1983: Doomsday

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

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

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

This is a "live" timeline, which means that 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 warmly welcome your additions.

Before making major edits or additions to this ATL, please read the Editorial Guidelines and discuss your ideas on the 1983: Doomsday talk page.

Introduction

1983ddworldmap — The 1983: Doomsday World

The Point of Divergence of the 1983: Doomsday timeline is September 19th, 1983, on which a seemingly unimportant decision to send an ambitious Soviet colonel to a training seminar, taking the place of an indisposed 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 great seriousness of this highly dangerous event.

This timeline explores 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 theirs as well. By the time the first alerted missile was proven to be a false alarm, it was 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 was 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 the 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 would face challenges that were 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, 41 years after the devastating "Doomsday" event brought mankind to the edge of total extinction, a few bright moments have spread the hope for a more peaceful future for mankind, such as the foundation of the new "League of Nations" on September 26th, 2008.

The post-Doomsday world population in 2013 was 2 billion, which is about half of the 4.2 billion people that lived on Earth in 1983.

Nonetheless, new dangers to this fragile world have emerged all around the globe, threatening much of what has been achieved within the last 41 years...

WCRB NewsHour- World Headlines

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

July 4, 2021: Susquehanna integrates former Wyoming County as the Territory of Tunkhannock: BLOOMSBURG, Susquehanna - The Department of the Interior and Department of State announced the formation of the Territory of Tunkhannock from former Wyoming County, Pennsylvania and the flag of the nation was raised in Tunkhannock and Meshoppen. This is the first expansion in three years of which the nation has been securing the region and stabilizing other territory. Experts from the United Communities and the League of Nations have expressed concern that the nation is settling territory too close to the irradiated sites of former Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, however Governor Tim Holden dismissed these concerns as attempts by foreign parties to meddle in Susquehanna’s internal affairs and pointed out the exclusion zone designated by the nation to prevent population in hot zones.

June 4, 2021: New Britain celebrates birth of royal princess: PORT ELIZABETH, New Britain - The King and Queen announced the birth of their first child, a daughter named Hope Anne Thabisa. A spokesman told the press that the princess's name reflects both the British traditions of her father King William and the Zulu traditions of her mother Queen Sibusisiwe. The newborn girl immediately became first in line to the throne of New Britain, along with a few countries in the former territory of Canada and in Oceania. Following the news, the King's Troop gave a 41-gun salute from Fort Frederick, and fireworks displays were seen in towns throughout the country that evening. Official celebrations were also held in Fiji and Canada, as well as in KwaZulu, where the Queen's father reigns as king.

May 18, 2021 - Death of Franco Battiato, il maestro : MILO (CT), South Italy - Francesco 'Fanco' Battiato died at age 76 in his villa of Milo, in the Province of Sicilia, the death of singer-songwriter has came as a shock to many Italians and the the musical world in general, Battiato escaped the wrath of Doomsday by being in Sicily at the time of the events in 1983, after a silent period he returned on the stage and already in the 1990s he reorganized tours around Italy for bringing his music to everyone and he even did several international tours in America and Australia, but also in Europe as well. His last public appearance was in 2017 at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, due to health issues and in 2019 his last album; Torneremo Ancora was realised.

His music did see a raise in popularity after Doomsday due to the affection of his music by both old and young generations, his works give inspirations to many young musicians in Italy, known as the father of 'Indie' in Italy, dominated by alternative music and underground music, clearly inspired by the works of the Maestro. Some of his more famous songs are La Cura, Voglio Vederti Danzare, Centrò di Gravità Permanente, Up Patriots to Arms, E ti vengo a cercare, Bandiera Bianca, Cuccurucucù Paloma and others.

Today Italy did lose one of his most famous and beloved musicians of all times.

March 31, 2021: Indonesia raises new flag : JAKARTA, Indonesia - Today the Republic of Indonesia officially raised its new flag in the national mall. The flag consists of a redesigned and simplified Garuda, the bird which is on the national emblem and on the old flag. The Garuda represents the emergence of Indonesia into the 21st century, casting off the shackles of the Old New Order.

March 17, 2021: Celebrations for the 160th anniversary of the Unification of Italy: Palermo, South Italy - Today Italy and the Italians celebrated the 160th anniversary of the unification, celebrations are held in every main Italian city, from Palermo to Perugia and up until Bolzano. For the occasion, South Italian president Antonio Tajani invited the head of states or head of governments of the other Italian nations in order to celebrate this important date and to bring a sign of peace upon the Italian Peninsula, there are also many ‘non-Italian’ foreign guests, like the president of the Alpine Confederation; Guy Parmelin, the prime minister of Greece; Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou, the prime minister of the Spanish Republic; Francina Armengol, the Celtic ambassador to Sicily; Colm Ó Floinn, the Turkish prime minister; Binali Yıldırım, the North German ambassador to Sicily; Reinhard Schofers, the Prince of Seborga, in rapresentation of both Seborga and Monaco; Marcello Menegatto, the prime minister of the Kingdom of Macedonia; Zoran Zaev, the US ambassador to Sicily; Thomas Smitham, the Canadian ambassador to Sicily; Alexandra Bugailiskis, a SAC delegation headed by Michel Temer, Brazilian president, the ANZC prime minister; Jacinda Ardern and many others.

Recent additions

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Recently Confirmed Additions (Canon)

Work in Progress (Proposal)

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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 active editors are:

Would-Be Contributors

We ask new contributors to do the following:

First read the Editorial Guidelines. They explain the rules for adding to the timeline.
If you have questions, ask an active contributor; see the above list. If you're on Alternate History Wiki's Discord, you can find us on #1983-Doomsday.
Introduce yourself on the 1983: Doomsday Talk Page and explain any new proposals you have.
Understand the Conventions of this Wiki before creating a new page.
Play nice and have fun!