Timeline

This timeline documents key dates and events that occur between the 1200s and the 21st century in the universe of Deus Ex. This world shares many similarities with the real world. However, there are major divergences between the two during the 20th century and beyond.

1200s
1218
 * Construction begins on Cathedrale de Payens, financed by the Knights Templar.

1300s
1311
 * The Knights Templar are officially dissolved. However, the organization continues to operate in secret.

1400s
1453
 * 29 May: Constantinople falls to an invading army of the Ottoman empire. Forerunners of the Illuminati sees a rise of opportunity

1700s
1723 1776
 * Adam Weishaupt is born in Ingolstadt, Germany.
 * Adam Weishaupt forms the "Order of Perfectibilists", also known as the Illuminati.

1910s
1914 1918
 * 28 June: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated in Sarajevo. The event, leading up to the First World War, is set in motion and provides the Illuminati with a rise of opportunity.
 * Cathedrale de Payens is purchased and renovated by a group of European investors as a corporate retreat.

1940s
1940s 1945
 * The Illuminati gathers genetic data through the administration of smallpox vaccinations. This continues for two decades.
 * 1941-1945: US Army Air Corps constructs airfields near the dry Groom Lake in Nevada. After World War II, the site is abandoned, but a decade later it will become the secret base Area 51.
 * July 16: Project Trinity detonates the first atomic bomb, providing the Illuminati with another rise of opportunity.

1947
 * An unidentified flying object (UFO) is reported to have crashed, intact, at Roswell, New Mexico. Wreckage and corpses of 5 "Gray" aliens are reportedly recovered by US military investigators.
 * United States Air Force begins "Project Sign" to investigate "flying saucer" reports. US President forms a separate, secret blue-ribbon panel, code named Majestic 12, to study alien technology and biology.

1948
 * Project Sign is replaced with Project Grudge, emphasis switches from objective reporting and investigation, to denying of the Roswell incident and aggressive debunking of UFO reports. Majestic 12 operations seemingly continue uninterrupted.

1949
 * Project Grudge operations are drastically reduced to just one investigator.

1950s
1951
 * Project Sign/Project Grudge files are reopened under the name "Project Blue Book".

1954
 * The Bilderberg Group is created by the Illuminati to control financial matters around the world through vast mining operations, control over the Federal Reserve Board, the Eurobank and the World Bank as well as through a stranglehold on the world's supply of gold.

1955
 * Groom Lake site is recommissioned as a top secret test site for the . Airspace is restricted; hangars, runways and other buildings are constructed.

1958
 * Groom Lake Air Force Base is removed from the index of US public lands. First official designation of this site as "Area 51".

1960s
1960s
 * Paolo Solari develops the concept of acrology - a fusion of architecture with ecology. The arcology aims to eliminate wasteful consumption of land, energy and time by putting living, working and public spaces within easy reach of each other, making walking the main form of transportation. Real arcologies will be built a hundred years later in Cairo and other cities by the World Trade Organization.

1961
 * Massachusetts Institute of Technology introduces the world to MH-1; the first computer-operated mechanical hand. Nearing human likeness, the MH-1 has a hand-arm combination of 35 degrees of freedom, and is sensitive to pattern recognition and simulation of higher cognitive processes.

1963
 * November 10: President John F. Kennedy states that "the high office of President has been used to ferment a plot to destroy the American's freedom, and before I leave office I must inform the citizen of his plight". This remark angers the Illuminati, whom it is referencing.
 * November 22: President Kennedy is assassinated by the Illuminati.

1965
 * The Illuminati finish tracking those who receive a smallpox vaccine. From this they are able to build a database of the genetic codes of nearly all citizens of the United States and much of the rest of the world.

1968
 * Tong Si Hung is born.

1969
 * Project Blue Book is closed by USAF after "Condon Report" concludes that no UFO data has contributed significantly to US national security or scientific progress. Majestic 12 reportedly continues to operate in secret.

1970s
1970s
 * Computers with the ability to automatically sift through massive quantities of information for specific keywords begin operation.

1970
 * David Sarif is born.
 * Athene Margoulis is born.

1972
 * William Taggart is born.

1973
 * Hugh Darrow is born in Blackheath, South London.
 * July: David Rockefeller forms the.

1975 1978
 * Tai Yong Medical is founded in Shanghai, as a designer/manufacturer of silicon prosthetic limbs.
 * The Altair 8800 is released, marking the birth of the microcomputer era.
 * An Australian professor develops the first safe effective sensorineural biotechnology that directly connects electronic technology to physiological contact within the central nervous system. With the help of this new technology, his patient becomes the first human in the world to receive a multi-channel cochlear implant after losing his hearing from injuries sustained to the head. The implantation proves to successfully give him the ability to regain partial hearing and pitch perception.

