Scenario: Extinction

This is Scenario: Extinction.

Backstory
Towards the end of the 21st Century, Earth became an inhospitable planet plagued by war, famine, disease and disaster. Climate change left the world in ruins. Temperatures in most placesoften remain around 45°C at day, occasionally reaching 60°C in arid regions and later plummeting to -40°C during the desert night. What wasn’t destroyed by earthquakes, flooding, drought and fire fell to volcanoes, asteroid showers and monsoons. The Human species went to war over energy sources and arable land. For many years the two superpowers engaged in proxy wars with each other, competing over any natural materials obtainable and in the process destroying the land around them. Nuclear arsenals were depleted and countries fell into anarchy. Finally, on January 16, 2120, a comet measuring 23 kilometers in diameter struck the Earth off the coast of Nicosia, Greece and decimated the planet. Billions died and much of the globe became essentially uninhabitable. The human population fell to 230 million.

The people continued to struggle. Their Society was gone, and without it, many perished. Most agricultural crops went extinct and many simply died from starvation and drought. The humans who were lucky enough to survive all of this still had a struggle ahead: The Nicosia Virus, spreading throughout the world as a result of the Greek comet catastrophe in 2120. Without any cure, it continued to kill the last remaining people on Earth.

In the next 5 years, the human population fell to 83 million, many of these residing on isolated pieces of territory far from pre-war metropolitan areas. Hope prevails in the hearts of many, determined to rebuild the world lost long ago.

Agriculture
Many crops perished in the harsh conditions during the war and natural disasters decimated their populations. Corn and wheat were among the few species to survive and became a main human food source.

Geography
Sea levels rose by more than 30 meters and large amounts of desertification occurred due to climate change and human mistakes. Entire portions of the world became unrecognizable and directly caused the death of at least 400 million people, many plant and animal species and destruction of historically important cities and artifacts.

North America
Even the most developed countries were sent into total anarchy due to being unable to (or refusing to) provide their citizens with basic human rights such as drinkable water, shelter and food.

Major Scandals erupted and eventually culmimated in civil war when it was revealed that the Federal United States government, in cooperation with various wealthy state governments, were keeping a tight grip on national resources and not assisting the poor states with humanitarian aid, instead choosing to wall them off and open fire on any attempted immigrants. Technology that allowed worldwide contact disappeared after the war because the advanced tech was destroyed and all historians who focused on the 20th century died alongside it. Although a few governments preceding the catastrophe still exist, they often have no control over the majority of the land. These places are usually authoritarian states who have zero-tolerance immigration policies and extreme penalties for even the pettiest crimes such as stealing food.

Many small militias and factions patrol the badlands, fighting over whose land belongs to who, although ultimately they settle their differences and unite when people infected with the Nicosia Virus reach their settlements. Most large cities which are not under Capitol control are either destroyed or infested with those who are infected. Humans have been isolated and pushed out of large cities, edging closer and closer to extinction because of their vulnerability. There is no cure for the Nicosia Virus.

The People's Militia is a major paramilitary organization whose main objective is to end the stalemate in the American civil war and eradicate the Nicosia Plague and all who are infected with it to secure the safe haven. Controlling territory on the Northern shores of the Mississippi Sea, they operate around the clock at their headquarters in Sikeston to defend what could be the last known population of humans. They often work with and contact other rebellious factions via radio to survey the area for the infected. An estimated 22,000 people live within the region they patrol.

Technology
The technology of the world varies widely from region to region. Some advanced groups of people were able to seal themselves off from the rest of humanity, although it is unknown if their societies have been penetrated by the plague or have collapsed. Other places were much worse off, with people often starving to death or dying from the lack of clean water.