against them as being ignorant or bigoted, their opinions unwelcome in the "safe space" of European political discourse. There are either three hundred genders or gender is nonexistent, depending on the mood of the social administrators that day. Like their Dirigist archrivals, the Europeans used their technology to keep an eye on the enemy within and without. Seeing themselves as the The Europeans, concerned with the pollution generated by the British, Soviets and Americans, turned to solar power early on. Perfecting this green technology (at the cost of their de facto colonies in Africa), the Europeans prided themselves in the positive impact they were having on the world. The European military, while aesthetically non-threatening (particularly the tanks which have greenhouses on them), is actually rather effective, possessing powerful laser technology. Even the Europeans' enemies have a bright future, even if that brightness means being reduced to a pile of bubbling goo.

In Africa, the other inheritors of America's computer technology have taken control, and are threatening European and Soviet power on the continent. At the end days of the United States, many American tech conglomerate fled to West Africa, which already had a burgeoning tech industry. After the fall of the American government, these conglomerates suddenly had no country, so they decided to take one. Nigeria became the first corporate state in the world, its republican government merely a shell for the CEOs and shareholders of the American companies that considered Nigeria home. The Ivory Coast and Ghana followed suit. Although initially welcomed by the locals, and although the corporations have legitimately improved the living standards in West Africa, the locals soon found out that being an "employee-citizen" did not have many benefits long-term. Indeed, it meant being worked like a slave, although with automation taking care of most physical needs, this "work" is mostly working in code, either in "meatspace" or uploaded directly into cyberspace. Those employees who are incapable, or prove to be too resistant, have their minds wiped, and their brains are used as processors. African technology is highly advanced, similar to those used by the North American Directorate, but with more emphasis on cyborgs and less emphasis on drones. They also have much better railguns.

The United States was heavily involved in the Middle East before its fall, and actually succeeded in imparting its values of secular democracy in the area. The new United States of Arabia adopted the American way of life with the zeal of a convert, and after the fall of the United States, the Arabs saw themselves as the last defender of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This has informed Arabian politics, where both the Democrats and the Republicans demand to make the world safe for democracy, but they were not powerful enough to strike until recently. In 2093, the Arabs under President Jurj al-Bash invaded Alaska, an old dictatorship, and there recreated the United States of America. The Middle Eastern coalition still faces terrorism in the region, mostly backed by the Dirigists and the opportunist Canadians. Arab technology is reminiscent of American and European technology, being descended from American technology prior to the revolution. In addition to computers and drones, the Arabs have invested heavily in nanotechnology, giving them an edge, even as Arab oil has run out. Of course, the Alaskan wells are producing just fine now.

Japan was an impoverished, bombed-out state under American control, until the Second American Revolution forced a general withdrawal of the American forces on the islands. Japan soon fell into civil war, and traditionalists emerged victorious. The traditionalists won with the help of Shinto occultists, who used ancient texts to bring yokai – monsters from Japanese myth – into this world to defeat their enemies. To accomplish this, they used the torii, ceremonial gateways to another world which became more than ceremonial with a proper human sacrifice. The modern Shogunate of Japan is an uneasy alliance between humans and yokai, and while they have ambitions to restore the Japanese Empire of the Second World War, they do not have enough forces to take on China or the Soviet Union. They do, however, have an alliance with the Elder Things of Leng, and communicate regularly through the torii.

China was a Marxist-Leninist state for most of the Cold War era, until the rule of Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang. A dedicated Maoist, but with a Legalist tinge, Yang believed that the root of all human suffering was that it was not interconnected. He sought to correct this by creating the People’s Hive, a network of computers to which all Chinese citizens would be uploaded. Yang presented this as the ultimate achievement of communist with Chinese characteristics, and after disposing of his opponents, he successfully used this technology to unite the Chinese cities into one hive consciousness (one which, conveniently, had him dominant consciousness). Now, apart from the People’s Hive, only Chinese peasants in the rural areas remain independent, where they fear that the drones of the Hive will one day find them.

There are three major states which have used abandoned knowledge to become powerful: Central Africa, Kemet, and the Khmer. The Central African Empire was founded by Emperor Bokassa I in the 1970s. At first, he was the laughing stock of Africa, but after his men found a cache of experimental steam technology developed by Jules Verne, Bokassa I was able to transform the Central African Empire from one of the poorest African countries to one of the richest. After this economic renaissance, he aligned himself with the Americans to fight his allegedly communist neighbors, allowing himself to die the Napoleon of Africa. Today, Central African steam technology has advanced considerably, developing technology such as tripods and heat-rays.

