Imperator Augustus Caesar Gaius Antonius Avitus Britannicus
For the Decade of the 80s, Elysium stood out for the Megapolis, metropolitan areas formed by conurbations of large cities whose populations exceed 10 million inhabitants. These Megapolis were notable for being the first on Elysium to be fitted with an experimental multi-layer laser-based air and missile defense system designed to destroy missiles, artillery shells and mortar shells at a maximum height of 7 kilometers. This Experimental System called "Quirinus" uses an advanced high-power fiber optic laser, cheaper and less harmful to the environment than a chemical laser, to intercept and destroy targets in flight within 4 to 5 seconds of being "fired" , once the threat has been registered by detection and surveillance systems, and monitored by systems located at key points. It is intended to intercept threats at heights of up to 10 kilometers. Target interception and destruction occur once two simultaneously fired condensed laser beams contact the target at once. The system engages the target by means of a thermal sensor and destroys it in one of two ways: either by activating the explosive of the intercepted device itself (in the case of missiles and projectiles) —result of the intense heat concentrated at this point—, causing its explosion , or by destroying elements of the target that neutralize it (especially in the case of aircraft, particularly drones). The system would offer two versions: a static one, deployed at strategic points and a mobile one, installed on armored combat vehicles. The main Megapolises were.
- Megapolis Imperial : Union between Augusta Elysium and Mons Regius
- Megapolis Ferrum: Lower Irocois Peninsula to Civis Chicagou and Nova Toletum Emerita.
- Megapolis Atlanticus Superior: Union between Septimia Severus to Civis Mohawk.
- Megapolis Hispania: All lower peninsula of Hispania Maritimae.
- Megapolis Neronia: Union between Castrum Dentatus, Neropolis and Colonia Taurica Maritimae.
- Megapolis Arapaho: Union of Civis Cheienne to Colonia Hohokamus.
- Megapolis California: Junction between Cives Cosoy to Aureum Ostium including Faventia.
- Megapolis Pacifica: Union between Diocletianopolis and Colonia Silva Acernus.
- Megapolis Mexico: Formed around Civis Aztecus and surrounding cities.
- Megapolis Nova Carthago: Built around Nova Carthago and the Lacus Carthago.
- Megapolis Sarmatiae: Built around Polis Sarmatiae and the coastline.
- Megapolis Inca: Built around Incapolis
- Megapolis Argentius: Built around Civis Argentius and the Rio Argentius.
The decade was a time of great prosperity on Elysium, largely due to the unexpected explosion of the technology industries that produced Informaticum Nexus commonly called InfoNex (OTL:Internet). Economies experienced a period of economic expansion. At the same time, personal income doubled compared to other years, and there was higher productivity in general. Individual ownership of personal computers increased from 35% to 70% at the same time that they became more accessible with even greater capabilities. At the same time, the creation of a novel transport system began. This system is commonly called MagLev (Magnetica Leviticus). The MagLev System allows the train to travel along a guide of magnets that control the stability and speed of the train. The magnet guide consists of two sets of magnets: one to repel and push the train off the track, and another set to move the elevated train forward, taking advantage of the lack of friction. Two types of intercity systems were made. A high speed system (more than 400 kilometers per hour (250 mph)) and another of low speed urban systems (80 kilometers per hour (50 mph) to 200 kilometers per hour (120 mph). Thanks to the immense amount of energy production centers (hydroelectric dams, nuclear power plants and wind-solar farms) could afford the high energy consumption On the other hand, in the field of medicine it was possible to clone a living being for the first time, a dog called "Primus " of Cane Corso breed.
The cell used as a donor for the cloning of Primus was taken from a mammary gland, and the production of a healthy clone therefore demonstrated that a cell taken from a specific part of the body could recreate an individual During the process, three "mothers" were needed: one provided the ovule, another the DNA, and a third carried the cloned embryo to term. She was created using the somatic cell nuclear transfer technique, where the cell nucleus of an adult cell is transferred into an unfertilized oocyte (developing egg) that has had its cell nucleus removed. The hybrid cell is stimulated to divide by an electrical discharge, and when it becomes a blastocyst it implants itself into a surrogate mother. The success gained a lot of attention in the media and more tests were produced. With such an achievement, it was hoped to combat the extinction of certain animals.
