28 Days Later - Death of a Nation

If the UK is the only place hit then the Government in Noerhern Ireland is the legit UK govt. The nation has not ‘dissolved’, therefore while they might ask for the Falklands to be watched over they are not allowing anyone to take UK territory.
 

MaxGerke01

Banned
If the UK does die as a result of the 2002 Rage Outbreak as the title suggests then that would set a very bad precedent for Europe and the rest of the world for the future.Firstly Russia /Putin would declare any countries they wanted to expand into in Europe as fair game because they are dead-killed by Rage Virus. The territories of the UK and France are most likely to be taken over by their ally the US if any country did so.Although its hard to believe that Argentina wouldnt try and get back the Falklands.Also what happened to Gibraltar ? This situation would also very likely be twisted and turned to justifications of taking over other "dead" countries elsewhere in the world.
As far as the British Royal Family isnt it inaccurate to say they "cant go back" ? They could but its probably considered a completely unacceptable risk for the short term at least.Setting up shop in Northern Irealnd is possible but seems less than desirable for obvious reasons. It was said long ago maybe one of the Channel Islands ?Even if the Rage Virus did kill the UK I thnk that there would be lots of resistance to give up the ghost from some quarters and I would think that includes Charles and company.
 
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On Facebook, I've been reminded that today marks 20 years since the fatal F-5A crash in the Philippine Air Force that caused the aging jet to be grounded and then retired in 2005. The crash occurred in the middle of Balikatan 2002, an annual exercise held between the United States Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.


Article from May 3, 2002:

With that said, this fatal crash occurred just two days before the TL's POD.

So once it has been discovered the Rage Virus is dangerous even though the United Kingdom is thousands of miles away from Asia, I could see U.S. Marines, Army, and Navy personnel along with their Filipino counterparts be on high alert. At this period, the AFP and the U.S. Special Forces were engaging Abu-Sayaff insurgents in Mindanao. Previous posts had stated that terrorists are already getting bright ideas of using Rage Virus as a weapon since it is more effective than guns and bombs.

Another butterfly here would probably see more U.S. military assistance to the Philippines via JUSMAG. More emphasis on NBC/CRBN units and would also probably hasten AFP modernization. There could be tanks, AIFVs, APCs, and even fighter jets. Perhaps the F-5s don't get grounded here any longer. Countries with small or poor military statuses would probably be forced to spend more on defense after seeing what the Rage Virus could do.
 
Well the Butterfly effect will do its job on everyone's militaries.

All of the old war era equipment that was put into storage will certainly be rushed back into operational service and all the retirement plans for military hardware such as the Filipino F-5A fleet will certainly be halted by the 2002 Pod.

The US forces will definitely be put up on high alert no matter what happens in the TL, the risk of the Rage Virus somehow spreading across the world is far too real, although I wouldn't be surprised if some US forces stationed aboard are relocated back to protect the US homeland from any possible outbreak.
 
I'll be graduating college next week with my Bachelors in History. America wouldn't be hit ITTL, but I can't help but think about how different my childhood would probably have been. American culture would have been even more paranoid than IOTL, which would probably have meant more school security, a greater focus on disease containment, and prepper culture. It would not have been a fun world to grow up in.
 
Well the Butterfly effect will do its job on everyone's militaries.

All of the old war era equipment that was put into storage will certainly be rushed back into operational service and all the retirement plans for military hardware such as the Filipino F-5A fleet will certainly be halted by the 2002 Pod.

The US forces will definitely be put up on high alert no matter what happens in the TL, the risk of the Rage Virus somehow spreading across the world is far too real, although I wouldn't be surprised if some US forces stationed aboard are relocated back to protect the US homeland from any possible outbreak.
This could also mean the Arroyo adminsitration would hasten AFP modernization. The F-5A/B fleets would be reactivated soonest. DND could request additonal spare parts from the U.S., if not even outright look into the F-16 or F/A-18 Hornet. For the Hornet, the Philippine Air Force almost received them had it not been for the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis. Even with the world recession caused by the Rage Virus, defense spending would skyrocket. Among these too would be NBC/CRBN assets.

