The Great Declension

The Great Declension was set off on July 2nd, 2080 CE, by intercontinental and space-based missile attacks that sparked World War III. Approximately 5% of the world's nine billion humans were killed in the initial blasts. That figure rose to 50% in the next several months, due to radiation sickness and the violence of societal anarchy that predictably ensued. By March 1, 2081, 4.5 billion people comprised the totality of humanity on planet earth.

Conventional warfare among survivors of the nuclear holocaust took place from July 3rd, 2080 to Feb 16, 2082, CE, lowering the Earth's human population to 3.8 billion by October 22, 2082 CE. Global production, relations, the sciences, and other areas declined rapidly. In Europe and North America hardened subterranean bunkers were employed by surviving leadership and by some of the formerly most affluent or influential individuals, while many other survivors drew together in enclaves in the least affected regions — which included the Rocky Mountains, the Swiss Alps, the Everglades, and other areas in South America and Eurasia.

This great decline continued through the remaining decades of the 21st century and the first half of the 22nd century. International trade slowed to a crawl, space programs were moth-balled, medical care in many areas reverted to that of earlier centuries, due to a shortage of infrastructure and pharmaceuticals.