If you haven't had time to listen to seven hours of podcast interviews, or you didn't retain everything you heard, here are some key points. I didn't think to do this until just now, so I'll be posting it as a work in progress and updating it throughout the afternoon. That way more people will have a chance to read up before the premiere.
Karishma Patel, 37, Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, Houston, TX -First generation Indian-American Her mom was as a legal assistant, and got her a filing job at her law firm when she was 14. "I didn't have other options. I was basically told I was going to be a lawyer and I didn't disagree."She has watched every season and regularly listens to RHAP. She sits close to the TV to study the inflections on people's faces when something is said to them, so that she can think about what that means. But, her parents and husband don't share her enthusiasm for the show. Asked if it's her dark pleasure she says, "It is completely bright. It is a beautiful pleasure of mine, but it is mine and mine only. I haven't been able to find people to share it with." -Doing the show has caused her conflict. "Not only is it not expected, it's not allowed. It's kind of like being a disobedient Indian girl. You're not supposed to be doing this. What you're supposed to be doing is having babies. But I don't care. I'm a risk taker. I'm here to prove to myself that I don't need to listen to anybody else. I don't need permission from anybody else. This is my journey and I'm going to take it. I hope that people watching out there can see that an Indian woman's value does not come from doing what she's told." -She doesn't currently have children, and she says she has some decisions to make as she enters a crossroads and the next stage of her life. -Her law firm told her they'll replace her if they're able to find someone, and she can have her job back if they don't. "I didn't flinch." -Her strategy is to be non-threatening and play a social game. She doesn't look 37, and she wants to use that youthfulness to be disarming. She wants to build relationships other people believe in. She defines success by other people vouching for her loyalty when they go off and have private conversations with one another. "That means I got 'em, because it's actually the other way around." Asked if she wants to find someone she can trust, "I'm not going to be capable of it. I'm too skeptical for that. I overthink things, so I'm not going to be able to trust somebody the way I want to be trusted... If I do, that's the end of my game."
My take: Oh my God. Poor Karishma. Her story hurts my heart. She reminds me so much of myself in her isolation, her defiance and her deep feelings. I worry that her fear of trusting people could get in the way of her forming genuine bonds. But, there's nothing she can do. Society has made her the way she is. I hope she gets a lot of screen time so she can be a star of her favorite show.
Missy Byrd, 24, Military Veteran/App Developer, Tacoma, Washington -Originally from Georgia. Her family was 'decently poor.' She played basketball for the Air Force Academy because she thought it was her ticket out. -She had a brain tumor. She stopped menstruating for a year and two quarters. "I'm not dating anyone but I have breast milk. I'm a literal cow... I would look down and my shirt would be wet, and I thought, 'Dang you're clumsy. I knew you were clumsy, but you're clumsier today than you were yesterday. But it was - it was - uhh - milk." She had crying fits. She developed a stutter and couldn't look at people. Doctors told her she was just stressed. When her dad died she couldn't process emotions normally. She was about to go to the French version of the Air Force Academy, École de l'air, after graduation but because of her mental instability she was removed from school. The military shipped her to the same Air Force base as Sandra (Fort Lewis.) "I don't want to be there. Super sad. Check into the post office - fuck this. Check into the dorms - hate that." The doctor there found the tumor. She got an MRI and all weekend she believed she might have cancer. Over the next year and a half she eliminated the tumor and the symptoms using vitamins. She enlisted and worked logistics. -She made a list of the things she wanted to do now that she was going to live. "The first thing was go see Beyonce. Beyonce costs way too much money for a normal person to go see, but if you've just almost had a near death experience you go see Beyonce, bro!" She was feet away. She drove across the country. She tried weed. -She had an idea for an app, but didn't even have the computer literacy to use social media. She found a veteran's association and asked if she could intern. "They said, 'No, you should build this out yourself. We want to work for you.' I said, 'No, the fuck you don't. Okay, lemme call my grandma.'" She wrote a grant proposal and won a $1,500 office space in the center of Seattle. "Just to do whatever I want. It was like a laboratory for a child. I had Play-Dough up there. I had a white board... Just mind blowing shit when I could have been dead." -She'd seen every episode of Survivor at least three times. She started watching because her Air Force Academy basketball team was getting decimated, and she related to Foa Foa getting decimated in Survivor: Samoa. She added the show to her list. Josh suggests, "The bugs are eating you because they want some of that magic." -She isn't going to tell people her story until she's in the Final 3. "That's that Final 3 magic." She doesn't want to overly rely on strategy. She doesn't want to win individual challenges. She to build a social game and find ways to relate to everyone.
My take: She's so full of exuberance. There's not a negative bone in her body right now. She's too young and her life experience is too necessarily limited to talk around three years of her life. If she shares her story, the beauty of her perspective will cause everyone to fall in love with her and want her to do well. If she doesn't, people will sense that she's hiding a lot. I think she'll figure that out and course correct within the first day. Since she was at the same Air Force base as Sandra and she was a massive fan, does that suggest she knows her?