In Cambodia, during a search for Khmer Rouge rebels, the government discovered an ancient thinking machine beneath the temple complex of Angkor Wat. This machine, which introduced itself as the Avatar of Vishnu, claimed to be the creation of enlightened priests and Chinese engineers hired by Suryavarman II, as a true dedication of his faith. Dormant for centuries (it would later be revealed, because Suryavarman II feared the machine and ordered Angkor Wat built over it). The Avatar promised the Cambodian government that it would give them the means to defeat the Khmer Rouge, and to become the great power in Southeast Asia, if only they would listen to its counsel. The Cambodians accepted the offer, and in exchange for more parts, the Avatar gave the Cambodians schematics for clockwork machines that proved devastatingly effective. Soon, Cambodia was the premier power in Southeast Asia, and even succeeded in conquering the rest of Indochina while the rest of the world was busy elsewhere.

In Egypt, the nationalist regime which had expelled the British found that the ancient Egyptian civilization was, indeed, built by aliens. Using this knowledge, recovered from the "New Rosetta Stones," the Egyptians were able to augment their existing diesel technology with alien technology, such as energy shields, energy weapons and antigravity. After the fall of the Egyptian military regime, a new pharaoh took control. Calling himself "The Black Pharaoh," this mysterious figure seemed to have a great understanding of this alien technology. Eventually, he revealed himself to be one of the Ancients, the alien species that uplifted mankind all those years ago. While Kemet, as Egypt was now known, has the means to conquer the Earth from orbit, for some reason, the Black Pharaoh has kept his forces limited to African border wars.

After their independence from the British Empire, the Indians and Australians have become advanced powers in their own right. The Indians have taken a similar route to the West Africans, only their technology is developed at home and their government less oppressive. The Australians, on the other hand, have used Australium to jumpstart their technological boom. Australium is a unique form of transatomic, found only on the Australian continent, and produces clean nuclear power. This has allowed Australia to become a technological powerhouse unlike anything else on Earth, complete with skytowers and flying cars, but the Australians are committed to isolation.

South America was once home to two regional powers, Brazil and Argentina. Brazil was a Soviet ally, and Argentina an American ally, and both fought a regional cold war against each other. This cold war went hot in the 2040s, as the Argentines desperately attempted to maintain their quickly declining position on the continent. This started the Atomic Wars, a series of nuclear wars between Brazil, Argentina and their nuclear-armed allies. Today, South America remains the realm of techno-barbarians, native tribes and cyber-gauchos, all fighting the elements and each other for their continued existence.

Beyond Earth, two other great powers watch the other powers on Earth. NASA was the former American space agency, which later subsumed other national space agencies after they were abandoned by their governments. NASA primarily inhabits space stations orbiting around Earth, but they do have bases on the Moon, one base on Mars, and several generation ships exiting the Solar System. NASA hopes to preserve humanity even after the destruction of human civilization on Earth, and to stay away from the conflict. The other power is Persephone Aerospace, a mysterious American corporation that quickly overtook NASA in the Space Race right before the fall of the United States. Having established bases over lunar volcanoes (themselves restarted by Persephone), Persephone Aerospace quickly militarized its holdings in the stars after the Second American Revolution. Unlike NASA, they eagerly await the final war on Earth, so they can sweep in and inherit the stars.

Description
My own take on The World of Tomorrows , with some new -punk additions, made with the help of CastleGreifenghast . This is not a straight sequel, despite the name. I just like riffing on Emmerich.

---

The Second World War ended with the defeat of the Third Reich, but not without considerable difficulty. With the assistance of advanced sciences, the Nazis managed to multiply the effectiveness of their forces, even if this was not enough to grant them the final victory. After the war, the Allies took the spoils of the Third Reich for themselves. The Americans got Konrad Zuse and most of his team, allowing them to gain the edge in the Computer Race decades later. The Soviets managed to capture the Uranverein, the scientists who were mere weeks away from completing Germany's first atomic weapon, one more efficient than the four dropped over Japan at the end of the war. But the British managed to take the ultimate prize: General Wilhelm Strasse, the infamous "Deathshead," architect of the advanced Nazi machinery that forced the Allies to fight until mid-1946. These Nazi scientists were granted amnesty in exchange for their knowledge, and as the Cold War between the British, Americans and Soviets continued throughout the 20th century, shaped the technological base of these three distinct societies.

