Azimuth 2045
The year is 2045. The Earth is on the verge of total environmental collapse, and humans have been largely eradicated. The same entities responsible for the eradication of all life in star system HD 133600 some 180 years prior to their arrival in the solar system on August 24th of this year came to Earth and, within 72 hours, had wiped out most of its human population using an orbital nuclear bombardment.
All known survivors live in one of the four facilities built under the Thaumas Program, all of which straddle the Earth's equator at various points in the oceans. Thaumas I lies in the Pacific Ocean near Kiribati, Thaumas II lies in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives, Thaumas III in the Eastern Atlantic near São Tomé and Príncipe, and Thaumas IV lies in the Pacific Ocean near the Galapagos Islands. The Thaumas facilities are staffed primarily by scientists and engineers recruited by the Azimuth Corporation prior to the alien incursion, and also house military personnel recruited by Halon. Most residents aboard the station have been subjected to genetic enhancement procedures designed to help them withstand radiation, though few have tolerance levels high enough to survive trips outside.
Human Civilization
No human survivors are known to exist outside of the Thaumas stations. It is speculated that some humans living in bunkers designed to smuggle radioactive material may live in various pockets throughout the world, but no evidence of them has yet been found. Life aboard the Thaumas stations is tense. The threat of detection by the invaders is omnipresent, and Thaumas residents have engaged in a lifestyle to maximize their chances of going undetected. Because the invaders have shown themselves capable of pinpointing electromagnetic emissions of all varieties, no electronic devices are used outside of the stations. This has prevented any Halon vessels from taking to the water. Furthermore, while aboard facilities, people make minimal use of lighting and communication equipment. No wireless networks are permitted; all access to the central Infinite Echo supercomputers and to one another is hardwired.
Each Thaumas facility was originally designed for 100,000 inhabitants, which was the original population of each station. However, after the nuclear bombardment of Earth by the invaders, many of the least radiation-tolerant people died. Each station currently houses approximately 30,000 people; 70% of residents were killed by radiation poisoning in the weeks following the attack.
Communication between Thaumas facilities can be accomplished without electromagnetic signals by way of a quantum entanglement communication device integrated into the Infinite Echo supercomputers aboard each station. Furthermore, some portable versions of the device have been developed, for people to use to communicate with one another, and the Azimuth facilities, from outside the stations. Only a handful of such devices exist.
Without any electromagnetic detection capabilities, and with an extremely limited ability to leave the stations, the residents of the Thaumas facilities have not been able to acquire much data about conditions on the surface. A nuclear winter has set in, and it is likely that over 99.99% of all surface life has been eradicated. It is speculated that pockets of life may still exist in remote areas not directly or indirectly subject to radiation, and that some plants and microbes may be sufficiently radiation-resistant to have survived. Whatever the case, much of Earth's surface is little more than a frozen wasteland. The average global temperature is hypothesized to have dropped approximately 20 degrees from a mean of 68F in 2045 prior to the attack.
Radiation in the atmosphere is severe. Anyone on the surface with no protection will accumulate rads at the rate of 1 per hour. For the average person, this is potentially lethal within a day. [Game Mechanics Note: A character with PF 20 will accumulate 0.05 rads/hour. A character with PF 20 and in a Scout Battlesuit will accumulate 0.01 rads/hour. 100 hours of continued exposure will result in 1 accumulated rad.]
See also: Life Aboard Thaumas I.
The Enemy
Little is known of the enemy. A previous civilization to be wiped out by the enemy lived on a world in the HD 133600 star system. This civilization was apparently substantially more advanced than humankind in 2045. They managed to broadcast much of their knowledge out into the galaxy prior to their destruction. This was received on 12/12/2038 and deciphered in the ensuing months by Azimuth and Datalite personnel. These beings believed that the invaders were robotic harbingers of an alien race from another galaxy, sent ahead to prepare the Milky Way for colonization. The preparations include the acquisition of nickel from planetary bodies, and the construction of Dyson Swarms from planetary and other star system material around host stars. Planets and other objects in the star systems are destroyed and used as raw material for the construction of orbital habitats. They gave the coordinates of several stars they had observed that already exhibited signs of Dyson Swarms, namely a greening out of the host star's spectrum, indicating the presence of chlorophyll or other similar photosynthetic compounds in objects orbiting the stars. Human scientists confirmed this, and found other such stars that had presumably not yet existed at the time of the transmission some 170 years prior.
Enemy drones make use of technology that is more advanced than anything present on Earth. Drones and monitoring stations have been set up throughout the globe, presumably to detect and destroy any intelligent life that may threaten their agenda. That agenda is ostensibly to extract the nickel from the Earth's core and then destroy the planet, so that its constituent material may be used in the construction of habitats. Current intelligence suggests that The Enemy's drilling station is located in Siberia, north of the former city of Yakutsk. Calculations based on data from the alien transmission indicate that The Enemy will reach the Earth's core and begin extracting its nickel in 230 days once the process has begun.
Player Characters
Caroline Onigawa (deceased)
Roberto Garza (deceased)
NPCs
AT THAUMAS I
Sarah McKillup - Former CEO of Azimuth, now an engineer on board Thaumas I. Along with the PCs, one of four people with sufficient radiation tolerance to withstand extended trips outside the station.
Harold Tran - Director of Engineering at Thaumas I.
Jessica Tran - Director of Facilities Management at Thaumas I.
Robert Bolt - Director of Defense at Thaumas I. (deceased)
Herman Waltzer - Mayor of Thaumas I.
Maria Candela - Vice Mayor of Thaumas I.
Willa Sanders - Former sergeant in Halon special forces Division 20. Bodyguard of Jack Fletcher.
ELSEWHERE
Ernesto Rojas - Spokesman and presumed leader of the 36 people in the Paranal Bunker.
Will Reynolds - Director of Security at Thaumas IV.
Marian Kaylor - Director of Operations at Thaumas IV.
Michael Jackson - Head of Computing at Thaumas IV.
Groups
Team Omega - Elite military unit comprising the most radiation tolerant persons at Thaumas I.
Division 20 - Former Halon special forces team.
Scorpion Company - Former Halon heavy infantry company.
2nd Armored Squadron - Former Halon hovertank squadron, stationed aboard HS Antares.
Earth Resistance - Group of former Halon soldiers ready to take the fight to The Enemy.
Final Days - Pseudo-Christian apocalyptic cult.
Human Freedom Front - Political group on Thaumas I that promotes freedom of information and human rights.
Hex8 - Secretive vigilante group on Thaumas I.