Ronnie Bardah, 35, Professional Poker Player, Henderson, Nevada-Born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, 20 minutes south of Boston. They were the only Israeli family in town. 50% of the people in Brockton were from Cape Verde, and he considers himself an "honorary Cape Verdian." A couple of his friends were shot and killed at a young age. -He was a good kid and had a good heart, but he was always hustling. In Junior High he was flipping Oatmeal Cakes and Fudge Rounds for a profit. Slinging baseball cards. Both his parents gambled. They were always at the dog tracks or Mohegan Sun. He had his friend make him a fake ID and got stuck with the name Alaja Jones. He went by Al and started playing the casinos. Quit his job at Sears Automotive to play poker full time.-He played Atlantic City, Vegas, then internationally. He had his first big score in 2010 when he took 24th place in the main event for $320,000. Got to keep $150,000 after taxes. "Poker's a hard way to make an easy living. Lots of people try. We risk every day. You have to get to a point when you can manage your bankroll and I've never gone broke in the 16 years I've played." -In one of the most viewed poker hands of all time, he was bluffed out of a million dollar pot by a supermodel on a poker TV show filmed in Monaco. "She made a sick play. She had no idea what she was doing but all the stars were aligned."-He watched Borneo when it aired and got back into it when fellow poker player Anna Khait was on. He calls Jean-Robert, "kinda a lazy guy...He's really good at befriending multi-millionaires." "Anna Khait... is probably the least poker player out of all of us. She played for a couple years." "And then Garrett - He's a very, very smart, smart kid... Self-made millionaire. One of the very, very few." -He only drank water for 7.5 days and lost 25 pounds for his health and to get an idea of the conditions of the show. He thinks he'll thrive in the survival situation. "People like being around me. I like to fucking bust balls and joke." He thinks old school alliances are a good plan, but you have to adapt. He says that like in poker, Survivor players can have every advantage, but they have to really smell it. -He wants Vince out. "There's an Asian Zeke in there. What value does he bring besides ruining people and getting in people's heads? He's a liability in challenges. He looks like a little corn puff. We gotta get him outta here. Sorry to sound so mean but it's the truth."
My take: Ruuuuude. He has no way of knowing how other people on the cast are talking in their interviews, and may assume the trash talk is standard. If he were playing on some seasons it would be. But, in this particular season it sets him apart in an unflattering way, and it seems a part of the tough persona he's built up to escape a scary situation growing up and enter a fantasy career. We'll see whether his tribe thinks he's a straight talking character or a jerk.
Tom Laidlaw, Former NHL Player, Brampton, Ontario, Canada -He was with the New York Rangers for 7 years and the LA Kings for 4. Now he has his own podcast, True Grit Life (
truegritlife.com). Does it with a friend, Kevin Allen, who writes for USA Today. Does motivational speaking. -Growing up on a dairy farm outside Toronto there was a pond to water the cows. It froze over in the winters and he'd play hockey because there wasn't much else to do. Went to Northern Michigan University - four year hockey captain, ranked #1 team in the country. Drafted as a 20 year old. "My buddy had a horse farm. We were cleaning horse shit out of the stalls. There were no cell phones back then. This is 1978. My father got a call at our farm house from the New York Rangers at the draft. Back then nobody went to the draft - it was just teams. They said I'd been drafted in the sixth round. He calls the farm house where I'm working. They bring me up. He says, 'Son, you've been drafted by the Rangers.' I said, 'Great. What do I do now?' He says, 'Finish cleaning the shit out of the stalls.'" -When he played intimidation and fighting was strategy. There were guys tougher than him, but he could fight and he could also play. Problem was, he fought a guy once, and from then on the guy wanted to fight him over and over. -Jerry Bruckheimer, big hockey fan, called the NHL and wanted to get some players on the Amazing Race. Tom had kept himself in shape, he had his passport. They ended up asking him about Survivor. He'd watched it before but not for a while. He wasn't so sure he wanted to play a game where you hurt other people, but friends helped him get his head around it. He was very impressed by Christian's toughness in the endurance challenge. To prepare for the show he studied how he reacted to different situations, how to control his heart heart, etc. He wants the mental challenge.
My take: Tom really ticked me off when he spoiled a couple of outcomes of this season. That's a betrayal of the producers, his cast and the viewers. But, if that hadn't happened I would like him. He's an easy-going, charming guy. His life experiences are a bit different than anyone else who's been on the show, which is what you want.
Vince Moua, 27, Admissions Counselor, Merced, CA -His family is Hmong. His parents lived in Vietnam in the destruction left by the war - dead bodies, guns, people who wanted to kill them. They went to refugee camps in Thailand. Then his dad became a Montana farm hand. He met Vince's mom in the US, but she came from the same place. -Vince is from small town Merced, California - the 209. Few people he knew went anywhere but the UC system and community college. He went to Stanford, one of only 7-10 Hmong. He realized the significance someone can bring to people from the same community. He tried to be pre-med but realized "no, not today." The issues of access he cared about came well before people got to the hospital. He ended up going with education. His mom was a teacher, "But when I was growing up she said, 'Yo, if you become a teacher Imma disown yo ass.' To all of us. But, that's always kinda been my jam." -He lived in South Korea for five years. He taught English in a town. Then in Seoul ahed worked with low and middle income students who wanted to study outside of Korea. -He's a Survivor superfan, who even mentions on his Tinder account that he plans to be on Survivor. His parents were worried about him doing TV because he's not out as gay to his extended family. He comes from a clan where his dad is the "top dog" and Vince is "the next top dog." In the Asian American/Pacific Islander community when you come out, it's your family who faces - in a sense - dishonor. For a long time he distanced himself from his family, hoping they'd all be less hurt if they found out and disowned him. He always tried to find friends who would be there for him should his parents not be. A year ago his mom asked him rhetorically if he was gay. "I was try'n to go around it. I was like, 'Gurl, you don't wanna know! Yo ass keeps asking!' But she kept asking, asking. So finally I told her 'Yeah, I am!' and she was crying. My dad was like, 'Oh, my son!'" But, Vince is fine with who he is and wants to show kids like him that "let's hope that it gets better." Now his parents just want him to win. -He'd like to play an old school strategy but "I'm not afraid to cut a bitch." With the tribe he's going to be Homeboy Vince from the 209, but when he talks to the camera he's going to tell people "Don't underestimate your narratives." This past year with Crazy Rich Asians, he wants people to know that there are some Crazy Hood Ass Asians.