At the same time that cloning was taking its first steps as a crawling baby would, so would genetic modification, which had been applied for millennia in matters such as the development of agriculture and the selective breeding of farm animals, even in human slavery. All with the aim of satisfying human needs, whether it be a greater number of crops, larger animals that provide more fur, meat, even have greater resistance and strength. Therefore, Maratha and Japanese scientists in collaboration with Elysium ended up investigating the use of genetically modified crops that allowed genes to be added or deleted using genetic engineering techniques. The main modification in crops added resistance to herbicides, insects. The main hope of these genetic modifications was increased yield, decreased use of land, less use of fertilizers and reduced use of farm machinery. On the other hand, one of the main modified crops would be Tobacco together with the Coca plant.
On the other hand, the companies or Collegiums were regulated by the government through a national standard for the property of the Collegium. Each Collegium had to declare the value of its capital and from there the market forces established an effective price for the guild. This total price could be subdivided into proportional parts representing partial ownership in the guild: Partes (commercial shares). As a result of this, the Forum Pars (Stock Exchange) were founded, an efficient way of regulating property while establishing a forum for the exchange of shares. The main Forum Pars were Forum Pars Elysium, Forum Pars Lenape, Forum Pars Cheienne, Forum Pars California, Forum Pars Aztecus, Forum Pars Inca, and Forum Pars Argentium. Japan, the Maratha and various states were quick to copy this economic system as an efficient way of regulating property.
The Emperor of Elysium as of 2738 AUC (1984 AD) was
Gaius Antonius Avitus. Avitus would stand out as the son of a successful businessman who spent his first ten years of life in the province of Hibernia that made his company listed in the Lenape Forum Pars. His childhood was always marked in a mixed environment between the military: given the geographical position of Hibernia and the more than constant presence of a minimum of ten Legions in the Emerald Isle. And the aristocratic: given Ireland's popularity as a tabula rasa for business and farming that was enhanced by the vast majority of his friends being sons of prominent local or provincial political figures. He studied at the Universitas de Glasgow before being sent to the Bellica Academy. In the time between college and Bellica Academy, he worked at the 40,000-acre "Villa" on the outskirts of Dublin, owned by his future father-in-law. At the age of 21, he married Appia Flavia Corvina, daughter of a Senate.
Throughout his life he held the titles of Governor of Hibernia, Caledonia and Hispania Maritimae. Until at the age of 42 he managed to be elected as the new emperor after the death of the previous one. One of the new measures that Avitus imposed was greater action training in the legal security forces. This led to the formation of the Vigiles Inmunes. The Vigiles Inmunes were simply Vigiles (policemen) with more specialized roles. The Vigiles Immune roles were:
- Vigiles Inmunes Infans: personnel specialized in working with minor offenders.
- Vigiles Inmunes Canis: Personnel specialized in working with dogs.
- Vigiles Inmunes Equites: Personnel specialized in horse patrol and crowd control.
- Vigiles Inmunes Limitanei: Personnel specialized in border control at airports and ports.
- Vigiles Inmunes Caelus: Personnel specialized in using aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car chases, observation, air patrol, and control of large-scale public events and / or public order incidents.
- Vigiles Inmunes Pyrabolum: Personnel specialized in the elimination of chemical, biological, incendiary, radiological ("dirty bombs") and nuclear bombs and explosive devices.
- Vigiles Immune Comitatenses: Personnel specialized in using military equipment, uniforms and training to serve as a militarized force of rapid reaction and rapid insertion available and serve in operations against organized crime and the fight against terrorism.
- Vigiles Inmunes Latrones: Personnel specialized in the fight against organized crime.
- Vigiles Inmunes Cybernetica : Personnel specialized in the fight to stop cybercrime.
In 1989, the Dartmoor Ministry of Supply facility under the code name "Baskerville" developed several designer pests, targeting coca, opium and narcotic plants. In an operation under the code name HOUND, they released the virus and in a short time the Coca plant was almost wiped off the face of the earth. Given the victory within their reach, the British government confirmed its responsibility for the release of the virus. Such an act almost ensures the complete destruction of the companies dedicated to drug cultivation. In retaliation for the near eradication of narcotics crops, groups of
Bucellari (Mercenaries) financed by Elysian businessmen began a campaign against the English. To the point that an explosion almost destroyed London Bridge. The effect of the campaign was devastating. This series of events starts a domino effect that spreads throughout the world. Within days, the entire world is plunged into crisis as the virus hits India and China.
