Scenario: The Pandemic

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This is a timeline that explores the course of history during and following a catastrophic global pandemic of the Indian Respiratory Syndrome Virus (IRSV), a species of betacoronavirus that causes an infection with a preliminary mortality rate of approximately 76%. This pandemic killed approximately 4.8 billion people, forever changing civilization as we know it.

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Background
On 17 August 2031, a cluster of pneumonia cases resulting in four deaths was reported by health authorities in the Indian city of Mumbai, and an investigation into these cases was launched approximately two weeks later. Most of these cases were found to be in individuals who had recently been in contact with pangolins, and it is presumed that the disease is closely related to pangolin coronaviruses.

On 1 September 2031, a new species of betacoronavirus was isolated from a blood sample of a 68-year-old man who was a patient at Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai. Scientists who isolated this virus named it Indian Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, abbreviated as IRS-CoV. It was found to be very closely related to MERS-CoV, another species of betacoronavirus.

The Indian government did not initially take any protective measures against IRS-CoV, which allowed it to rapidly spread across India. The widespread damage and destruction inflicted across much of southern India by Cyclone Kyarr hastened the spread of the disease, and it is estimated that as many as 200 million Indians may have been infected within a month of the virus being detected.

On 27 September, a man who had recently visited family in Mumnbai was admitted to Central Middlesex Hospital in London presenting with a high fever, productive cough, difficulty breathing, and bronchial pain. He was found to have double pneumonia, and soon became the first person outside of India to test positive for IRS-CoV.

Over the following year, over 5 billion people worldwide would be infected with IRS-CoV. Of these, approximately 76% would die within a month of first exhibiting symptoms. By the beginning of 2033, approximately 4.8 billion would be dead from history's most catastrophic pandemic, and those who survived would be left with the immense task of salvaging what they could from the ashes of society.