My take: What a character. Vince has a clear point of view - Hmong, blue collar, gay - which is unique to him in Survivor lore. Even though double minorities have sometimes had trouble fitting in socially on Survivor I think somehow he's going to pull it off. As unlikely as this sounds I could even see him being a Cochran-esque winner.
Aaron Meredith, 36, Personal Trainer, Warwick, Rhode Island -He's very keyed up at Ponderosa. Rambling so fast it sounds like you're listening to 1.5x. He's read four books so far - Relentless by Tim Grover, Can't Hurt Me by Dave Goggins, Iron Cowboy by James Lawrence, Harry Potter. -He was an engineer at a building insulation plant. He was miserable, too antsy sitting at a desk. Couldn't focus. So, he drove up and down the East Coast popping kettle corn - from Maine to Florida - traveling with carnies. Bartended for a while. He'd played college football and baseball, lifted since high school, and he and his friends wanted to get "huge and jacked and ripped." The owner of the gym suggested he become a personal trainer. He ended up working mostly with middle aged women and it taught him empathy. Now he owns two women's-only fitness studios. He puts supportive women around one another and offers them the positivity to seek self-growth. -He's also a party boat emcee. Lights, DJ, bar, drinks. He's an extremely social person. -He'd first applied at 23 - 6 or 7 times over the years. He was in the mix for Cook Islands and David vs. Goliath. -He's been married 7 years and has a 5 year old son. His son is a huge fan of Survivor. Libby Vincek is his favorite player. Kara Kay was his next favorite. Aaron is already sure Molly will be his son's favorite. "He has a type. He He likes the attractive blondes. He says, 'I like them because they have a nice face.' I like mommy because she has a nice face too." The boy was very concerned about his dad going on the show. He said, "Dad, I don't want anyone to laugh at you and make fun of you." Aaron said he wanted to win. His son said, "But you might not win." When they watch the show he'll always ask, "Do they like him? Do they like her?" If Aaron is portrayed in a negative light he'll have to sit down with his son and talk. He doesn't want to play a deceitful game, but he will, because he doesn't care how he's portrayed.
My take: His story about his son is one of my favorites from all these interviews. I hope he gets to work with Molly. His adrenaline is too high. I hope he calms down a lot when the game starts. But, someone so social and sweet hearted who can win challenges and take themselves to the end has got to be a contender to win.
Chelsea Walker, 27, Digital Content Editor, Los Angeles, CA -Chelsea just took the cast photo and they put her in the third spot from the bottom, a good omen because a weird number of winners have been in that position. "Your girl's number three. I got this!" -She's a Jersey girl. She went to the University of Maryland. "I didn't do Survivor: Maryland or anything." She studied Broadcast Journalism. She knew the generic emails for NBC Universal and emailed random people until someone replied. Now she's been in LA a year. She did coverage of award shows. Now she works at IMDB, where she helps Kevin Smith with his show. She just interviewed people at SXSW. -She's been watching Survivor since she was 8. She's cried in every interview because this means so much to her. She's trying to explain that at the point she starts crying again. "It's been such a dream of mine and To be told no year after year after year - these past six years have been a total mindfuck. I've basically been called every single year. I've been to finals three times. Survivor is my one true love, but the one year they didn't call me I got really pissed off so I tried out for Big Brother. I ended up becoming the alternate and got my key being filmed and all of that crap. But I don't like that show anyway." -In September 2017 she was at a WeHo bar for her friend's birthday when, "Oh shit that's Jeff Probst." Her girlfriends all know she's obsessed, so she pulled the waiter over and asked what that guy was drinking. So, Chelsea sent another one over. "I told my friends, 'Take my credit card. Split the bill, because I can't come back after I do this. As soon as the waiter drops off the drink I'm like, 'Jeff, this one's on me. You can buy me the next one at finals.' And I just walked out of the restaurant... That was a big move!" They didn't call her again that year, but Jeff still remembered when they talked this year. -She's been working out at four different gyms - weights, pilates, yoga. Push ups. Memorized puzzles. Reading How to Win Friends and Influence People, which she keeps in.a Bible sleeve so people will think she's religious. She also carries Harry Potter because she would trust someone who read HP. She wants to keep it cool. Make one on one connections. Eventually find idols - and not tell anyone she has one - and make calculated moves. "I don't want to be a Jacob. No offense."
My take: Hearing this girl cry from joy because she's so happy to be on the show makes me emotional. She's a real go getter. I wish I were that damn fearless. Truly, I wish I were more like her. I hope her pure zest for life comes across on TV and she doesn't get stuck with a purple edit just because of her age and gender. I also hope no one decides to get threatened by her as a competitive girl and vote her off premerge. I think she'll go far. Hope so.