With the help of Deathshead, the British were able to quickly rebuild their empire. Human colonial enforcers were replaced with machines and cyborgs, which were far more dependable and loyal. Disloyal colonial elements were used as organic stock for the first cyborgs, but the British quickly turned to cloned parts. Advanced German architecture and construction allowed bombed-out British cities to become sprawling metropolises of steel and concrete before the decade was out. Britain needed only raw materials, and those were plentiful in the colonies. With Persian oil and Australian iron, Britannia continued to rule the waves. As tensions between the British and their wartime allies escalated, the British slowly turned to autarky. Conservatives and liberals alike believed that involvement in the world outside of the Empire was unnecessary and destructive, so Britain turned inward. The British split with the Soviets over Berlin, the Americans over the Suez, and Western Europe over the militarization of the Channel. Splendid isolation returned, and it has been thus since. The British may have lost parts of their empire, most disastrously India in the 1990s, but by that point, they made up for it. Oil from the North Sea and Canada, and eventually biodiesels, allowed the British engine to chug along. British politics have not changed much from the post-war era, only that the Tories and Labour have mostly agreed on a general policy of a regulated market with considerable spending on empire maintenance. The only disputes are over degrees of commitment. British technology has advanced considerably since the 1940s, but is still built on the concept of steel and diesel. British engines are now more efficient, but they still need some sort of petroleum fuel. Pollution is a problem, and the British Isles themselves are constantly covered in smog. With regards to the military, energy weapons are only used on large ships, and most of the military uses weapons little different from those used during the Second World War. Automation has kept the British population low, but the British are still competitive.

The Soviets saw the atom as the future, and used it to electrify their nation. Nuclear power plants were built all throughout the communist world, which combined with industrialization did improve the lives of the people considerably (at the expense of a few million that died in the process). With the help of transatomic elements found in Tunguska, the Soviets were able to advance further than their rivals in the atomic race. Nuclear weapons, once an American monopoly, became more powerful and numerous in Soviet hands, allowing them to dominate the world in the 1960s and 1970s. The Soviets extended their iron grip over Eastern Europe after East Germany successfully overthrew their communist government in 1989; in response, the Soviets annexed the entire Warsaw Pact. The Soviet economy would never move past its dependence on atomics, even as the transatomics in Tunguska run out. Of course, Soviet nuclear technology has become more efficient. Every city, and now even the villages, are powered by nuclear reactors. The Soviet Union remains under the total control of the Communist Party, and Stalin is still celebrated as a hero. The Soviets continued to maintain the second largest military in the world, second only to China's, and perhaps the most powerful land force in the world. The Soviets make extensive use of energy weapons, particularly Tesla weaponry. Tesla weaponry, which utilizes powerful electrical charges, can reduce a man to ash. This is why Tesla coils line the Soviet border, both to keep the capitalist invaders out, and to keep the Soviet people in.

The Americans lagged behind the British and Soviets in the early Cold War era, but they jumped ahead to first place in the 1980s as the computer revolution took off. American society did not really reap the benefits of computing until the invention of the Internet, a network of instantaneous communication between computers. The Internet, and advances in automation that made the British machines seem primitive by comparison, allowed the American economy to take off. The Americans shared these benefits with their Western European allies, and by the turn of the century, the American-European bloc was the most powerful in the world. The Internet allowed the American government to spy on its people, as its leadership grew more corrupt and out of touch, but it also allowed the free spread of ideas, which had a detrimental effect on the American government by the 2020s. Resistance and disgust with the American government was at an all-time high, with publicized scandals, riots and general chaos consuming the media, both within the Internet and outside of it. Civil unrest came to a head when the American government decided to use its drones against its own people. The American people rose up against the government, using the Internet to coordinate their resistance and to spread ideas. These ideas were mostly oriented to increasing the power of the individual, but others disagreed. These ideas included a rejection of that old idea that all men are created equal, a rejection of democracy, and the necessity of a hierarchy. In the chaos following the fall of the American government, the Dirigist movement coalesced power and, by taking advantage of the infighting among their opponents, managed to defeat them one by one. In the United States' place, they created the North American Directorate, a society where the state has total control of the population, for Dirigism is not merely a political system, but a way of life. Morality, which includes such quirks as forcing women in the house, and pedophilia being natural, was enforced by the government. The Directorate's advanced computer technology has allowed them to maintain their iron grip. Drones, large and small, hover across Directorate territory, watching the people. Of course, the people readily provide information to the government, as they are encouraged through social media to give away their location, acquaintances, and even their innermost thoughts. On the front lines, the Directorate employs traditional gunpowder weapons, with a smattering of railguns, and exoskeletons.

