The Hot Zone Crisis was a climate disaster and armed conflict that took place in the southwestern United States during the mid 21st century.
History[]
2035-40[]
In the late 2020s and throughout the 2030s, worsening climate change led to extreme rises in temperature and subsequent droughts.[1] The region of the southwestern United States hit particularly hard by these environmental conditions became known as the "hot zone." In 2036, the controversial Executive Order 2036-30073-H was issued in attempt to reduce the impact of the hot zone. Known shorthand as "73-H," the Executive Order used the government's emergency powers to forcibly relocate citizens in the hot zone to temporary housing until a sustainable solution could be determined.[2]
However, opponents of the order criticized it as an unforgivable federal overreach and a greedy land grab, as the federal government was seeking to seize mining claims under eminent domain while forcing residents and refugees to live in fenced-in camps (which were quickly disparaged as "73-Hell").[2][3] As a result, many residents of the hot zone refused to leave. Emerging among the anti-73-H dissenters were rare earth magnate Roberto Medina and Joint Task Force 10 pilot Colonel Edward De La Hoya. Medina defied the federal relocation by declaring all of his profits to habitation efforts, helping as many southwesterners as possible to stay on their land. Medina's declaration resonated among the hot zone, leading to other mining interests and businesses to follow suit. The government reacted negatively to Medina's defiance and retaliated by cutting off all water supplies to the hot zone. However, the government's action only galvanized the anti-73-H movement.[4] Medina and his allies countered the water deprivation by signing a multiyear agreement with the South American water cartel MERASUR and enlisted the help of Joint Task Force 10, commanded by Colonel De La Hoya, to protect Medina's mining claims and seize control of water sources.[4][3]
Soon armed conflict broke out on American soil for the first time since the American Civil War. The government deployed U.S. Robot Command in sending General Synthetics battle drones against the rebels, thus turning the war into the the first full-scale engagement between automated forces and human soldiers in world history.[1] Initially, federal forces employed "non-lethal" tactics until they used live ammunition after JTF-10 quickly proved themselves to be capable of besting state-of-the-art AI and machines.[5][6] Although the anti-73-H movement garnered many to join their rebellion, not all agreed with their violent resolution to the crisis. Colonel Anne Faraday, who grew up in the hot zone, became a leading figure calling for a peaceful solution to the crisis and tried to mediate the opposing sides.[7]
Ultimately on August 20, 2037, U.S. Robot Command sought to quickly put an end to the conflict by capturing Medina and the other hot zone leaders alive. USRC initiated Operation: Unity, dispatching a heavy drone strike on JTF-10's base in the Mojave desert where Medina and his allies are headquartered. The strike was met with fierce resistance until a fission explosion (likely caused by JTF-10 munition cracking the power casing of a General Synthetics drone) annihilated the base and killing everyone present, including Medina, De La Hoya, and some 900 refugees being sheltered at a nearby camp. The devastation at what was known as the Battle of the Mojave prompted an immediate end to the crisis. An armistice was agreed upon, and reconciliation talks, headed by Anne Faraday and aided by her neutral peacekeepers, began.[8]