1983: Doomsday

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Welcome to the Portal Page for the 1983: Doomsday ATL.

1983ddworldmap — The 1983: Doomsday World

This timeline explores world history after Doomsday - September 26th, 1983.

A worldwide nuclear exchange caused by a minor incident obliterates much of human civilization. This ATL covers everything from the direct aftermath up to the present worldwide situation.

This is a "live" timeline - its story continues to unfold NOW, in real-time. See the Live Content section for the latest news and updates.

This is also a collaborative timeline, produced by a team of contributors. If you want to join us in developing this world, we welcome your additions.

Before making major edits to the articles within this ATL, please take some time to read the Editorial Guidelines

Introduction

The Point of Divergence of the 1983: Doomsday timeline is September 19th, 1983, on which a seemingly unimportant decision to send an ambitious Colonel of the USSR to a training seminar (taking the place of an ill-plagued colleague), has global implications.

This decision leads to a different outcome of a well-known, though often underestimated event that took place on September 26, 1983.

In our timeline, Colonel Stanislav Petrov was the watch officer on duty that day at the Serpukhov-15 bunker near Moscow, monitoring for a US missile attack on the Soviet Union.

Suddenly, the computer-based warning systems reported several US nuclear missiles approaching Soviet territory. In our timeline, Colonel Petrov believed the information to be false and did not alert the Kremlin to the data he was receiving. Given Cold War tensions at the time, such information would likely have convinced the Soviets that the US had launched a first strike in an attempt to "cut off the head," and they would have been forced to launch their nuclear weapons in the false belief that it was a counter strike.

Consequently, since in our timeline the world now knows about this event, it is now often considered to have been the moment closest to a nuclear war between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. Colonel Petrov has been honored as one of the few true "world saviors," and several investigations have proven the seriousness of this event.

This timeline postulates the results after Colonel Petrov was sent to another installation before September 26, 1983. The officer now on duty on September 26th considers the alert to be accurate and immediately contacts his superiors. Within minutes, the leaders decide to launch the whole Soviet nuclear arsenal. Logically, the Americans react by launching as well. By the time the first alerted missile is proven to be a false alarm, it is too late. Thousands of nuclear warheads subsequently detonate over targets worldwide. Surprisingly, the People's Republic of China was attacked by Soviet nuclear missiles as well, and part of their arsenal is launched in response at the USSR.

The results of this total nuclear exchange are close to the forecasts of almost complete worldwide destruction and the "nuclear holocaust" as predicted by many scientists of this time. This results in as many as a billion people killed initially, and another billion in the subsequent environmental disaster that followed shortly thereafter.

With the world largely devastated, and most of the Northern and parts of the Southern Hemisphere in ruins, the estimated 800 million survivors in these areas desperately try to keep together what is left of human society. They are facing challenges that are seemingly impossible.

After an incredibly horrifying first few years post-Doomsday, a handful of regions, territories, and countries stabilize and master basic problems such as food and medical supplies. As time passes and the recovery continues, new (sometimes surprising) alliances are formed. A new, fragile world order emerges from the ashes. Initial hopes of some survivors for a united mankind (or at least warfare and destruction being ended forever) quickly prove false. Indeed, the world is light-years away from any Utopian imaginations. Famine, disease, and lack of resources provoke conflicts and wars in large parts of the world, thus devastating all the carefully achieved recovery.

As some surviving and newly formed nations (particularly a unified Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand and a South American Confederation) prove able to master the problems and even intervene internationally, mankind's extinction finally seems to have been avoided.

Now, 30 years after the devastating "Doomsday" brought mankind to the edge of total extinction, a few moving moments have spread the hope for a more peaceful future for mankind, such as the foundation of the new "League of Nations" September 26th, 2008.

Nonetheless, new dangers to this fragile world have emerged all around the globe, threatening much of what has been achieved within the last 30 years...

WCRB NewsHour- World Headlines

For all news, please refer to our WCRB Newshour Main Page.

February 11th, 2020: Candidate for the Spanish throne found! Spanish Regency - Palma de Mallorca has announced that a suitable candidate to take the Spanish throne and continue the monarchy has finally been found. Carlos Javier of Borbón-Parma, who the Spanish government has recently established contact with, has been announced as the suitable choice to become King of Spain. Carlos Javier, of 50 years old, was reported to have been in Emmen, former Netherlands when Doomsday struck and is said to be a pretender to the Carlist claim to the throne. If all goes accordingly, the Regency will change its official name to the Kingdom of Spain with Carlos Javier I as sovereign.

February 1st, 2020: Edward Poll: "I am the Imperātor Anglōrum who will lead the way" OBN HEADQUARTERS, Woodbridge - In his latest speech before the assembly of the Organisation of British Nations, Chairman Edward Poll has insisted that the organisation is the guide to a reunified England and that he as leader is, quote-unquote, "the Imperātor anglōrum who will lead the way"; the Latin term he used literally meaning "Emperor of the English". It is uncertain what he meant to say when he used this term. It is most likely that he was either simply referring to himself in a sophisticated manner as the guide to unity, or that he actually meant to say the word "Dux", another Latin word meaning guide or leader. However, a lot of people (including several media publications across OBN member states) have interpreted this indirect usage of the word "emperor" as his attempt to proclaim himself monarch. Mr. Poll is yet to comment on the exact meaning of his words.

Recent additions

To spread the word of the ongoing discussions and the content being established the additions can be marked here as "Proposal" or Confirmed/Canonized Content. Take part in the discussion on the talk page of the timeline!!!

Recently Confirmed Additions (Canon)

Work in Progress (Proposal)

Use the Proposal template: add {{ddprop}} to new articles to mark them as proposals.

Georg I of Prussia
Slovakia
Montenegro
Alexander I of Macedonia
War of the Alboran Sea
Sealand
Verdigris
Cimarron
Military of Tuscany
Norfolk
Seborga
Society for the Italian Reunification
Aircraft Carriers
List of Prime Ministers of Malaysia
London, England
2015 WCRB report on the former Greater London Area
Republic of Jefferson
São Tomé and Príncipe
Al-Jazira
Governor-Generalship of the Steppes
Australian Brotherhood
Natalie Hershlag
Federation of Burr (1983: Doomsday Proposal)

Reviews

Use the {{ddreview}} template to put articles under review.

True British Army
Celtic Alliance
United Communities of Norfolk
Scotland
Sicily

Principal Content

Timeline
World Country Profiles
League of Nations
Historical Articles
Military Knowledge Database
Science & Technology
Geopolitics
Economics
Nuclear Weapons
Non-governmental organizations
Space Exploration
Religion
Education
Wars
Die Deutsche Version "1983: Tag des jüngsten Gerichts" findet sich hier

Extras: Images, Statistics, Figures, etc.

Contributors

This ATL is maintained and coordinated by the different branches of the WCRB - World Census and Reclamation Bureau

Because of the excellent regional articles, and to honour the large amount of work done for those articles, each registered user taking care of a special region will be awarded a WCRB identity/command post/character if they want one.

Current list of active contributors

Current major active DD: 1983 editors are:

Would-Be Contributors

We ask would-be contributors to this timeline to do the following (and in this order!):

Please read the following QSS and QAA and the Editorial Guidelines. Understand them before contributing. If you have questions, ask another contributor. If you cannot abide by them, thank you for your interest in our timeline, and good day.
Please introduce yourself on the talk page of the ATL.
1. Please detail any proposal you would have for us as well.
Understand Conventions in use in this wiki before creating a new page.
Respect both lore and cannon.
Play nice!