The Resource Wars is an umbrella term referring to over 25 years of conflicts from the war between the European Commonwealth and the Middle East in April 2052 to the Sino-American War and the Great War on October 23, 2077. Some of the conflicts included the annexation of Canada by the United States and the Chinese invasion of Anchorage, Alaska.
The roots of the Resource Wars lie in a globally unsustainable economy that heavily relied on petroleum and uranium. The former provided not just fuel for vehicles (gasoline, diesel, and other forms of refined fuel), but also plastics, fertilizers, medicine, and countless other applications. The latter was an essential ingredient for nuclear fission, which provided a substantial amount of electricity worldwide. When demand outstripped supply, the situation started to deteriorate rapidly, leading to a resurgence of nationalism and protectionism. The United Nations soon proved powerless to stop hostilities, as the United States invaded Mexico in 2051, after a string of economic sanctions destabilized the country. Citing political instability and pollution as a threat to national security, the United States' intervention ensured that petroleum would continue making its way north, at Mexico's expense.
Conflicts :
Euro-Middle Eastern War
The European Commonwealth followed the United States' example when it replied to price hikes by oil exporters in the Middle East with military action. Long dependent on oil imports, European military units deployed to the Middle East in April 2052, starting an almost decade-long war for control over the region's oil deposits. The war caused oil prices to skyrocket, bankrupting many smaller nations, and caused the United Nations to implode just three months after the European Commonwealth declared war on the Middle East.
The war would rage on for the next years, with nuclear exchanges that occurred in the Middle East after Tel Aviv's destruction in December 2053 provoking a global nuclear scare and raising fears of global thermonuclear war. The United States government initiated Project Safehouse in order to construct great underground Vaults to protect its population, although the project was rife with embezzlement, corruption, and mismanagement, starting with the method of financing them (junk bonds) and ending with the number of Vaults constructed (just 122, capable of protecting less than a tenth of a percent of the United States' government).
The War would come to an end in 2060 when the Middle Eastern oil fields ran dry. Both sides were reduced to ruin, with the Commonwealth fragmenting into bickering nation-states, fighting over what resources remained within its reach.
Escalation
The end of the war did little to stabilize the international situation. Gripped by the resource crisis and the New Plague, the United States closed down its borders in 2052 and started taking ever more desperate steps to prop up its economy, as well as pursuing numerous promising technologies that could provide a solution to the problem, including advanced robotics (artificial intelligence such as ZAX, used to crunch numbers and process data by the Department of Energy after it was created by Vault-Tec Corporation), alternative propulsion systems (with REPCONN Aerospace, Mass Fusion, and Chryslus Motors being three examples), and nuclear fusion.
The military enjoyed extensive funding throughout the period, used as a sword and shield to protect American resources. In 2059, the Anchorage Front Line was established to protect Alaska against foreign invasion, with the blue water port and its surrounding region rightfully expected to become a battlefield in any future conflict, due to its importance in exporting oil. The increase in military presence in Alaska caused rising tensions with Canada, with the United States demanding the right to station troops on Canadian soil to provide protection for the Trans-Alaskan pipeline, starting the long erosion of Canadian sovereignty that would lead to its annexation.
By 2060, the situation was dire. Traffic worldwide ground to a halt, with petroleum becoming too precious to waste on personal automobiles. Alternatives such as electric and fission-based cars appear on the market, but in limited amounts due to the ongoing crisis. Fusion research accelerated, though with no apparent solution in sight.
The only consolation prize was that by 2063, most vaults would be complete, with drills starting.
Annexation of Canada
Reduced to a colony of the American empire, Canada attempted to resist. By 2072, the rampant devastation of Canadian ecosystems culminated in rioting across Canada and attempted sabotage of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline. The United States swiftly responded with military action, setting in motion the annexation of Canada. Over the next five years, Canada would become an occupied territory under military government, exploited for its resources and strategic location.
The aggressive use of biological weapons by China would also prompt a response from the United States, taking the form of the Pan-Immunity Virion project in 2073, meant to create a general immunizing agent against enemy biological weapons. The project would eventually lead to the creation of the Forced Evolutionary Virus, one of the most important mutagenic factors in the history of the world.
However, the most important element of the escalation came in 2074, when the United States invaded China, hoping to destabilize its war effort by opening a second front in Asia. However, long supply lines and adverse conditions on the mainland quickly end the hopes of American commanders of forcing a swift resolution to the conflict. Fighting in Alaska and Asia would bring no conclusion beyond mounting casualties for the next two years. The situation would steadily degenerate on fronts domestic and foreign, with civil rights eroding in the face of seemingly endless war. In 2076, the annexation of Canada would culminate in the total occupation of Canadian territories and open violence perpetrated against protestors and resistance fighters as American units swarmed across the nation.
The completion of the T-51 power armor that same year helped turn the tide of the war, with its superior performance and combat efficiency putting immense pressure on the Chinese forces, causing it to crumble on all fronts, with resources and supply lines from annexed nations stretched beyond the breaking point. However, the United States suffered from a deteriorating domestic situation, with food shortages leading to riots across the nation in August. The situation was further aggravated by the deteriorating labor situation, especially in Appalachia, where automation displaced thousands of workers, leaving them unable to support their families. The government and the military retaliated by declaring a state of martial law, turning the United States into a de facto dictatorship.
Comments