Not all U.S. forces would be withdrawn to the mainland. As of 2002, the U.S. is still propping up a transitional government in Afghanistan and doing so might just give the Taliban the retaking they need (we saw how it played in OTL 2021). North Korea would see that as a sign of weakness and attempt to invade the South. What is likely is U.S. overseas deployments in Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific, and South America would remain in place as part of Washington's commitments with their allies.

main-qimg-b8896b6f2511400983896df90667a252

Map of the U.S. military deployments as of 2002.
I'll be graduating college next week with my Bachelors in History. America wouldn't be hit ITTL, but I can't help but think about how different my childhood would probably have been. American culture would have been even more paranoid than IOTL, which would probably have meant more school security, a greater focus on disease containment, and prepper culture. It would not have been a fun world to grow up in.
Consider that the POD is just 7 months after 9/11. We all know 9/11 changed America politically and culturally. On the political side, we got the Patriot Act and DHS. On the cultural side, people of brown color got hate attacks because racists could not tell the difference of Middle Easterners from South Asians. There was also paranoia over airplanes. For example, two months after 9/11, a plane crash in Queens caused the evacuation of skyscrapers in Manhattan.

Culturally, 9/11 also changed the pop-culture we know it. The WTC scene involving a helicopter being stuck on a web in Spiderman (2002) was removed. Movies about terrorism and hijackings were either released later or completely cancelled. America got more paranoid with potential terrorist infiltrators.

Being just less than a year after 9/11, you are correct that gun sales, bunker sales, and survivalist culture would definitley prop-up. We would then also see hate attacks on people of brown color thinking that they are responsible for the Rage outbreak, thinking the Britain suffered a bioterrorist attack. There would be more liberal use of guns and concealed carry, possibly even in Blue States like California, New York, and Illinois. People would start moving out of the major cities seeing what happened to Cambridge, Manchester, London, and all major cities in Great Britain.

On the pop-culture scene, zombie movies would be severely delayed. The first live-action Resident Evil already hit the cinemas at this period but I wouldn't see their sequels ever be produced. Same for the Dawn of the Dead remake, Dead Rising, and Left 4 Dead. Zombie pop-culture would be seen as insensitive or "aged poorly". Britain would lose most of her cultural identity. We don't get a carbon copy of HALO. One Direction, Adele, The Wanted, and Ellie Goulding do not become famous as they right now.
 
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This could also mean the Arroyo adminsitration would hasten AFP modernization. The F-5A/B fleets would be reactivated soonest. DND could request additonal spare parts from the U.S., if not even outright look into the F-16 or F/A-18 Hornet. For the Hornet, the Philippine Air Force almost received them had it not been for the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis. Even with the world recession caused by the Rage Virus, defense spending would skyrocket. Among these too would be NBC/CRBN assets.

Not all U.S. forces would be withdrawn to the mainland. As of 2002, the U.S. is still propping up a transitional government in Afghanistan and doing so might just give the Taliban the retaking they need (we saw how it played in OTL 2021). North Korea would see that as a sign of weakness and attempt to invade the South. What is likely is U.S. overseas deployments in Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific, and South America would remain in place as part of Washington's commitments with their allies.

main-qimg-b8896b6f2511400983896df90667a252

Map of the U.S. military deployments as of 2002.

Consider that the POD is just 7 months after 9/11. We all know 9/11 changed America politically and culturally. On the political side, we got the Patriot Act and DHS. On the cultural side, people of brown color got hate attacks because racists could not tell the difference of Middle Easterners from South Asians. There was also paranoia over airplanes. For example, two months after 9/11, a plane crash in Queens caused the evacuation of skyscrapers in Manhattan.

Culturally, 9/11 also changed the pop-culture we know it. The WTC scene involving a helicopter being stuck on a web in Spiderman (2002) was removed. Movies about terrorism and hijackings were either released later or completely cancelled. America got more paranoid with potential terrorist infiltrators.

Being just less than a year after 9/11, you are correct that gun sales, bunker sales, and survivalist culture would definitley prop-up. We would then also see hate attacks on people of brown color thinking that they are responsible for the Rage outbreak, thinking the Britain suffered a bioterrorist attack. There would be more liberal use of guns and concealed carry, possibly even in Blue States like California, New York, and Illinois. People would start moving out of the major cities seeing what happened to Cambridge, Manchester, London, and all major cities in Great Britain.