In the territories of South Cassiopeia, the economy is reeling and almost collapsing. But the development of genetically modified drugs allows for a rebound, the new drugs had longer lasting effects, less damaging, more adaptable even higher production. Like Hydra, the Elysians struck back like a kick in the scrotum to the English, but like any blow, the English demanded the arrest of the majority of pharmaceutical entrepreneurs of Elysian origin on English soil. This led to a black legend that Elysium businessmen are actually "drug lords" who legally sell medicine but behind the scenes supply drugs to crime families. Motivated by this, the government gave the green light for police SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) units to break into the main regional offices and homes of companies or entrepreneurs of Elysium origin who work in the pharmaceutical sector.
The arrest of the Elysium businessmen soon came with the attack on the companies by English citizens who went so far as to attack the workers, whether English or Elysium, to the point that several workers ended up being killed after serious injuries that included group beatings and stabbings. Such aggressions did nothing but anger an Elysium that demanded the release of its citizens and the arrest of those responsible for the violence. The English government refused and that provoked a response in the form of a declaration of war. With twenty Legions (124,000) in the British Isles, Elysium began the invasion of England in 1990. The Elysiums had a clear military and technological advantage. Cybernetics had become a reality, and advances in cyber technology are widely accepted. Aerial vehicles called Aerodynes allowed for superior deployment capabilities. The British Armed Forces had unprecedented support on English soil although the rest of Europe abandoned them due to the secondary effects of the HOUND virus against his own crops.
In the first few weeks, the Aerodynes proved much more effective in this war as well, their superior maneuverability, armor, and stability, allowing them far more access to the battlefield than helicopters. Cybernetics allowed soldiers to stay in the fight longer and even acquire more speed, physical strength or monitoring systems from headquarters. The first motorized armours, huge units reminiscent of faster, more heavily armored EOD suits, were first deployed here. England, due to the situation, deployed the Penal Corps for the first time, with entire prison populations being selected for military service in exchange for reduced sentences. Penal troops must fight alongside standard military units, which makes many in the military nervous. Armed and convicted murderers, rapists and other violent criminals who are sent to war and have the whole world looking on with suspicion. Enlistment standards were drastically lowered, making the whole situation more tense by the minute.
By 1992, England was fighting a desperate battle against the Legions. The main English commander was General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., a Colonial-born Commander who possessed a reputation as a commander who preferred to lead from the front, even willing to risk his own life for his subordinates. His leadership style emphasized preparation, discipline, and rigorous training. The situation, however, was brutal and the Elysium advance faced air attacks throughout the English soil due to the Air Bases in Hibernia or the Isle of Man that was taken in the first weeks of combat. The English Penal battalions soon proved to be a serious mistake because in the worst battles, the penal soldiers ended up facing and killing enemies, allies and civilians alike while raiding and looting the surroundings. Reports of the atrocities committed by the rogue prisoners were so horrific that they were ordered executed. Around 600,000 prisoners were used in the most brutal combat as either cannon fodder or expendable troops.
The Welsh Front was described as a guerrilla war where the Imperial forces fought against a force of irregular enemies who rarely stood and fought, and who blended into the surrounding civilian population and mountains like ghosts. The use of AV variant gunships armed with heavy weaponry ranging from Heavy Machine Guns to rocket launchers with heat-seeking, anti-tank, cluster missiles and more provided an advantage against Welsh guerrillas. Scandinavia, under the Oslo Pact treaty, provided military support to England but the deployment of Castra Navis (Sea forts) that were capable of serving as anti-ship and anti-aircraft platforms, was a strong impediment. To survive in this increasingly deadly air defense zone, Scandinavia had to adopt newer, more specialized tactics. approach targets at higher altitudes (to avoid anti-aircraft fire) and become prey for SAMs, or fly lower to avoid missiles and become the target of anti-aircraft batteries.