Dean Kowalski, 28, Account Executive, New York, New York -Referring to himself in the third person, "Dean is 28 years old. As we mentioned, he lives in New York and he prides himself on being a well rounded person when it comes to interests, abilities, personalities... If I'm listening to Drake and Lil Wayne, I gotta go home and cry to This Is Us.. I can play basketball but also think about our place in the universe." He likes to tag basketball courts with a peace symbol with a ball on it which he makes using a stencil. -He structures most of his interview with Josh around an Outwit, Outplay, Outlast format, explaining why he excels at each. -He grew up in an affluent suburb. His dream was to play in the NBA. He was 5"9 3/4, so he set his eyes on college basketball as a realistic alternative. In order to get looks from colleges he went to a school 30 minutes away - top five in the country, Nike would fly them around for games and give them free Jordan sneakers. He was one of only 4 white guys in the whole school and the only one on the team. He played with Kyrie Irving, the #1 overall draft pick. "My friend said you look like the Make a Wish Kid who just wants to be on the team for a day." He played at Colombia University, where he was co-captain his senior year despite averaging two minutes a game. He became a teacher, then did sales for a tech startup in New York. He now sells ads for Google. -He's a fan, but far from a superfan. He started watching Brenda's season. (He thinks it was Nicaragua, but it was actually Carmoan.) He works with a superfan who freaked out when they had a meeting at H&R Block with Carolyn Rivera and they went out to Bourbon Street with her. He kept watching for five years and thought he could do well. He hates when people are all talk, so he sent in a tape. For the video he interviewed random strangers on the street, who had never met him or seen the show, and asked them, "Why am I going to win it?" A barber, a construction worker. He's going to tell people he's in marketing, not sales - people have sales.
My take: I'm just not that into him.
Elaine Stott, 41, Factory Worker, Rockholds, NY -When Josh asks her not to touch the table she asks him, "You seen that Bart Simpson commercial, right? Don't touch my Butterfinger? I'm already hungry thinking about it." -"I had a pretty rough way to go growing up." Her single dad raised her and her three brothers. She was the youngest. "I was raised like one of the boys. Know what I mean? Daddy didn't know how to raise no little girl." He worked 16-17 hour days. The kids raised themselves. "When little children make their own decisions, they make poor ones." She was a hellion. -She's originally from Woodbine, Kentucky, Nick Wilson's hometown. Her god sister went to school with him and she knows him through the grapevine. "We rode on different sides of the track. 20 years ago he coulda been my lawyer, because I was on the other side of the law. I'm not bad. I've just done some things." Public intoxication several times. "I come from a dry county. It's like Footloose. We cross the state line to get a beer and when you come back you're in trouble." She stole a newspaper stand once and had to do community service. "I was a little bit mean." -She went to live with her grandpa and cleaned her act up, by which she means that she started smoking a little weed and playing sports - basketball, softball, track. She played softball and judo in college. "I couldn't do nothing real technical. We had Brazilians on the team who could do flying arm bars. But if I got these claws on you and got ya on the ground I'd waller you to death." In casting she put this guy Will in an armbar. She was gonna choke him but didn't know if she should. -When she graduated, her girlfriend was a college Freshman so she went to all the same parties and ballgames for four years. Then she realized she needed a job. Now she drives a Ford truck for a factory. She's been there 15 years. She works 12 hours, 7 days a week. -Growing up her mom "was always in my life in some sense. She'd never miss a birthday. She'd be homeless, but she'd still call." Elaine and her brothers bought her cars, and places to live, and got her jobs. "In a sense I've been mourning the loss of my mom my whole life." Once Elaine was homeless herself and there was snow on the ground. It was cold, and her teacher took her in. Gave her Christmas presents. Made her go to prom. Survivor was a thing they shared, and the teacher was gonna be Elaine's loved one. But within a one year period the woman lost her daughter, her husband, her dog and then had a stroke. Now "she walks like Frankenstein" and can't go. Elaine got Probst to talk to her, and she can't wait to watch. In October Elaine's biological mom went into a coma. She was on life support, but Elaine wouldn't unplug her. Her mom came out of it and seemed to be doing a lot better only to die very suddenly of a heart attack. -Her girlfriend and her girlfriend's two sons are gonna be watching. The 18 year old doesn't know because he can't keep a secret. The 13 year old helped her lose 20 pounds doing crossfit to come out here. She wants the money, but she really wants "some of that soul searching, that life adventure, that life changing - some of that. You know what I mean? Gimme some of that soup! Lemme eat some of that up! I want this show to build me up, because I feel like it can. I sure hope to hell it don't tear me down."
My take: About 12 sobbing emojis in a row. She's my favorite. If she gets voted out premerge I'm going to go into mourning. And how can you not sort of expect that? I am going to be so upset if they just dismiss her because she's older and looks out of shape and sounds country. If that happens, I want another Second Chance season next year.
