The Timeline.

[Brian]

Pasted instead of included as an attachment:

   The Day Beyond Tomorrow

   Our game begins, for our purposes, January 1st of 2004, at 3:45:06 PM PST.  Any events after that point diverge from our own reality.

   The history that takes us right up to the day we're going to be playing on.

   Major events in the world are as followed:

   

[*]January 1st, 2004.  First session of game fails.  A rehash is tried two weeks later, but fails just as badly (if not worse), and the GM cancels it, citing his homework as being more important, and that he can't give the game the attention it deserves.

   [*]March 28th, 2004.  Billions of dollars in damages are wrought against the US government as a terrorist organization breaks into several bases (simultaneously) and destroys various weapons and pieces of military equipment.

      [*]March 30th, 2004.

   

[*]1:34 AM (PST): In a repeat of the events of only two days prior, terrorists break into several relatively isolated (and theoretically non-existent) missile-silos.  Five missiles are launched with scrambled targeting information.

   [*]1:39-1:48 AM (PST): Three nuclear missiles are destroyed by the US missile defense program before acquiring a target.  The wide-area EMP burst scrambles most major communication channels for the next three hours.

   [*]2:01 AM (PST): A fourth nuclear missile falls into the Gulf of Mexico, and vanishes into the heart of current Hurricane Andrew.

   [*]2:15 AM (PST): The final missile detonates in an air-burst over Moffet Field, in Mountain View, California.  The overcast sky causes the majority of the explosive force to be redirected into the surrounding area, and thousands of lives are lost at the same time the resultant EMP causes massive damage to countless leaders in the technical industry.

   [*]7:00 AM (PST): The President of the United States of America declares Mountain View and immediate surroundings a disaster area.  Terrorism is condemned in the State of the Union Address, while the President vows that the terrorists responsible will be captured and brought to justice.

   [*]7:12 AM (PST): The impromptu State of the Union Address is hijacked by a series of private satellites that disable the existing satellite network and feed an announcement from a Tickle Me Elmo doll dressed in camouflage that speaks with a synthesized voice.  "Emlo", as it refers to itself, is the mascot and role-model for the Home Guard, the terrorist organization responsible for the attacks.  In the following 15 minutes and 34 seconds, Emlo outlines and explains that the Home Guard's role in the state of the world is to police those who have proven unfit to police themselves with the most minimal loss of life responsible.  Emlo then adds that the launched missiles were blamed on them, because they were at one point a part of the US government.

   [*]7:18 AM (PST): The pirate-satellites self-destruct, restoring all previous communications, and showing the world a shocked President, who disavows all knowledge of any ties to the Home Guard before the transmission abruptly cuts off.

   [*]10:00 AM (PST): As nation-wide panic escalates into riots and violent protests on government facilities, Martial Law is declared.[/list]


   [*]April 17th, 2004.  Over fifteen thousand lives were lost in protests before order was restored to the U.S.

   [*]May 22nd, 2004.  Under pressure from his supporters, the President rescinds Martial Law.  Anti-government protests peak with a violent outbreak in Washington D.C., which the FBI and police forces are able to subdue with 12 lives lost, among them a man cited to be Emlo, the leader of the Home Guard.

   [*]July 25th, 2004.  The Home Guard becomes active again, dismantling weapons manufactured by the government and destroying installations.

   [*]September 11th, 2004.  The New York Times publishes an article from a reporter claiming to have infiltrated the Home Guard.  Using the pseudonym of 'Arnold Benedict', he publishes a startling factual report about the Home Guard: Outside of the nuclear missile that had fallen on Moffet Base, the Home Guard has not killed a single human being in their operations.  Critics argue that the "Real Dot-Bomb" was severe enough to warrant no forgiveness, while speculations circulate that Emlo may have spoken the truth when the Presidential Address was over-ridden.

   [*]September 14th, 2004.  Under pressure from the FBI, when threatened with the brand, "Terrorist," the New York Times releases the identity of its previously concealed reporter.  James Emrys is taken to a federal holding facility for questioning.

   [*]September 28th, 2004.  James Emrys appears on television screens, healthy and undamaged, and announces to the nation that his story was a hoax, and confesses to fabricating the 'evidence' cited in his story in an attempt to earn the respect of his colleagues, and to cover a vacation billed to the company expense account.

   [*]October 12th, 2004.  It is revealed by private investigators and reporters that the US Army is no longer adequate to protect the nation, as the damages inflicted by the Home Guard now extend into the trillion-dollar range.  All international peacekeeping forces are returned to the US.

