-AFTER THE FLASH, 2056-

Lake Mead Valley, Arizona

"Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a Nuclear Winter." - NCR Trooper

Alternative Universe - "A Disillusioned Earth"

The Post Flash Era, 2056

PRE-FLASH, THE COLLAPSE OF THE OLD WORLD

In the early 2020s, a severe global resource shortage (primarily crude oil, rare earth metals, and clean water) destabilized the global economy. In response, Eastern powers consolidated into the Asian Continental Military Force (ACMF). The ACMF rapidly expanded its borders, aggressively securing resources and triggering a terrifying New Cold War. The United States government, terrified of a conventional land war against the numerically superior ACMF, funneled trillions of dollars into experimental defense contracts, which directly birthed the SEAL Project (Synthetically Engineered Assault League) and fusion-powered exo-suits.

Long before the nuclear sirens wailed, the United States was already bleeding out from within. Hyperinflation, massive resource shortages, and severe political polarization tore the country's social fabric apart. Independent analysts compiling national arrest data and cross-referencing regional crime statistics noted a terrifying, undeniable pattern: what the government was officially classifying as "isolated riots" were actually highly organized, systemic insurgencies. The federal government lost control of major metropolitan areas, leading to the deployment of the National Guard and the eventual declaration of nationwide martial law.

Sensing the terminal weakness of the American empire, the Asian Continental Military Force (ACMF) launched a massive, coordinated military campaign in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and against the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO). Under the immense pressure of a foreign invasion, the US military and government completely fractured into several seceded republics.

The Loyalist States of America: Centered in the East and Midwest, desperately trying to maintain the illusion of the old federal government.

The Western Forces Alliance (WFA): A coalition of western states and defected military units that believed the Loyalists were corrupt and incompetent, breaking away