Elizabeth Biesel, 26, Olympic swimmer, South Kingstown, Rhode Island -Josh says that Elizabeth was outright identified by one of the other contestants because they'd been watching YouTube videos about how to be a better swimmer. Others guessed she was an Olympian based on her rings tattoo. -She's from the Ocean State. They lived a block away from the beach, so they wanted her to take swimming lessons. She was a rambunctious child and swimming was the only way they could calm her energy. She started breaking records when she was 7 or 8. When she was 13 she made her first national team. At 15 she went to the Olympics. She got good early. Women peak around 22-23, and she ended her career at 24. You couldn't make much money doing it. She swam one of the longer, more grueling races, and her body said "no more." She listened to her body and retired. Some athletes lose their love for swimming because they're embittered by losing by 1/100th of a second, or they leave injured. She left on a good note. Still, if she could swim competitively for the rest of her life, she would. Now she doesn't know who she is or what she's going to do with the rest of her life. Every hour of the day used to have a purpose. Now her days are wide open. She can't keep eating 5,000 calories a day. "It's sort of like I'm mourning the death of Elizabeth Biesel the swimmer." -She was a Survivor fan as a kid because Richard Hatch was from Rhode Island. In her area "Every single household that had a television set was watching Survivor." When they asked her if she'd do the show, she felt pure joy. She said absolutely right away. She's excited about the competition of Survivor. No heated Olympic pools. You're stripped down to your core. She's amazed by the scope of the production apparatus. She's not a schemer. She wants to be a challenge beast - not the best woman but the best overall. She'd love to have a Wendell and Dom relationship with another woman. But, she wants to avoid the drama as long as she can.
My take: Could Chelsea be Wendell to her Dom? She's so wholesome. She's just so "Olympics." I love her and everything she represents. I'd love to see her rocket through the swimming competitions, lapping everyone else. Go Elizabeth.
I started working on this months ago, and stopped a day later, then picked it up recently because I wanted to finish it. While it's mentioned below, I'd like to say it here: I know that this might be a mess, and not everybody will like it. But that's the fun of it all; it's not official, and will never be official, so it's fun to create stuff or imagine what happened that hasn't been explained yet. Whether you enjoy it or hate it, I had fun doing this! :)
7 DAYS TO DIE (UNOFFICIAL) LORE—TIMELINE THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL TIMELINE OF THE LORE LEADING UP TO THE SETTING OF 7 DAYS TO DIE. ALL EVENTS DEPICTED IN THIS ARE UNOFFICIAL/UNCONFIRMED AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH (duh). THIS IS NOT PERFECT. MUCH OF THIS MAY NOT SEEM REALISTIC OR MAY BE TOO CONSTRAINED. IF YOU FEEL THAT SOMETHING DOESN’T QUITE FIT, LET ME KNOW AND I CAN CHANGE IT. IF YOU WANT, YOU CAN HELP OUT. --------------------------------------------
BCE-April 24, 1986 CE: History is unchanged.
1986 April 25 - A nuclear inspection team arrives at Chernobyl, the negligence they discover and resolve in reference to a soon-to-occur safety test is ruled as 'criminal' by the Russian government due to the estimated damage that would've occurred if the test had gone through. As a result, the true danger of Nuclear Meltdown does not set into the psychology of first world countries and they continue with lax construction of reactors.
2000 January 1 - Y2K occurs in computers across the planet. Multiple systems are permanently fried, pushing technology back several years. DIVERGENCE occurs.
2018 OCTOBER 9 - The United States Of America grants Puerto Rico statehood. The flag now carries 51 stars.
2025 June 9 - A meeting is held at the United Nations in New York to discuss political tensions between North Korea following the death of Kim Jong Un seven months prior. A 19-6 vote is enacted to increase security at the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
October 7 - North Korea attempts an attack on soil with the launch of four ballistic missiles aimed at Guam and Hawaii. Three are confirmed duds; the fourth strikes Guam’s Tamuning. Thousands are killed in the attack. Minutes later, the United States launches three ballistic missiles; all three successfully strike the capital of Pyongyang, killing several thousand people in its limits, including NK leader Kim Ju-ae. South Korea and Japan experience one of the largest refugee crises in human history. This leads to a depression in the region that lasts several years.
October 22 - A local group known as the Woodstock Militia form in the United States, their goals claiming to be “nothing more but the peace among man.” Their numbers grow over several years, expanding beyond North America.
October 23 - Backyard Bunks, a company set on the construction of backyard fallout shelters, is successfully funded and founded in Manchester, England by US expatriate Donovan Clarke, beginning construction immediately.
2032 September 2 - A Woodstock peace rally in Iraq is ambushed, leading to dozens of rally-goers dead or missing. An investigation discovers collusion between some members and a terror group known as the COG, or Caliphate Of Glory. The WM is banned from Iraq as a result “until further notice.”
December 22 - The United Nations begin talks on expanding territory further into the North Korean ruins. China argues against it.
December 30 - Talks at the United Nations ends with the UNSC voting 17-8 on territorial expansion through the North Korean ruins. China warns against this.
2033 March 27 - US expansion into the North Korean ruins begin, expecting to take a total of 18 months to succeed. Protests occur near the border. Later in the evening, a brief riot breaks out, leading to the death of a Korean Border Security Officer and several arrests.
April 1 - China sanctions the United States. As a result, the US sanctions back. The Trade War, as it is simply called, begins.
- Stocks in Chinese trade fall soon after.
August 13 - Backyard Bunks expands into the United States, quickly gaining popularity in major cities, with several hundred requests in just that single day.
September 11 - A terrorist scare occurs in Washington, D.C., after a vehicle was pulled over containing a homemade nuclear weapon. The bomb was successfully deactivated and disposed of properly.
September 19 - China begins underground nuclear testing in a remote region of the country, prompting fears in the United States and Japan of potential military action.
- Coincidentally, hours prior, Russia also announced that they would resume nuclear testing 18 years after it was discontinued.
September 29 -
Lucky Larry’s, one of the largest casinos in the midwestern United States, opens to the public in the city of Gravestown, Arizona.
