The World of 1978: RDNA-verse

Here's an updated map of the RDNA-verse during the 50th Anniversary of the Terror's initial "end."

It is New Year’s Day 1978. 50 years had passed since much of Europe fell to the Reds and the last refugees crossed the Atlantic. The time since has seen the Revolution’s grasp expand into Asia, Africa and even the New World.

The fact that the Terror couldn’t be restrained in Europe became common knowledge. As early as 1925, the Reds were making inroads into toppling the Middle East. This culminated in the fall of Ankara in ’29 and the surrounding countries within a few years; soon, all that remained were the (now Reactionary) Free State of Palestine-Syria and a handful of Gulf emirates. The Persians, on the other hand, were noted to have held out longer, only succumbing in ’35.
Further north, what remained of the Russian Empire formed successor states in Siberia and Central Asia. Yet whether by coup or outright invasion, these collapsed one after the other; the “Yakutsk Duma” survived until the 1950s.

In Europe itself, South Italy, Britain and newly-independent Ireland were all that were left of the pre-Terror order. Initially, rumors were abounding of enclaves of resistance in the Pyrenees and Iceland; whether true or otherwise, these would have fallen within a few years at most. During the first decades, the Reds attempted to subvert the remaining countries, to no avail. In the early 1940s, this culminated in a full-scale invasion of the British Isles, forcing the now combat-ready Canadians and RDNA to respond in kind. The ensuing liberation became a notoriously bloody affair, resulting in Britain itself becoming a backwater and the Empire’s center moving to Montreal. Fierce diplomatic manoeuvring, here and in subsequent crises, prevented the outbreak of global war.

Asia and the Pacific followed soon after. By 1928, the region was already in turmoil. Collectivist agents were initially quick in taking advantage of the chaos, subverting many now-severed colonies and dominions. The Chinese attempted to stage a counteroffensive, ending with the collapse of the Throne and the Taiwanese retreat in ’35. Their actions, however, helped other Asian countries to fend off Red incursions, still with great cost, as they sought to stabilize. This unfortunately failed to save British India, or what emerged from the chaos, from the Reds; the southern states remain in strong risk.

A similar situation occurred at the same time in Africa. The first decade was marked by a widespread breakdown of order and mass migrations as the Reds pushed further inward. Yet ironically, it was this chaos, along with the continent’s notorious wilderness and isolation, which helped break the momentum. Some of the more stable territories managed to band together in 1939 to form the United States of Liberal Africa, a confederation combining native and old colonial influences. With the exception of Angola, the remaining free states either “broke ties” with their non-existent home countries or were taken in as protectorates of the Americans and Gran Patagonians.

The New World, as elsewhere, also suffered from the Terror’s fallout. Many countries struggled to keep order and social cohesion; riots, rationing and refugee movements were especially commonplace in those initial years. At worst, these resulted in civil wars and attempted Red takeover as seen in the Dominion Conflict in Canada (1929-35) and the collapse of the Latin Alliance; the latter resulted in the American Collectivist States and the seizure of Panama. By the 1930s, some semblance of normalcy and stability returned, with the exception of the Mittelamerika territories. The upheavals here resulted in sporadic skirmishes as Red-sponsored rebels clashed with refugees and the weakened authorities. Although the insurgents were eventually defeated with the aid of the RDNA, the region was left in shambles, prompting its reformation as a protectorate in ’46.

Reactionarism was quick to spread out of Australia, especially in the wake of British Maoriland’s (RL New Zealand) downfall in ’30. Among the first countries to adopt this isolationist/dictatorial ideology were Southern Africa, where a similar system already existed (i.e. an alternate Apartheid), and Ireland. During the chaos, it was considered by some within the American Federation, only to be ultimately turned down. The years since have seen it spread, with limited success, to other parts of the world; this has earned rebuttals from the international community. Eventually, in an outward attempt to compete with the other Free Nations and form a power bloc against the Reds, Australian officials organized the League of Neutral Defiance on the summer of ’54. To this day, this remains true only on paper.

Such is the present state of affairs. Despite intermittent conflicts and the political crises that have arisen over the years, the world is in a state of indefinite cold war. This has become especially true ever since the development of nuclear weapons in the 1930s-40s and the advent of space technologies in the decades after. Whiled struggle to fight on. the Reds continue to find ways to thwart the Free Nations, in between periodic Party infighting, the latter in kin

During the New Year's Eve parade in New Vienna, some onlookers noticed the somber, tearful look coming from an otherwise smiling young lady. Somehow, this couldn't go on forever...