On the pop-culture scene, zombie movies would be severely delayed. The first live-action Resident Evil already hit the cinemas at this period but I wouldn't see their sequels ever be produced. Same for the Dawn of the Dead remake, Dead Rising, and Left 4 Dead. Zombie pop-culture would be seen as insensitive or "aged poorly". Britain would lose most of her cultural identity. We don't get a carbon copy of HALO. One Direction, Adele, The Wanted, and Ellie Goldberg do not become famous as they right now.
Well global Military spending will skyrocket back to the "glory days" of the Cold War certainly.

Not even a collapse of the Global economy will stop the arms spending.

The US will probably not pull out of Afghanistan until after 2004 or later, President Bush will be unable to launch an invasion into Iraq like he did in OTL unless there is mass hysteria in the media about terrorism and Saddam having samples of the Rage Virus, but any invasion will be extremely limited and there is unlikely to be any true occupation or "Nation building" done as the US.

North Korea will see a sign of weakness in the West but will not suddenly start an invasion of South Korea.

Relations between the North and South were actually improving in the early 2000s with the ongoing Sunshine Policy, despite the interference from the hardliner stance of the Bush Administration disrupting North-South relations with Bush calling the North as part of the "Axis of evil".

However if the US had suffered a devastating outbreak of the Rage Virus or South Korea itself had the Rage Virus then its beyond certain that Kim no.2 would've taken his chances and sent the Army across the DMZ and into the South.

The US will definitely maintain its overseas bases, and heck even expand them, but the European bases in Germany and the UK will be abandoned obviously



The aftermath of 9/11 will only add fuel into the fire of paranoria and racism both of which will be getting blasted into the stratosphere thanks to the fear of terrorism and Rage Virus with the continued war against both of them with the boogeyman Osama Bin Laden still at large.

Air travel will be hurt significantly, not by the risk of the Planes getting infected by Rage but rather instead by the financial disaster of the Rage Virus, this is basically a double whammy after only a few months since the devastating impact of 9/11 (sorry for the pun it wasn't intentional).

This is further worsened by the fact that the majority of flights across the North Atlantic are mostly cancelled for the foreseeable future, travelling will also be highly restricted as the risk of the Rage Virus being smuggled into America will be far too great until the Rage Vaccine is made and distributed across the planet.

Airlines that are also highly reliant or just use Airbus Aircraft only will be in serious trouble as Airbus will no more longer be a much of a functional company after being decapitated from the events of the 2002 POD.

Therefore Boeing is going to enjoy most of the early 21st Century with unquestionable monopoly on the Commercial Aviation market with only China and Russia and a resurrected Airbus being able to truly challenge Boeing's monopoly in the 2030s.

The pop-culture will definitely be derailed by the 2002 POD, with whatever "zombie-type" pop-culture being replaced by documentaries and films of the stories of the survivors who did or didn't make it against the Rage and how the rest of the world reacted to it.

It would be seen as extremely politically incorrect to still make videos and games about the Zombie genre until about 28 years later when the younger generations has half forgotten about the horrors and disasters of the early 2000s decade.

A general exudes from the cities of the US will definitely happen in this TL with people buying up houses in more safer and secluded locations, with gated communities that are proven to be "Rage proof" likely to become extremely popular.

The demand for Helicopters will definitely skyrocket as everyone will want a quick and dirty getaway from the epicentre of a outbreak and the normal everyday gridlock traffic jams. The same will happen with General aviation aircraft, although only with people living near airports and airfields.

Bunkers of all shapes and sizes will be extremely popular again after all the hysteria and panicking that did happen in the Y2K Scare.

The people who bought the bunkers for the 2000 scare (some people would still even be in those emergency bunkers since 2000) will feel vindicated and proven when the Rage Virus scare begins.

Those bunker people will only be proven wrong once again when the Rage Virus thankfully fails to reach the US States, the same cannot be said for the people of Europe...

Oh speaking of Europe how about we crank up the already bad mass hysteria and panic of the Rage Virus after the fall of the UK to well over 10 when the events of 28 weeks later starts and with most of Europe and the global economy with it collapsing to the Rage Virus.
 
Good assessment. There would be definitely be an increase in sale of guns, survival gear, houses away from cities, aircraft, and private islands within the Western Hemisphere. Gun politics in the U.S. would be more lenient this time after seeing what a red-eye maniac filled with pure rage could do to its victims.