The European Union took a different route from the Americans. Historically, the Western European states have been staunch American allies, but this caused resentment among younger people, who did not see the Soviets as such a great threat. The EU federalized at around the same time as the Second American Revolution, under German leadership. Disgusted with the Dirigist regime and other "regressives" elsewhere, the Europeans adopted the progressive social justice politics common at the time with zeal. The EU went about destroying their independent national heritages, labeling them "racist" and "oppressive," and keeping national borders only as a means of administration. Foreign cultures, or rather pastiches of them (while the EU would welcome anybody in, immigration out of most countries is limited), along with a general "European" identity were imposed on the people instead. While championing freedom, the EU censored anybody who spoke out against them as being ignorant or bigoted, their opinions unwelcome in the "safe space" of European political discourse. There are either three hundred genders or gender is nonexistent, depending on the mood of the social administrators that day. Like their Dirigist archrivals, the Europeans used their technology to keep an eye on the enemy within and without. Seeing themselves as the The Europeans, concerned with the pollution generated by the British, Soviets and Americans, turned to solar power early on. Perfecting this green technology (at the cost of their de facto colonies in Africa), the Europeans prided themselves in the positive impact they were having on the world. The European military, while aesthetically non-threatening (particularly the tanks which have greenhouses on them), is actually rather effective, possessing powerful laser technology. Even the Europeans' enemies have a bright future, even if that brightness means being reduced to a pile of bubbling goo.

In Africa, the other inheritors of America's computer technology have taken control, and are threatening European and Soviet power on the continent. At the end days of the United States, many American tech conglomerate fled to West Africa, which already had a burgeoning tech industry. After the fall of the American government, these conglomerates suddenly had no country, so they decided to take one. Nigeria became the first corporate state in the world, its republican government merely a shell for the CEOs and shareholders of the American companies that considered Nigeria home. The Ivory Coast and Ghana followed suit. Although initially welcomed by the locals, and although the corporations have legitimately improved the living standards in West Africa, the locals soon found out that being an "employee-citizen" did not have many benefits long-term. Indeed, it meant being worked like a slave, although with automation taking care of most physical needs, this "work" is mostly working in code, either in "meatspace" or uploaded directly into cyberspace. Those employees who are incapable, or prove to be too resistant, have their minds wiped, and their brains are used as processors. African technology is highly advanced, similar to those used by the North American Directorate, but with more emphasis on cyborgs and less emphasis on drones. They also have much better railguns.

The United States was heavily involved in the Middle East before its fall, and actually succeeded in imparting its values of secular democracy in the area. The new United States of Arabia adopted the American way of life with the zeal of a convert, and after the fall of the United States, the Arabs saw themselves as the last defender of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This has informed Arabian politics, where both the Democrats and the Republicans demand to make the world safe for democracy, but they were not powerful enough to strike until recently. In 2093, the Arabs under President Jurj al-Bash invaded Alaska, an old dictatorship, and there recreated the United States of America. The Middle Eastern coalition still faces terrorism in the region, mostly backed by the Dirigists and the opportunist Canadians. Arab technology is reminiscent of American and European technology, being descended from American technology prior to the revolution. In addition to computers and drones, the Arabs have invested heavily in nanotechnology, giving them an edge, even as Arab oil has run out. Of course, the Alaskan wells are producing just fine now.

Japan was an impoverished, bombed-out state under American control, until the Second American Revolution forced a general withdrawal of the American forces on the islands. Japan soon fell into civil war, and traditionalists emerged victorious. The traditionalists won with the help of Shinto occultists, who used ancient texts to bring yokai – monsters from Japanese myth – into this world to defeat their enemies. To accomplish this, they used the torii, ceremonial gateways to another world which became more than ceremonial with a proper human sacrifice. The modern Shogunate of Japan is an uneasy alliance between humans and yokai, and while they have ambitions to restore the Japanese Empire of the Second World War, they do not have enough forces to take on China or the Soviet Union. They do, however, have an alliance with the Elder Things of Leng, and communicate regularly through the torii.

