Warning: This episode includes depictions of death, world corruption and war. Please read at your own discretion.

As Anika continues to get up to no good I, the narrator, will take this time to explain the how of this so called sci-fi universe. In short, I insist that this reality simply be called The Future, or the very possible probability of this world being an evolvement of our current time. In short, everything we know today has already happened yet by the year 2020 we begin to see the beginning of the end.

Tensions arise across the globe as election season brings in new presidents and dictators advocating for polarizing policies. Within the coming years the wealth gap expands across borders, poverty rises and a corruption of power leaves all political sides drawing further toward extremism. Despite great strides made by both organizations and individuals, the global market struggles to reconnect to each other as countries with nuclear power begin producing arms at concerning amounts with laced threats moving from government to government. Unrest lies in both the east and west, wealthy and impoverished countries alike hosting universal panic and fear.

South American dictatorships fall first with widespread corruption leading waves of famine, disease and street violence. North America struggles with relations both trade and immigration based as refugees flood the remaining border gates. Across the pond extremist governments are conspiring to launch attacks on both European and Asian powers with an influx of surveillance technology enveloping wealthier countries in further in fear. Civil wars continue to leave death across valleys and deserts.

With surmounting panic backed on documents leaked detailing plans to begin a nuclear war, global consumers purchased less and economies began to crumble with stock markets crashing across the world leaving a greater fall than the Recession of 2008. Amidst surmounting amounts of inflation in both first and third world countries, anarchist groups are fueled to reconvene and they begin an online movement thats size is compared to the totalitarian wave of the 1900s. Failing economies nationwide means resources grow scare and are salvaged for only those with the power and will to take it from others no matter the cost.

Greenhouse gas emissions are increased tenfold as countries prepare for the inevitability of war. This increased production causes major shortages in materials like rubber, paper, meat and produce. Famines, plagues and power outages surge third and first world countries alike. With a weakened economy and wealth distributed so sparsely, tech companies struggle to provide service to most areas once prioritized. Governments continue to crumble as they struggle to deal with the aftermath of low supply and inflated prices. Even democracies witness mass riots and civil unrest that leads to rising rates of violence and suicide. Yet governments worldwide are left destroyed leaving cities and towns either abandoned or overpopulated. Many cultivate governments of their own.

By the late 2020s, the Final World War rears its head as every tactic from bombings to suicide missions are used to annihilate once major countries. At the turn of the decade world economies have failed and the war causes the deaths of millions leaving nuclear fallout scattered across the world. With the lack of a world wide web, areas are isolated and bordered by the imaginary lines of radioactive waste. The populations of all living things from land animals to sea creatures have declined exponentially and many estimate that over 800,000 species have gone extinct within the last 5 years. The human population continues to decline as famine, violence, war and sickness alone leave only about 1.5 billion left. 

Additionally this fallout has caused some populations within the following years to develop interesting abilities as witnessed in our Anika. While there is no definitive reasoning for these abilities having selectively taken hold of humans, many call the users of these abilities magical and sometimes evil. There remains a negative view on this "magic" in many parts of the world that has caused a new counterculture to emerge giving magic users an underground forum of safety. Amidst the streets of this world humans with abilities live quietly among their "normal" counterparts with remnants of growing technology seen in the thousands of androids that still run with regard to their human owners. 

As entire towns are destroyed humans have at mass congregated in cities. Yet by 2035 gangs and bandits run these cities both new and old with rural areas being deemed a no-mans-land. Over the next ten years, the few humans left work in tense coalitions to build new societies with none able to operate with one another, at least not yet.