From 2026 to 2060, a grim era unfolded as the world experienced catastrophic societal breakdown. The total devaluation of the US dollar led to the collapse of many centralized governments, leaving nations in ruins and without the safety nets they had established for their citizens. The general collapse of vital infrastructure, including water and electricity systems, accelerated the decline. Additionally, the complete disintegration of supply chains further exasperated the situation. With the infrastructure and systems we often took for granted crumbling to dust, the world's population drastically dropped from 8.3 billion to 846 million. Starvation, health complications, localized warfare, and hostilities became commonplace. Lack of survival skills further compromised humanity's plight, leaving an indelible mark on the course of human history.
In 2025, the USA had invested $3 trillion in enhancement of Mexico's military to counteract uncontrolled immigration. In 2027, amidst domestic chaos and civil unrest, Mexico utilized their newfound might to annex Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico in a bid to secure essential farmlands.
The southern half of Costa Rica seceded and formed a union with Panama to birth Karnazia, a nation which enforced a 15% tariff on all goods transported through the Free Karnazian Passage (formerly the Panama Canal) starting in 2029.
By 2033, New Zealand had bifurcated into three separate sovereignties: South Zealand, Northern New Zealand, and the Free Aupouri Collective.
In 2034, a longitudinal section of California, Oregon, along with the western edges of Seattle, established the Californian Protectorate. This entity would shortly secede from the US.
By 2035, tensions escalated, as the USA turned off water supplies to the Californian Protectorate, sparking a conflict.
Through mutual alignment with Canada, the states of New York, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, formed the Utopiist Commonwealth of Fealthern, 2038
In 2040, Austria reinstated conscription, doubled its agricultural endeavors, and introduced a public service workforce. This workforce would erect a six-kilometer dead zone around its borders to curb immigration and potential invasions while bolstering employment opportunities. Austria sequestered itself, enduring The Wasting with a relatively lower population loss of 40%.
By 2040, continuous warfare and extensive famine had almost wiped out 95% of Saharan Africa's population, leaving the coastal regions of a few countries relatively intact. In 2041, a Union was formed amongst these survivors christened the Republic of Azawad, which operated under a tribunal government system. The coastal regions of all but Sudan refused to join. As did all of Egypt and Morocco.
In 2044, as strategic reinforcement, Azawad and Morocco signed a non-aggression pact permitting Morocco a seat in the tribunal. In exchange Morocco would help in 'securing' the coast of Mauritania.
Parts of Germany along with external regions of Chechnya and Poland unified, forming the Eisfaust Empire in 2045-7. At this time, eastern Germany also partnered with the Netherlands while maintaining friendly ties with Belgium, forming the German-Netherlands Federation. The remaining parts of Germany continued as the Federal Republic of Germany.
Norway's overburdened welfare state led to significant loss of elderly, infirm and handicapped citizens. In 2046, their federal government was overthrown, replacing Norway with farming and mining collectives operating under the supervision of Denmark.
In 2048, the 'Information Reclamation Project' was initiated. However, that same year, farmers in Holland destroyed the dykes as a protest against wealth disparity.
Also in that year, the North Caucasus succeeded in gaining independence from Russia without resistance. A more brutal battle later that year saw Serbia and the Far East break free and under the leadership of General Alexei Ivanov become the powerful Ivanovnia. Emperor Ivanov I, a brilliant tactician he turned his attention to farming and trade and for the first time in decades his people stopped starving. He was a kind, tough, beloved ruler who unfortunately died in 2067 from pancreatic cancer just a few short years from potential immortalization.
By 2050, the initial census conducted by the IPF estimated the global population to be between 1.7 and 2 billion.
By 2060, the IPF declared that The Wasting was essentially over. Infrastructure, including electrical, Internet, communication, water, sewage, and transportation, were largely restored in most parts of the globe. The world's resources could now sustain the remaining population, leading to a massive cessation of hostilities. A second census confirmed the world's population was at 846 million and climbing, a hopeful sign for humanity's future.