We'd also see some sanitary practices such as hand washing, antiseptic, and barriers just like the COVID-19 pandemic today.

One thing I fear though is the vaccine. If the vaccine is made, that would mean everyone has the Rage Virus even though it's a weakened form. Who knows there might be unintended consequences from it. That would mean millions of ticking time-bombs around the world.
Would this mean that all of the good stuff to come out of British media would get butterflied ITTL?
If it was supposed to come out after May 4, 2002, then it's definitely butterflied away. It may not exist or it will come in a different form.
 
If it was supposed to come out after May 4, 2002, then it's definitely butterflied away. It may not exist or it will come in a different form.
So, Horrid Henry(the TV series) and maybe The Story Of Tracy Beaker(the TV series) would be butterflied?

Given those are my new favorite shows(even watching Horrid Henry right now as I'm typing this), then that'd be sad.
 
So, Horrid Henry(the TV series) and maybe The Story Of Tracy Beaker(the TV series) would be butterflied?

Given those are my new favorite shows(even watching Horrid Henry right now as I'm typing this), then that'd be sad.
In most likeliness, yes it would be butterflied away. The best chance those shows could happen is an equivalent of these gets produced in Canada, Australia, or New Zealand from British citizens that settled there. Of course, it would not be a carbon copy of OTL.
 
It could also be very Americanized. 10,000 British nationals settled in the United States when it became apparent the Britain would never be the same.
Oh. But which American/Canadian/Australian network would actually want to work with the British?

I could also see some of the BBC be moved and become foreign as a result..

Or at least surviving in Northern Ireland where you said they were pretty much safe.
 
Oh. But which American/Canadian/Australian network would actually want to work with the British?

I could also see some of the BBC be moved and become foreign as a result..

Or at least surviving in Northern Ireland where you said they were pretty much safe.
BBC would have relocated to Northern Ireland and opened studios in Scotland. Plus they are present in all 15 overseas territories, Commonwealth countries, and abroad. BBC won't be foreign. In fact, it would remain British as a part of the remaining heritage the UK has left.
 
BBC would have relocated to Northern Ireland and opened studios in Scotland. Plus they are present in all 15 overseas territories, Commonwealth countries, and abroad. BBC won't be foreign. In fact, it would remain British as a part of the remaining heritage the UK has left.
Exactly. That's what I meant, moving to Northern Ireland and Scotland.

And what are all of the British overseas territories and Commonwealth countries?
 
And what are all of the British overseas territories and Commonwealth countries?
The 15 overseas territories are those British territories like Gibraltar, Bermuda, Falklands, etc.
750px-British_Overseas.png


There's also the Channel Islands and Isle of Man which are considered independent countries within the UK.

Commonwealth countries are those former countries that were dominions of colonies of the British Empire. As of 2002, these are the following members. I took this from the 2002 Commonwealth Games article on Wikipedia. This event is butterflied away as it was scheduled to take place on July 25, 2002 to August 4, 2002 in Manchester no less. We all know Manchester burned to the ground.
Screen Shot 2022-05-03 at 1.00.24 AM.png
 
The 15 overseas territories are those British territories like Gibraltar, Bermuda, Falklands, etc.
750px-British_Overseas.png


There's also the Channel Islands and Isle of Man which are considered independent countries within the UK.

Commonwealth countries are those former countries that were dominions of colonies of the British Empire. As of 2002, these are the following members. I took this from the 2002 Commonwealth Games article on Wikipedia. This event is butterflied away as it was scheduled to take place on July 25, 2002 to August 4, 2002 in Manchester no less. We all know Manchester burned to the ground.
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Ok. So, the UK would still exist, just as those small lands?
 
The UK is definitely still alive but just ignore the fact that the UK is also kinda in a "civil war" or something against a certain "Federation of Great Britain" after Northern Ireland at some point of time between 2003 and 2012 voted to join the Republic of Ireland.

It's unknown how internationally recognised the Federation of Britain is as opposed to the rements of the UK and monarchy.

Although the F.G.B. seems to get forgotten about a lot in this thread since the post discussing it and the unification of Ireland wasn't threadmarked.

Actually a substantial amount of story driven posts by the OP in this thread were not threadmarked, but most of them had reasons for not getting marked.
 
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