December - A mass shortage of functioning antibiotics leads to an outbreak of Cholera in India, killing 3 million from December to January 2034, where it is eventually placed under control with international aid.
- Due to the Trade War, the United States experiences what is called “The Year Without Christmas.”
December 19 - United States scientists work with the United States military with the creation of a contagion with the intent to overwhelm enemy territories. Early testing is a failure.
2034 - Nuclear plants undergo a worldwide reconstruction effort to improve performance and defend against large-scale man-made attacks. Very few nuclear plants are completed.
January 2 - Seven bodies are discovered in the Cascade Range. All of them are mauled, covered in human bite marks, leading to rumors of a cannibal group nearby. Law enforcement denied these claims.
January 10 - The United States cancels the remaining expansion into the North Korean ruins, stationing soldiers as far as the city of Wonsan. China lifts few of the sanctions; the United States follows suit, but the Trade War persists.
January 11 - Construction of bunkers by BB in all Las Vegas hotels are complete.
March 18 - China ceases its nuclear testing temporarily, out of fear of radiation leaking into neighboring territories. Russia continues its nuclear testing.
March 19 - Midterm elections begin in the United States.
June 7 - Chinese President Chen-Chi is assassinated while on a trip in the United States. The United States is immediately blamed for her death. Many terror groups across the world claim responsibility. Some say this was a tactic to prevent any retaliation by China.
June 11 - China, upon full belief that the United States is responsible for the death of former president Chen-Chi, declares war on America.
JUNE 12 - World War III, or simply known as “The War,” occurs as late as 6:18 PM EST. It is unknown precisely who fired first, but blame rests solely on China.
6:15 PM - The
Integrated Operational Nuclear Detection System (IONDS) detects seven nuclear ballistic missile launches from an unknown location.
6:17 PM - NORAD confirms all seven launches. USAF enters DEFCON 1, prompting immediate takeoff of all available bombers. Several of them head for China, believed to be the sole cause.
6:18 PM - POTUS authorizes full-scale retaliation. Several US ballistic missiles are launched.
- The War commences. China denies any action against the United States, despite their declaration of war the day before, but are bombed shortly after. The United States preps a full-scale invasion scenario into China. The seven immediate nuclear missiles are destroyed. Several more are launched from ocean level, believing to be submarine-based launches. Three of them reach the west coast of the United States. Several submarines are destroyed by military response.
6:23 PM - Los Angeles is struck by two nuclear warheads several seconds apart. Few of the city’s skyscrapers collapse from the shockwave and sheer force of the explosions.
- News quickly spreads across the nation, confirming the detonation of nuclear weapons in Los Angeles. Panic spreads nationwide as people try to evacuate. Highways quickly go into gridlock, forcing people to escape on foot. Several people take shelter in several bunkers, only to quickly fill up.
- Divisions of the US Armed Forces are deployed in several cities to assist in the evacuation.
6:28 PM - Seattle and San Diego are hit by two separate nuclear warheads.
- The San Diego warhead was not a head-on strike, instead striking closer towards the outskirts, nearest to the highways. Most on the highway were killed in the immediate blast, while those in the inner city survived.
- Thirty-two more ballistic missiles are confirmed launched from China as retaliation. Many of them strike the west coast and further inland. The midwestern US (Colorado) all the way to the east coast is spared from ballistic strikes due to NORAD’s immediate response.
6:30 PM - Gravestown is devastated by two consecutive nuclear strikes. The majority of Navezgane County is spared the immediate effects of the detonations.
6:30-8:00 PM - Six more nuclear warheads breach past NORAD defenses from China, striking Portland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and even reaching Austin, Texas.
8:00 PM - No further nuclear launches from China. Birds are in the air and are headed for China. Cities affected/destroyed are Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Xi’an.
- Over the next five days, the USAF is deployed across the United States and throughout China. Martial law is declared in the US, and POTUS is relocated to the Mount Weather Communications Shelter on June 14.
JUNE 14—RUSSIA BECOMES INVOLVED 9:58 AM EST - A van containing a nuclear weapon is detonated in the US capitol. Armed forces are sent to assist the injured and dying.
- NORAD detects several Russian submarines off the east coast of the US. DEFCON 1 is once again in effect, formerly set to DEFCON 2.
10:10 AM - Russian aircraft arrives in Washington, D.C., dropping soldiers across the city with the intent to take over the White House and overthrow the president. It is revealed the president is hidden away.
- Evacuations are set for the unaffected areas of the city. Several Russian soldiers kill people attempting to flee the city limits.
10:14 AM - POTUS and NORAD authorize launch of four ballistic missiles targeted at Moscow, Russia.
10:16 AM - Four ballistic missiles are launched from the United States towards Russia.
- USAF continues to evacuate the outer regions of Washington, D.C.
10:17 AM - A second nuclear weapon is detonated in the capitol, killing millions. It is unknown who detonated it or where it was detonated.
10:19 AM - Russia retaliates by launching seven nuclear ballistic missiles targeting New York, Washington, Orlando, Boston, and Atlanta.
10:22 AM - The United States launches nine more nuclear missiles targeting several Russian cities.
- Several Russian planes fly over the skies across the eastern seaboard attempting to drop soldiers with the intent on invasion. Many of them are shot down, their soldiers killed in their parachutes, regardless of the Geneva Convention.
10:25 AM - Two Russian bombers drop three nuclear warheads onto Columbus, Ohio, destroying the city entirely. The resulting EMP causes the planes to crash, killing all onboard.
