The following lore uses its own time system. The years in the post-apocalyptic “Last Days” universe are measured “before the Event” (BE) and “after the Event” (AE), whereat “The Event” refers to the destruction of the Moon. The original setting BE was that of a future, as it had been predicted in the American 50’s. Atom powered machines and robots anywhere, happy children listening to some swell tunes from the radio, while mother cooks and father waxes his hair with glue.
The year was 24 BE, a young inventor calling himself "Mr. History" was elbows deep in the creation of the world's first artificial intelligence. He called it The Huggatron and fancied it man's best friend since the dog. The Huggatron was primarily designed for human companionship. It came complete with full mobility, voice and emotion emulation system, and the means of completing simple tasks at it's possessors will. When The Huggatron was nearly complete Mr. History sought council with a series of wealthy and powerful men.
"Gentlemen" said Mr. History, "I present to you, a machine unlike any you have ever seen outside of the cinema. Naturally, I would not have asked to speak with you, if I had not something magnificent in my possession. With me, I have a device that will change the world as we know it. This is a device that will touch the minds and the hearts of people the world round. This device will define our voyage into the future. I present to you, the world's first Automated Man, The Huggatron!".
Naturally, the men were eager to invest, Mr. History quickly gathered a fortune which he placed into founding Orbital Industries in 17 BE. Three years later, in 14BE, he released The Huggatron. As expected, it took the world by storm. The Huggatron sold by the millions at a less than economical price. Within six months Mr. History was able to pay off all of the investments plus interest and protect Orbital Industries autonomy for good.Six years, 2 Editions of The Huggatron, and billions in revenue later, Orbital Industries announced that in three months it would embark upon a voyage to the Moon. Many could not believe that such a thing was possible, yet they had not believed in robots either. On October 30th, 8 BE Orbital Industries landed on the Moon. The whole world watched as a half dozen men planted the Orbital Industries banner at the landing. After the footage of the landing was played for the world, Mr. History went on a press trip and met with the leaders of all of the world's super powers. He announced privately to each of the world leaders that he was, among other things, establishing a weapons testing facilities beneath the Moon's surface. Access to the facilities would be public, however it would be at considerable cost. He told each of the leaders that many of the others had already paid in advance for early access to the facilities and they would be left behind if they did not get on board. As expected, almost every country forked out the money to use the facilities before they were even opened. Using the money invested by the governments, Orbital Industries was able to open it's first testing center in 8 BE.
-Anonymous, attributed to "History", Orbital Industries CEO
The next years saw a multiplication in Orbital’s incomes, until it exceeded the gross domestic product of any country. This was achieved by the sale of weapons to Earth's superpowers, the continued development of increasingly sophisticated military and civilian robots, and the increasingly important field of waste disposal (ironically, O.I. was responsible for most of the waste). Last but not least, Orbital Industries created complexes of underground “Cocoon” shelters, concrete and metal reinforced bunkers, that were clustered together in “H.I.V.E.s”. Afraid of the new weapons the superpoweres had aquired, people payed a fortune to reserve spots in the Cocoons. While things on Earth were looking grim enough, strip mining of Helium-3 and nuclear weapon tests became commonplace on the Moon, turning it into a hollow irradiated dump, often referred to as “The Belly”. Although nearly all governments in the world started to view Orbital Industries as a threat, Mr. History’s safety was ensured by his wealth and superior technology, so they were forced to grin and bear it.
During this time of barley concealed tension, “The Event” took place and until today it remains a mystery wrapped in riddles, what actually happened. It is known that the mysterious disappearance of Mr. History’s chief of development, Dr. Hypophysos H. Crocopolous, seriously crippled Orbital Industries development capability in 1 BE. A popular theory suggested that this indirectly led to “The Event”, supposedly caused by a poorly conducted and rushed portal experiment to establish a direct connection between Earth and the Belly. While the exact happenings on the Moon on August 6th 0 AE remain unknown, the resulting chain reaction of exploding nuclear weapons and Helium-3 deposits spoke for itself.
Large chunks of the Moon were blasted away, raining down on Earth, hitting cities, causing floodwaves and starting large forest fires. While Orbital desperatley tried to contain the damage and avert a PR disaster, the world’s superpowers, in a unique display of unity, took control over O.I. facilities world wide. On February 2nd 1 AE, Orbital was officially disbanded and divided between multiple governments. However, the damage had already been done. The pollution of the environment resulted in famines and freak thunderstorms all around the world. Contact to the Moon and it’s resources had been lost during “The Event”, and a general paranoia towards science and technology took hold of Earth's population. Mere weeks after O.I.’s end, riots errupted in multiple countries, spreading and evolving into wars about resources and food. The alliance of convenience between Earth’s superpowers crumbled and resulted in a cold war that lasted until 3 AE, when the first bombs fell and the world as it was known, ceased to exist…