Prologue: World Situation

The alarm sounded, the rocket lifted off, and five minutes later, nuclear warhead and all, it smashed into Yuri's fortress and exploded. The crazed, bald man with a tattoo on his forehead, along with the threat that he posed towards the world, was extinguished. Finally...

After many years of bloody fighting, it all came down to one large, powerful blast. And then it was over.

That was 20 years ago.....

The world had changed in leaps and bounds since that joyous day many years before. While fighting Yuri, the Allies and Soviets had joined forces, and had since come to a peaceful co-existence. For the first time in their lives, normal citizens lived in a world where they could live through days, weeks, even months at a time without worrying if the next day would be the start of a new war.

But the new world order couldn't possibly be all bliss. New technologies gave the masses easier and more pleasurable lives. They were a vast improvement from the slums of the war, from the death and decay, from the deserted towns and ravaged cities. They were civilized, homely, warm to the heart. They gave hope to people once more. Even evil hope.

Straight from the Allied Headquarters in London, England, the beautifully rebuilt city it had now become, top-secret technological advances were slowly leaked through a plethora of different, unimportant sources onto the disheveled humans that ran the black market. Any type of weapon imaginable could be purchased, in one form or another, through the black market. GI-issue machine guns could be bought in the hundreds for much less than a small fortune, and more advanced guns were only slightly more expensive to own. The more wealthy of citizens had enough lethal weaponry to create a small militia whom worked for them, getting through loopholes in the legal system to make the heavily-equipped 'soldiers' perfectly legal to roam the halls of office buildings, the streets of the city, anywhere they wanted. Which is exactly where this story begins.

Through the two decades after the war, society had evolved from a close-knit, loving community into a paranoid hell-hole. Though he hadn't been officially seen in the 20 years he had been dead, they were still enough 'Yuri-sightings' to keep people on the edge between paranoia and insanity. He had been too mad and too powerful. The citizens who still remembered the destruction he had wrought onto their innocent lives were paralyzed with fear at the saying of his name. And because of this, society had become fragmented.

The militias that wealthy businessman put together became the norm. The governments still had enormous power, vast armies, and large pocketbooks, but their control seemed to be slipping away. The militias controlled what was going on. And then the newest advance of technology came along.

Modified Prism Crystals (commonly referred to as 'MPCs') were the do-everything material people loved. MPCs could be used as a 'wire' in electronics, they could be refined into a narcotic drug, and they could be melted into a material that was harder than diamonds and was more lightweight than titanium or aluminum. They had even more major applications in all fields of study, and because of this versatility and ease of use, everyone wanted them. There was just one problem.

They were top secret and were only produced for military use by the Allied Armies. 

Of course there was one other alternative. Buying them at escalated prices using the black market. Which proved to be a very successful business proposition.

Companies began producing MPCs for the blackmarket heavily and concealed these operations from the government, using their militias or money as a deterrence that government inspectors took heed to. The practice brought in sky-rocketing profits. But eventually the CEOs of companies wanted more. So they decided to screw with the opposition.

They hired mercenaries.

Mercenaries were abundant in the late 20th century. Many ex-military personnel walked the streets, and although most of them had principals and at first turned down the companies officers, the businesses were smart enough to know that every man has his price. Before long, sabatoge and assassinations of highly-placed company officials were commonplace.

But amidst all the chaos, there was another conflict which could turn the world upside down once again. And hopefull the people would once again listen to the trusted government before it was too late.

continue to chapter one here »

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