- Poland, France, and the United Kingdom join the conflict, firing their own missiles at Russia and China.
- Several Russian planes touch down in Detroit, Michigan, assuming complete control of the city over several hours.
10:40 AM - Moscow is struck by two of three nuclear warheads, one failing to detonate. The other nine launches strike other Russian cities, including Saint Petersburg, Omsk, and Samara.
11:00 AM – 9:00 PM - New York City, Orlando, Boston, and Philadelphia are hit by nuclear warheads and sustain heavy damage. Russia retaliates against Poland, the United Kingdom, and France with nuclear launches targeting them respectively. London, Paris, Nice, Manchester, Warsaw, and Marseille are all struck.
- Many refugees within the United States flee towards the center of the country, residing within the countryside and avoiding major cities. Denver, Oklahoma, and Houston—to name a few—are mostly deserted, with many vehicles remaining on the roads, forever trapped in gridlock.
- The east and west coasts are in complete blackout, a result of the EMPs created by the nuclear detonations.
- China has gone quiet in all military aspects. US soldiers in the region have confirmed that survivors are surrendering.
- Russia invades sections of the UK and Italy, expanding their territory with the intent to take control of more military weaponry. At the same time, their government no longer exists. Many survivors in the affected regions panic; the country is in absolute turmoil, with riots occurring everywhere.
- The northern area of Manhattan is mostly unaffected by the blast, but the radiation has killed most of the people in the vicinity. Cars are left running, filled with the corpses of those who succumbed while trying to escape. Bodies of USAF soldiers can be found as well.
- Riots break out in the few US cities still densely populated. Martial law is further enforced.
- The Blackout occurs: Many power plants within the affected regions are abandoned or destroyed. A rolling blackout occurs across most of North America. Very few cities still hold access to electricity.
June 14 - Radiation from the seaboards begins to seep into water systems and streams, which will begin to irradiate and pollute most major water sources across the country in the coming weeks.
- Patients in hospitals across the United States begin to die by the millions as backup power fails.
- Order starts to break down across several areas in the mid-US.
- Several more nations join into the conflict, firing their weapons at Russia and China.
- A global, limited nuclear exchange occurs. Action between nations is limited to several minutes. Detonations occur over three hours. 49 nations are confirmed affected or destroyed by the exchange. Very few nations remain unaffected or functioning, such as Africa, Australia, regions of South America, and parts of the central US. The rest struggle or collapse from radiation or economic failure.
June 15 - An undetonated nuclear warhead in Moscow suddenly explodes. Millions are killed in an instant. Remnants of Russian missile command see this as an attack and immediately fire twelve more nuclear missiles. They launch in random directions.
- Poland is hit again. England is hit again, London is devastated. Paris is struck again, causing the collapse of the famed Eiffel Tower. Uganda, Africa is struck, leading to them retaliating against Russia.
- The United States is once again hit by Russian warheads. New York’s north side is hit, killing millions of survivors. Washington, D.C. is hit again. NORAD nearly shoots down all of them. One surviving missile strikes Kansas City, devastating it in moments.
- After this day, no further nuclear missiles are launched from any nation. Communications break down across the world. The Great Silence begins.
June 16 - The War ends. Two-and-a-half billion people are dead. Many more are injured and dying; the death toll is expected to climb another billion over several months.
- Several countries drop communications, either intentionally or unintentionally. The United States, for two weeks, is isolated from the rest of the world except for Canada and remnants of Mexico.
June 18 - Radiation has seeped into the water systems of many inhabited US cities. People are poisoned and begin to die. USAF remnant soldiers begin to ration food and water to the population.
- NORAD is abandoned, its surviving crew scattering across the mid-US.
- Surviving members of the Woodstock Militia regroup in Denver with the intent to boost morale across the surviving states.
- Navezgane County, Arizona regains contact with the mid-US states. Several other counties of other western states soon do the same. Navezgane’s climate is heavily altered. Snowy regions plague the mountains, while plant-life blooms elsewhere. The area surrounding Gravestown is abandoned, filled with the bodies of war victims and populated with survivors, who are only now emerging from their bunkers with the intent on beginning a cleanup effort.
June 20 - Cleanup attempts begin across remnants of the nation with the help of USAF. The president is relocated to Denver, Colorado and addresses the nation to his best extent.
July 2-5 - The United States is divided into three sections: The States, The West Wasteland, and The East Wasteland.
- USAF members return from overseas after weeks of silence. Many have died from radiation poisoning and were buried in China.
- Survivors from neighboring countries, including China and Russia, begin to appear on shorelines as they make their way to the States. Very few are turned away. Many Chinese and Russian survivors surrender, only to be taken in and sheltered. It is from these survivors that the extent of the damage from the war is revealed. Russia’s economy collapsed in a matter of days, whereas China’s economy “seemingly collapsed the moment the very first bomb touched down.”
- People begin farms in their own backyards, planting gardens and producing crops.
July 5-16 - Power plants across the States are restored; the lights turn back on across the country, even in areas across the Wastelands. Navezgane County’s power is restored. Some power plants have melted down in recent weeks, irradiating parts of North America for thousands of years.
July-August - The Great Meltdown occurs, a period in which power plants across the world experience near-simultaneous meltdowns as a result of abandonment and lack of maintenance. Several European countries are irradiated, millions killed.
- Japan’s nuclear plants melt down; those who were unable to flee die quickly of radiation poisoning.
