Brief History of Tripartite Alliance Earth
"What stillness in this pre-dawn hour. The air is cold. In all our life of preparation we are unprepared for this new hour filled with emptiness. How thick the darkness behind which hides the animal cry. I know what is there, hidden from my stare. Grief's weeping. Deeper emptiness."
Third World War and Reconstruction (1982-1998)
The devastation of the Third World War was global in scope, and did not end with the fall of the last bomb. The slide through pestilence, famine, and anarchy continued for two decades after the war ended. The physical destruction was limited to the war zone (North America, Asia, Russia). A disaster of equal magnitude, however, was the destruction of the world's transportation network. Vulnerable ocean shipping fell victim to naval action early in the war and could not be rebuilt due to the loss of industrial capacity.
Only Japan retained a viable merchant fleet, and it dominated world trade in the immediate postwar years.