China was a Marxist-Leninist state for most of the Cold War era, until the rule of Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang. A dedicated Maoist, but with a Legalist tinge, Yang believed that the root of all human suffering was that it was not interconnected. He sought to correct this by creating the People’s Hive, a network of computers to which all Chinese citizens would be uploaded. Yang presented this as the ultimate achievement of communist with Chinese characteristics, and after disposing of his opponents, he successfully used this technology to unite the Chinese cities into one hive consciousness (one which, conveniently, had him dominant consciousness). Now, apart from the People’s Hive, only Chinese peasants in the rural areas remain independent, where they fear that the drones of the Hive will one day find them.

There are three major states which have used abandoned knowledge to become powerful: Central Africa, Kemet, and the Khmer. The Central African Empire was founded by Emperor Bokassa I in the 1970s. At first, he was the laughing stock of Africa, but after his men found a cache of experimental steam technology developed by Jules Verne, Bokassa I was able to transform the Central African Empire from one of the poorest African countries to one of the richest. After this economic renaissance, he aligned himself with the Americans to fight his allegedly communist neighbors, allowing himself to die the Napoleon of Africa. Today, Central African steam technology has advanced considerably, developing technology such as tripods and heat-rays.

In Cambodia, during a search for Khmer Rouge rebels, the government discovered an ancient thinking machine beneath the temple complex of Angkor Wat. This machine, which introduced itself as the Avatar of Vishnu, claimed to be the creation of enlightened priests and Chinese engineers hired by Suryavarman II, as a true dedication of his faith. Dormant for centuries (it would later be revealed, because Suryavarman II feared the machine and ordered Angkor Wat built over it). The Avatar promised the Cambodian government that it would give them the means to defeat the Khmer Rouge, and to become the great power in Southeast Asia, if only they would listen to its counsel. The Cambodians accepted the offer, and in exchange for more parts, the Avatar gave the Cambodians schematics for clockwork machines that proved devastatingly effective. Soon, Cambodia was the premier power in Southeast Asia, and even succeeded in conquering the rest of Indochina while the rest of the world was busy elsewhere.

In Egypt, the nationalist regime which had expelled the British found that the ancient Egyptian civilization was, indeed, built by aliens. Using this knowledge, recovered from the "New Rosetta Stones," the Egyptians were able to augment their existing diesel technology with alien technology, such as energy shields, energy weapons and antigravity. After the fall of the Egyptian military regime, a new pharaoh took control. Calling himself "The Black Pharaoh," this mysterious figure seemed to have a great understanding of this alien technology. Eventually, he revealed himself to be one of the Ancients, the alien species that uplifted mankind all those years ago. While Kemet, as Egypt was now known, has the means to conquer the Earth from orbit, for some reason, the Black Pharaoh has kept his forces limited to African border wars.

After their independence from the British Empire, the Indians and Australians have become advanced powers in their own right. The Indians have taken a similar route to the West Africans, only their technology is developed at home and their government less oppressive. The Australians, on the other hand, have used Australium to jumpstart their technological boom. Australium is a unique form of transatomic, found only on the Australian continent, and produces clean nuclear power. This has allowed Australia to become a technological powerhouse unlike anything else on Earth, complete with skytowers and flying cars, but the Australians are committed to isolation.

South America was once home to two regional powers, Brazil and Argentina. Brazil was a Soviet ally, and Argentina an American ally, and both fought a regional cold war against each other. This cold war went hot in the 2040s, as the Argentines desperately attempted to maintain their quickly declining position on the continent. This started the Atomic Wars, a series of nuclear wars between Brazil, Argentina and their nuclear-armed allies. Today, South America remains the realm of techno-barbarians, native tribes and cyber-gauchos, all fighting the elements and each other for their continued existence.

Beyond Earth, two other great powers watch the other powers on Earth. NASA was the former American space agency, which later subsumed other national space agencies after they were abandoned by their governments. NASA primarily inhabits space stations orbiting around Earth, but they do have bases on the Moon, one base on Mars, and several generation ships exiting the Solar System. NASA hopes to preserve humanity even after the destruction of human civilization on Earth, and to stay away from the conflict. The other power is Persephone Aerospace, a mysterious American corporation that quickly overtook NASA in the Space Race right before the fall of the United States. Having established bases over lunar volcanoes (themselves restarted by Persephone), Persephone Aerospace quickly militarized its holdings in the stars after the Second American Revolution. Unlike NASA, they eagerly await the final war on Earth, so they can sweep in and inherit the stars.