Year -26, 2008 according to the old calendar
A deadly plague hits Terra Prime, killing almost a fifth of the population over the following half-decade until a cure is found.

Year -25, 2009 according to the old calendar
Within a span of three months, three so called supervolcanoes erupt in gigantic explosions, in Yellowstone in USA, Campi Flegrei in Italy and Lake Toba in Sumatra. Huge amounts of ash and dust is thrown into the atmosphere, causing a permanent twilight that will last for a decade. As some of the dust settles, it creates a blanket on top of everything. Crops fail, in fact, a large percentage of the global vegetation dies.

Year -25, 2010 according to the old calendar
This is the era known as 'The twilight of doomsday'. Minor wars erupt as the nations that are mostly unaffected try to close their borders as a countermeasure to the disease or tries to secure vital food supplies. As the disease hit densely populated areas hardest, the most powerful nations were among the ones hit first and the conflicts soon escalate into a major war. In the last days of the year, nuclear weapons were first used and several major cities were destroyed. Thankfully, no all out nuclear attack was launched, but even more dust is introduced inte the atmosphere.

Year -23, 2012 according to the old calendar
Most wars have ended, some small ones continues but at a much lower intensity. Terra Prime has taken a lot of damage from the wars, and the already strained eco system is on the verge of a collapse. The plaque and starvation kills billions. Many go insane from the conditions, most nations fall apart. Many religious cults appear, most of them claiming that the end is here.

Year -21, 2013 according to the old calendar
A vaccine is found. The final death toll due to the plague, wars and famine is close to half the population. The amount of radioactive dust in the atmosphere causes a high increase in diseases caused by radiation.

Year -20, 2014 according to the old calendar
Rebuilding the destroyed cities, industries and infrastructure is slow and there is very little remaining of the advanced technological society that ruled the planet a decade ago. There is still so much dust in the air that it never gets brighter than late dusk. Almost no vegetation is left and the global oxygen production is starting to fail. It is becoming more and more clear that Terra Prime will not be able to maintain a working ecology.

Year -19, 2015 according to the old calendar
A secret summit between the remaining leading powers decides to start the project for reaching Mars, Terra Prime's closest neighbour, in the hope of terraforming it before Terra Prime becomes uninhabitable. It is a desperate long shot and most scientists agree that it will never be possible to achieve this in the time available. Still, the politicians decides to start the project and huge amounts of resources are allocated to it.

Year -12, 2022 according to the old calendar
Finally, the sunlight is starting to return, but over 90% of the vegetation has died and the rest is in bad shape. Regrowth at a sufficient pace is deemed impossible. The climate has grown colder and an ice age is approaching fast. It is expected that the planet will be uninhabitable within 25 years.

It is becoming clear that even if it becomes possible to live on Mars, only a very select few can be transported there. The first manned ship destined for Mars, supposed to carry twenty scientists and crew, is waiting in orbit and is only days from launching, when a radio message is received. The message is of alien origin, and a ship soon appears in orbit. Negotiations take place with the aliens, who call themselves the Wandering.

The mysterious Wanderers offer a way to save humanity. They are a race living purely in space and can't handle gravity, yet they need certain supplies only found on planets. They offer to take humanity to new, inhabitable worlds in exchange for the help to get these supplies. The amount of supplies needed is quite modest and their intent also seems to be to help another race, the only other civilized race they claim to have met.

They also have some other rules humanity must abide by. The two most important is that there must be no violence or privacy intrusion against the Wandering and that humanity must not build self-adapting machines of any kind. No clear reason is given for either rule.

Humanity, having no alternative, happily agrees. The next decade is spent stockpiling equipment and resources needed to colonise the new worlds and preparing and organizing for the exodus.

Year -2, 2032 according to the old calendar
An impressive sight takes place on New Years Eve as the skies are filled with Wanderer ships, each sending down hundreds of landing craft, ready to take the colonisers to their new home world. Even though the ships are numbered in tens of thousands, it will take two years to transport all of humanity off Terra Prime.

Year 0, 2034 according to the old calendar
The last humans are transported off Terra Prime and the planet is officially declared dead. Almost all plant and animal life has died or been transported to the new planets and the air is barely breathable. Only ruins remain and a new era is started.

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