The English Royal Family was evacuated from London, after the bombing of London where London bridges were destroyed with cruise missiles, unfortunately the Prince of Wales, Charles was killed when the royal transport codenamed "
Prydwen" was the object of an air attack that ended the life of the Prince who ended up sinking in the waters of the Canal. The news of Charles's death only escalated the war to the point that Elysium prisoners were executed and exposed as an example of the fate of any invader. Unfortunately, the invasion of Cornwall and the near conquest of Wales in 1993 was a brutal blow that began to abandon the islands. The sight of abandoned trucks and tanks in landing zones became common and even more so when these same vehicles were used by partisan groups who would continue the fight. England ended up being abandoned by the royal family and in El Cairo, Queen Elizabeth II ended up dying of her own disgust at losing her homeland.
The new king of England was eleven-year-old William, Duke of Cambridge, but the royal regent was his grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who would rule until he came of age. Although most countries considered the British Isles lost, that did not prevent military units from ending up not reporting to the high command and becoming a kind of military alliance of groups made up of militias and military units that refused to withdraw. Mainly in the South East, Midlands and London regions, they were plagued by riots that quickly became much more violent as they organized and waged a brutal urban guerrilla war against the Elysiums, resulting in gun battles that consumed the streets, buildings and city blocks of Greater London, due to the proximity of these guerrilla groups and the supplies left behind by the retreating British army, they were able to mount a more effective guerrilla war than any other British force in other parts of the country.
By 1995, the City of London had been subjected to years of bombing that had left no structures standing, and most of the civilian population had fled by boat. Still, the rebels held the city through guerrilla warfare and spending most of their time in heavily fortified fortifications. The Elysium troops were responsible for a series of human rights abuses and crimes against humanity ranging from the suppression of basic freedoms to acts of genocide. During the conflict, many units rounded up rebels in concentration camps to hold them prisoner or use as slave labor. The worst situation was the Christian clergy where around 5,000 clergymen were crucified on the banks of the Temesis River. The province of Britannia was created but due to the unstable situation, it became necessary to maintain a minimum number of ten Legions to secure the region.
In the early 90s, Japan would end up surprising the world with the Ultra Gerulius Caeli (supercarrier) "Hiryu". The Aircraft Carrier was a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that had five take-off and landing runways. This new aircraft carrier soon set a new standard in the military by providing an aircraft carrier that is capable of serving as naval mobile air bases. In China, Japan would end up intervening and occupying North China including Mongolia in 1990. The occupation of Manchuria and Mongolia came with the establishment of the Autonomous Governments of Manchukuo and Mengjiang. Both Autonomous Governments were in themselves, vassals of the Empire of Japan and as such the main purpose of their armies was to support any possible Japanese operation in their area of operations, and to act as a local security force, with the local police forces. In general, the new territories experienced rapid economic growth and progress in their social systems. The Zaibatsu took it upon themselves to build or rebuild the railway system making it efficient and impressive, while most of the Zaibatsu owned large stakes in many industrial projects throughout the region. Most puppet governments featured a very heavily state-led economy to achieve their goal of vastly increasing industrial production.
On the other hand, Japan would surprise the world by inventing the first fusion-powered rocket capable of providing efficient and sustained acceleration in space without the need to carry a large supply of fuel. Using Helium-3 as fuel, Japan soon managed to reach the orbit of Mars and Mercury in two separate missions. The colonization of the Moon soon saw Selenepolis being transformed into a huge complex where the only exposed parts were launch and landing facilities and the Litobolos "Selene". But below, stretched a vast underground network of tunnel networks connecting artificial subterranean biospheres. In a completely unexpected political move, the Elysian government declared that while the security and administration of Selenepolis would be handled by the Elysian forces, any nation would be able to land on the colony and use it for any civilian task. But the colonization of the moon saw cave-cities dug under the frozen deserts of Moon. The lunar underworld quickly became populated with tunnels and caverns. Where once there was only darkness, now light shone from either tunnels with MagLev trains or pedestrians. The miners dug deep and their tools glowed white-hot but as in the age of exploration and sails, space piracy soon emerged in the form of ships with weapon systems in the form of torpedoes/missiles: self-propelled guided weapon systems compatible with a series of of warheads, later the Ballista electrika (Railgun Artillery) were issued: Mass drivers designed for military purposes and capable of accelerating tungsten slugs to high speeds. Often a Railgun projectile will pass cleanly through its target, dealing deadly damage depending on the area affected given its piercing power. Later there are the Punctual Defense Systems or PDS in the form of adjustable cannons with rapid firing and high precision given their range that goes from one kilometer to five hundred meters, capable of acting as a CIWS system.
