General Information

Infertility Crisis

Worldwide industrialization came with a cost: emissions of bitoxiphosphene. Bitoxiphosphene when breathed from early childhood, especially if exposed in utero, especially especially if your mother was also exposed from early childhood, wrecks havoc on the female reproductive system. Many women are never fertile. Others become infertile at a relatively young age, such as 25 or thirty. Even fertile women will often miscarry or give birth to children with disabilities incompatible with life. (Bitoxiphosphene does not affect animals.)

It took decades for bitoxiphosphene to build up to a level where people would notice and decades for the full effects to unfold. By then, the crisis was unstoppable. Even with strict emissions limits, bitoxiphosphene is extraordinarily hard to remove from the atmosphere, with a half-life measured in centuries. Humans are sensitive to very trace amounts. The only hope is the development of an artificial ovary and uterine replicators-- or the destruction of women’s rights.

Technology

Slightly advanced above the present day. In particular:

• Artificial womb technology allows more premature babies to survive.
• Delivery drones instead of mailpeople
• Self-driving trucks on freeways, but no self-driving cars on major roads.
• Excellent VR tech, including touch, sound, and sight (but not taste or smell). 
• VR tech is used for porn, video games, and playing-with-babies simulators. 

Geography

The former USA is divided into Gilead, Cascadia and Deseret, with Mexico having claimed some of the southern states. Alaska is part of Canada and Hawaii is part of Cascadia. For more information on individual countries, see their wiki pages. (Map by Kaylin)

Timeline

Late 1700s: Industrial revolution. First emissions of bitoxiphosphene. 

1940s: Bitoxiphosphene first linked to growing infertility rates.

1960s: Founding of Gileadite sect; rapid growth due to Gileadite belief that surrogacy is sacred

1970s: Widespread acceptance that bitoxiphosphene causes infertility; strict bitoxiphosphene limits imposed

1990s: The Clarence Thomas hearings opportunistically taken advantage of by Gileadites; leads to sexual harassment law that makes it expensive to employ women. Bill Clinton resigns in disgrace after the Lewinsky scandal.

2000s: Half of Americans Gileadite.

2021: Terrorist attack on the State of the Union address; kills President, most of Congress. Gileadite coup. Deseret and Cascadia secede.

2022: Nuclear bombing of Cascadia. Cascadia-Gilead war. In the chaos, Mexico conquers much of the Southwest.

2040-2055: Present day.

Olympics

The Olympics are permanently in Greece.

Star Wars

Star Wars is identical until it was bought by Disney. The Force Awakens was the subject of backlash by fans due to its reveal that the Force is an Aslan-like Secret Jesus. 

Tumblr

Tumblr is a Gileadite website intended for art-sharing. However, Tumblr is a badly programmed hellsite in every universe. Specifically, the content filters that are supposed to block porn, information about other religions, etc. don’t work super-well. For this reason, Tumblr has become popular among rebellious Gileadites, as well as Cascadians, Canadians, and Mexicans who’d like to talk with them.