Year One of the Iron Age

Fifty years ago, an extraterrestrial object crashed into the Pacific Ocean, triggering a global geological catastrophe. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions followed one after another. Global sea levels rose by more than ten meters, submerging every coastal city. Even deadlier, unknown radiation carried by the object caused widespread mutations in surface life. Some plants and animals became extremely aggressive, while ordinary people exposed to the radiation would develop an incurable disease after surviving for more than a few months.

Human civilization collapsed within just a few years. The United Nations reformed amid the ruins as the Global Joint Governance Committee, or the Joint Committee, and established nine settlements for survivors. Zones One through Eight came under the Joint Committee's direct control, taking in core science and engineering talent, military and political elites, and their families. They enforced strict population controls and resource rationing. Zone Nine, meanwhile, was designated a "highly autonomous experimental district" and took in all other survivors.