The development of weapons as a result of the so-called "
Space Front" caused the development of the first Coclius electrika nicknamed "electroclius" (OTL: Gauss Rifle), the Coclius electrika used a capacitor charging system capable of accelerating any acceptable ferromagnetic projectile. Soon the effectiveness of such weapons led to the investigation of automatic models, although due to the cost, it was decided to equip them only for space warfare. In the year 2000, the greatest space traffic ever seen would begin. Fleets from the Russian Empire, the newly named Indian Empire that in view of a plan to implement Indian nationalism in the Maratha Empire had changed its name, Scandinavia and Iberia even Austrians. Each nation had a dream, a particular vision of a perfect world, an ideal to which all its citizens aspired. Each one fought to achieve that ideal in the territories of the Solar System. The proud settlers of mighty Japan set foot on the soil of Mars, and painstakingly began to build Akagishi (Red Future City). The committed Indian settlers would excavate their cities in underground domes beneath the burning sands of Mercury's deserts. Mercury's subsoil would quickly become populated while the Indian overpopulation that threatened the subcontinent was combated by a space diaspora.
Hundreds of methods would be investigated and put into practice to survive and colonize abroad. In the midst of these processes a new stage of body modifications would begin. Body cybernetics would include a new class that would be focused on improving human anatomy and physiology rather than connecting it to electronics or mechanics. From skin tissue that has damage resistance similar to light armor (think Kevlar) to bioengineered (all-organic) antibodies, designed to be more efficient than natural antibodies intended to increase resistance to disease, at the same time as vat-grown organic muscle that could, in a matter of a few days or weeks, make a person have the physical strength of a bodybuilder. Cybernetic technology did not stop there, for at the same time, space exploration helped speed up the miniaturization process. Reinforced spines and joints were first designed for workers, grafted upper airway air filters for those working in hazardous environments.
In Russia, in the early 2000s, the Russian Civil War would break out after a long period of political turmoil that degenerated into conflict. In this period of turmoil, Istanbul began funding and training various dissident groups in Russia, creating a campaign of terrorism that fueled public animosity toward Russian political institutions and deepened divisions within the military. The Tsar of Russia at that time was Nikolai Alekséyevich Romanov, son of Alexios II of Russia. Soon, the disturbances increased to the point that in the Caucasus region and the South Urals they declared a rebellion that made it necessary to mobilize several Guards Infantry Division. In the midst of the rebellions, Kazakhstan, a large oil-producing region, was affected. Due to the need to recover the vast oil fields, military trials and punishments were authorized against the rebels, which led to a swift and savage campaign of repression. The harsh repression brought about by Ottoman Agents managed to assist by giving military training and equipment to the rebel regions. Ottoman weapons and training in rebel hands allowed for the use of guerrilla warfare involving a massive counterattack that brought down a Russian military division. Because of this, the Russian STAVKA authorized a heavy bombing campaign that weakened supply routes, while destroying roads, bridges and electrical infrastructure. While few civilians were killed in these attacks, the psychological impact was powerful. The war saw the deployment of troops used with cybernetics, including the use of combat drugs that caused massacres, but on October 12, 2003, the Tsar and his family, except for his son Theodore Nikolayevich Romanov, were the object of a terrorist attack that saw the Imperial Russian Air Transport, being shot down when an explosive in the cargo compartment detonated causing the plane to crash a short distance from Moscow, the only survivor was Theodore Nikolayevich Romanov who was injured and paraplegic.
The new Tsar was soon subjected to a hatred of Muslim minorities when a Caucasic rebel cell claimed responsibility for the attack. Soon, waves of anti-Muslim radicalism spread to the point that faith and nationalism motivated the troops and the rebel territories were not only retaken. Russia entered the conflict as a fractured and fragile Imperial Monarchy and re-emerged as a strongly religious imperialist state.