Fic Update Thread 53

[Mamorien]

Last time, on Reconstructing the Crisis of the 21st Century...

Political leaders faced hard choices. They could confront the economic establishments, and redistribute desperately-needed resources to the people who needed them. They could work together to repair the damage of decades of environmental and military catastrophe. Or they could try and take what they needed from somebody else. Some prevaricated, trying to avoid angering anyone. Others stood forth, boldly attempting to grapple with the growing crisis. Brave activists and brilliant politicians began to try and build something new, taking inspiration from Gabriel Bell and others, advocating for global cooperation and unity, and an agenda of common prosperity. If they had had more time, perhaps this ‘Indian Summer’ of 20th century civilization could have grown into a lasting spring.

But in the end, that choice was made for them. On June 17th, 2026, the Eastern Coalition invaded India.

The Third World War had begun.

And now, the conclusion continuation: 2026-2053.

The First and Second World Wars of the 20th century (1914-1918, 1939-1945) had been relatively brief, high-intensity conflicts between stable coalitions of ideologically-aligned nations, in both cases ending with the total victory of one faction—the Western Allies. The Third World War resembled these little, if at all. In many ways, it was more reminiscent of the coalition wars of the 16th-18th centuries that had been fought between the emergent commercial empires of Europe over control of colonies and trading routes. These struggles had often lasted for decades—the Eighty Years War (1568–1648), the Thirty Years War (1618 to 1648), the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748), etc—and were characterized by shifting alliances, lengthy stalemates, and compromise peace agreements. The global war that erupted in 2026 would look a lot more like that, than what many contemporaries expected—at least at first.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/558394.../141990622