Short Timeline

What's this file?

This is not intended to be a replacement for News Timeline or a condensation thereof, except in a very general sense. Rather, the goal of News Short Timeline is to create a "person on the street"-level understanding of the general tone of, roughly, each decade leading up to the Axis Shock. Think of this as the '9th grade history textbook' answers a typical resident of the Earth Sphere might have to 'what was going on in the 0060s,' in the way you might answer such a question about the 1960s with 'counterculture and civil rights movements, as well as Cold War proxy wars.'

AD Era: The world is gripped by war. In response, many nations seek to evacuate the planet entirely, leading to a boom in space colonization; while this does not see a full-scale exodus from the Earth, it leads to a consolidation of power into a handful of regional blocs, and eventually the formation of the Earth Federation, a semi-cooperative cross-bloc power structure in the vein of the United Nations. The AD Calendar ends in 2211.

Short Timeline

Early UC (pre-0018): The world begins to get its feet under itself in this new arrangement. This is not without conflict, but much improves quickly, with rapid technological development in many areas.

0018-0036: The dawn of wide-ranging conflict during the Universal Century. These conflicts still largely follow pre-UC lines of thinking, with the exploitation of the global south by the global north.

0037-0052: An age of rapid expansion in technology and culture, but sometimes seen as "too much too fast." Humanity begins to explore deeper and deeper regions of space! Humans begin modifying themselves! New ways of arranging civilization are proposed!

0053-0074: The birth of modern warfare, with all it entails. Humanity learns that not only is it not alone in the universe, but the universe can be a scary and even cruel place. Despite this, there are bright spots; humanity also asserts its independence in the colonies, and the end of the Zentradi War shows that humanity can make friends in the darkness of space, too.

0075-0084: Humanity goes to war with itself, with battle lines drawn primarily between Earth and space. Independence movements in the colonies have their most peaceful leaders martyred, and turn to rebellion. Much of humanity dies. The world is allowed no time to recover as Second Impact upends civil order. Eventually, order returns in the form of the Titans, a merciless and imperious cross-bloc Federation force.

0085-0088: The yoke of the Titans proves too much for the Earth Sphere, and it is thrown off by force. The pendulum swings back toward freedom and kindness, if only for a moment. Zeon's pro-war factions are reduced to a shadow of their former selves.

0089-0091: The pendulum swings the other way. Federation leadership proves uninterested in maintaining the bright spot of recent history, and indeed, intra-Federation strife hits an all-time high.

0092-0093: Everything feels like the apocalypse. 0093 in particular sees no fewer than three simultaneous potential extinction events. Miracles visit the Earth Sphere, bearing names like "Axis Shock" and "Sekiha Love-Love Tenkyoken," as crisis after crisis is averted. None in power can comprehend one miracle, let alone many.

0094-0096: The PLANTs formally secede from the Federation and are forced onto a war footing near-instantly. The Britannian Union and Republic of East Asia are ascendant within the Federation, spoiling for a fight both with the PLANTs and with other, less militarily-equipped nations within the Federation. Federation leadership is seen as weak and impotent, and the current Ruler of All Known Space takes a hands-off approach for fear of Free Japan becoming the Union's next target.