   [*]October 19th, 2004.  With the Home Guard neutralizing the US military beyond the minimum necessary forces for self-defense, and the total failure to capture any of the responsible terrorists, at the urging of his colleagues, the President announces that he is withdrawing from the race, and will not be running for Presidency again.

   [*]October 27th, 2004.  With the last of the US forces dispatched finally returned to America, the Home Guard completely ceases activity.

   [*]January 1st, 2005.  A Minnesota man by the name of 'Grant Ewling' is sworn in as President, promising to usher in an era of peace and cooperation with other nations, and an end to the practice of policing other nations.  He is harshly criticized for his stance, and accused by many of bowing before the demands of the Home Guard, which many now believe to control some level of the government.

   [*]August 19th, 2005.  A cargo vessel (the ABUL KALAM AZAD) carrying the missile thought lost in Hurricane Andrew in 2004 is intercepted by a pair of ultra-light armored cruises bearing Home Guard insignia.  The crew of the cargo vessel arrives in Washington DC unarmed, and the nuclear warhead is found, completely depleted of any sign of radioactivity.

   [*]October 2nd, 2005.  Under criticism from the Senate, President Ewling declares that the Home Guard will be captured and brought to justice.  The Home Guard's stance appears to undermine the image of traditional US strength, and many are worried that with the nation appearing weaker, another country might decide to move in and take advantage of the situation.

   [*]December 15th, 2005.  Details of this situation are sketchy, but a terrorist attack on San Francisco leaves hundreds dead, and escalated property damage into the billions of dollars.  This is followed twenty minutes later by a pair of earthquakes at 7.6 magnitude range, which devastates the city, still never having fully recovered from the "Real Dot-Bomb" of '04.

   [*]January 2nd, 2006.  Home Guard and US military clashes across the country begin to escalate.  US forces successfully win one skirmish, leaving eight unidentified men slain.  An anonymous letter to the Washington Post from Emlo states that the Home Guard refuses to take the lives of any citizen, and the Home Guard cease operations.

   [*]March 30th, 2006.  Honoring the anniversary of the nuclear missile that struck Moffet Field, President Ewling vows that the United States will never forget the events, and while they were victorious against the Home Guard, the US will no longer police other nations, unless aid is requested of them.

   [*]April 20th, 2006.  A raid on silos in the former Soviet Union leaves 14 nuclear warheads in the hands of terrorists.  Tensions mount, but President Ewling announces that the new policy will hold -- until evidence is found that proves these warheads can be used against the US, no action will be taken by his country.

   [*]June 16th, 2006.  A force of terrorists in China ravage several military bases and destroy nearly 100 aircraft before being gunned down.  Farewell letters on the bodies indicated strong US sympathies, and ties to the Home Guard.

   [*]August 28th, 2006.  6 of the stolen Soviet warheads are detonated simultaneously, destroying much of Ayer's Rock in Australia.  There is no precise count of lost lives, but the damage to the monument is unmistakable.  Research shows that the explosives were somehow smuggled in and buried deep in the rock before detonation.

   [*]August 29th, 2006.  A terrorist organization calling itself 'the Forge' emerges and claims responsibility for the destruction of Ayer's rock, advertising that they can also put their explosives beneath the government centers for any military group they choose.  The Forge threatens to destroy the world's largest population centers if their demands are not met, though they give no clue as to which cause they herald.

   [*]September 5th, 2006.  Forge forces clash with an unknown militant group north of the Mexico/US border in California.  A nuclear missile is at the site, but when the US military arrives at the scene all thirteen Forge members are dead, and the missile has been drained of radiation.  The US government is unwilling to consider the similarity to the Home Guard's response to the events of August 19th, 2005, and declares that new technology has been developed for the purposes of lowering radiation levels, such that a warhead could be disarmed.

   [*]September 14th, 2006.  Under pressure from US citizens, President Ewling diverts military funding towards research on the unknown technology that the Home Guard has been known to employ.

   [*]November 27th, 2006.  Forge forces appear briefly in China in an attempt to deliver another of their nuclear missiles, but they are stopped as the cold weather they were using to hide their presence kills the force attempting to smuggle the weapon through the Himalayas.  Speculation arises that the would-be terrorists were not actually members of the Forge, as the Forge was able to successfully bomb Ayer's rock.

   [*]December 12th, 2006.  Canadian scientists announce that they have successfully created a field in controlled environments that neutralizes radiation.  US researchers combine efforts with Canadians in an attempt to make the technology viable for defense.

   [*]January 1st, 2007.  The day our game begins.[/list]