- Hawaii is spared from the radioactive cloud, which eventually reaches North America by early August.
- The west coast of North America is devastated by radioactivity from the GM. Those not already killed by the war are killed by the cloud.
- Alaska is spared from the radioactive cloud.
- The majority of South America is spared from the radioactive cloud, but its west coast is devastated.
- Most of Europe is devastated. Those who are able to escape are forced underground.
- The world truly becomes isolated. Two billion more die during the Great Meltdown. Three-and-a-half billion survivors remain on Earth.
- The States are spared from the radioactive cloud that covers the majority of the planet.
- Very few places on the coastlines are spared from the radioactive cloud, such as Navezgane County.
- Many cities lie dead, full of the remains of the people who used to live there.
August - An outbreak of Cholera occurs in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A mixture of radioactive and infected water leads to 100,000+ dead, an eighth of its population.
OUTBREAK OCCURS - A mutation via radiation exposure leads to the full-blown outbreak of V-713, or known more as the Muerto contagion in North America.
August 4 - Cases of an unknown pathogen are reported in Navezgane and several other spots of land across the western board. Reports of infection are heard in Albuquerque and Sante Fe, New Mexico, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver, Colorado. Due to recent outbreaks of Cholera and other dangerous diseases, USAF and doctors collaborate to deliver protective masks, while simultaneously quarantining the sick.
August 5 - Bodies are found in multiple areas across several states, in similar condition to the bodies found in the Cascade Range months earlier.
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Muerto spreads into several more towns and cities. Hospitals quickly become overwhelmed with new admissions.
- Many fear the outbreak will reach their area and attempt to leave. Highways are once again clogged, while soldiers attempt to console and comfort those panicking, encouraging them to return home.
AUGUST 6 – THE MUERTOS RISE - Cases spread further to larger cities.
- Hundreds of infected individuals begin to die in hospitals; some die on the streets. Several areas are quarantined, with hazmat teams burying the dead; in most cases, the dead are burned once space runs out.
- Reports of attacks begin to pile up in areas hit hardest by the infection. They are dismissed as riots and labelled as “fearful anarchists.”
- In the evening, sudden mass ‘riots’ break out across the western board. News reports depict people chasing each other and knocking others to the ground ‘with the intent to maim or kill’.
- Citizens, sick or healthy, attempt to flee the cities and areas that are in chaos. Many seek protection by local police forces, but are gunned down mistaken for attackers.
- Police forces in the main cities are quickly overwhelmed. USAF forces in the area respond with deadly force, but many of them are overwhelmed as well.
- Roadblocks are set up on highways, hoping to contain the violence to the cities—however, reports emerge of similar attacks occurring in small towns and even villages.
- The cities’ streets are a mix of stampeding civilians and crazed attackers.
August 7 12:00 AM – 5:00 AM - USAF forces are forced to pull out of Denver’s limits. The president is long gone, relocated to De Moines, Iowa.
- Roadblocks outside Denver, Salt Lake City, and Santa Fe are overrun by infected individuals.
- Doctors confirm on radios and functioning stations that the attackers are deceased. The Muerto contagion is gained its name, but the infected are rarely, if ever, named as zombies.
7:23 AM - The president addresses the nation, revealing the full scale of the situation and urges calm. This does little to prevent further panic.
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM - The infected overrun multiple military outposts across several cities.
- USAF forces conduct mass napalm bombings in Salt Lake City, Denver, Santa Fe, and more, in an attempt to control the spread. The effort fails.
- Reports arise that USAF forces have gunned down refugees pouring into towns neighboring Denver and Santa Fe. Outrage spreads quickly as the infected continue to migrate further east.
4:00 PM – 11:00 PM - USAF outposts in Fort Collins, Colorado and Rapid City, South Dakota are overrun by infected.
- Reports of infection arise in the city of Wichita, Kansas. Suspected cases are either quarantined or killed to contain the spread.
- Fort Collins is firebombed by USAF pilots. Containment is initially a success, but the sound draws mass herds of infected hosts. The fort is declared a lost cause.
August 8 - Outposts and blockades are stationed across several areas not yet hit, such as Navezgane County. Cities further to the east succumb to infection and riots.
- Firebombing methods are abandoned for major cities; citizens are left to their own devices. Many die in the panic.
August 10 – August 11 - The Muerto contagion is reported in Navezgane and several other counties. People resort to locking themselves in their homes or committing suicide. However, many commit suicide by either poisoning or hanging, leading to reanimation.
- Suicide patients begin to reanimate over several hours, leading to a siege of infected hosts in several towns.
- The Diersville hospital is under siege throughout the 11th, leading to the infected escaping and attacking the neighboring folk.
- Infection reported in Perishton.
August 13 - Perishton under siege.
- Diersville confirmed lost. Many residents forced to fend for themselves. USAF forces abandon the town after failed attempts to control the infected hordes. Some fleeing residents are gunned down, mistaken for the dead.
- Several nuclear weapons are dropped on Denver, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque as a last resort. The resulting blasts irradiate the entire region. Navezgane County is more or less sealed off from the rest of the nation.
August 18 - Power failures plague large regions of the States.
- The infection is controlled in several areas via USAF border fences.
- USAF forces begin airdrops in areas affected, but still holding survivors.
August 25 - Navezgane is declared a hazard zone. Airdrops still occur, but it is forbidden to set foot until otherwise.
- The Muerto contagion is contained; half of the States survive.
- 7 Days To Die begins.
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