1980s
1980s
 * NSA designs the Echelon system by interconnecting all SIGINT information gathering computers in the UKUSA agreement into an integrated whole.

1981
 * Jim Miller is born.

1982
 * The Falklands war occurs this year. Events during this conflict sow the seeds of dissent that will later result in the creation of the private military contractor Belltower.

1983
 * Elias Chikane is born.

1984
 * Early Majestic 12 documents are leaked to UFO investigators. These documents are quickly denounced as hoaxes.

1985
 * The Picus Group is formed by Sir Martin Darrow.
 * Zhao Yun Ru is born.
 * Isaias Sandoval is born.

1987
 * The first implantation of a deep-brain electrical stimulation system and the first Lasik eye surgery are performed on human patients.

1988
 * Jaron Namir is born in Haifa, Israel.
 * Talos Rucker is born.

1990s
1990
 * Bob Page is born.

1991
 * Francis Pritchard is born.
 * Viktor Marchenko is born.

1992
 * Lawrence Barrett is born.

1993 1994
 * March 9: Adam Jensen is born.
 * Alex Vega is born.
 * Daniel Fletcher is born.
 * Marc Thorpe hosts the world's first Robot Wars competition in San Francisco, California.

1995
 * Megan Reed is born in Seattle, Washington.
 * Hugh Darrow severely damages the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during a skiing accident. This injury leaves him with a permanent physical disability, but also acts as the inspiration for his research into mechanical augmentations.

1996
 * Hugh Darrow purchases and revamps a struggling prosthetics manufacturing company in England, creating Darrow Industries. With his family's considerable assets at his disposal, Darrow ensures that this, as well as his claims to the importance of this event, makes front-page news.

1997
 * The sovereignty of Hong Kong is handed over by the UK to the PRC. A top official of the PRC central law enforcement agency publicly acknowledges his acceptance of the Triad. He states that many of its members are patriotic to the motherland. It is unknown if this is a government stance or a personal opinion.
 * The private military contractor Belltower UK is formed by Roger St. John-Ffolkes.

1998
 * The first brain implant capable of stimulating movement is installed in a human patient by researchers at Emory University. The device, or neurotrophic electrode, is implanted into the brain, allowing cortical cells to grow and form neural contacts. After several weeks, the cortical tissue grows into the electrode. This allows a person to interact with the world as if they were using a computer.
 * Professor Ellen Heber-Katz discovers the world‘s first regenerative mice (the MRL strain).

1999
 * January 1: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain succumb to Majestic 12 pressure exerted via the (EMU) and adopt the Euro as their currency.
 * Faridah Malik is born in Dearborn, United States.

2000s
2000
 * The Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR) is implanted for the first time in the eyes of three nearly blind patients. Containing approximately 3,500 microscopic solar cells that convert light into electrical impulses, the new technology works to replace damaged photoreceptors that normally convert light into electrical signals within the retina.
 * Japan renews its defense obligations with the United States and embarks on a costly rearmament program.

2001
 * January 1: Greece adopts the Euro.
 * Yelena Fedorova is born.
 * Assigned birth year of the AI, Eliza Cassan.
 * Peter Chang is born.
 * A high-power lineman who, after losing both of his arms through severe electrocution, receives a life-changing computerized, bio-hybrid arm is dubbed as one of the first functional cyborgs, his fully robotic limb operated through a nerve muscle graft that uses micro computers instead of cables to perform a wide range of complex motions. It is also the first prototype enabling its carrier to sense pressure.
 * September 11: A terrorist attack destroys the World Trade Center towers in New York City. The event is described as yet another rise of opportunity for the Illuminati.

2002
 * Ivan Berk is born.
 * Václav Koller is born.
 * After six years of intense research, Darrow Industries' scientists successfully intertwine PEDOT-electrodes with live neural cells, creating a bio-compatible matrix that better enables acceptance of prosthetic materials by organic tissue.
 * Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian calls for a referendum to decide whether Taiwan should declare independence. China immediately threatens to use force should the vote occur.
 * The implementation of the Euro is complete. As a result, most of Europe and its territories are subjects to the economical control of Majestic 12.

2003
 * Following national elections, the United Kingdom adopts the Euro as currency. The Illiminati now fully control Europe's finances, and Europe later becomes a financial satellite of Majestic 12.
 * Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is introduced to the US market.
 * Engineers in Copenhagen fabricate diamoissonite, a revolutionary carbon-fiber material that paves the way for the creation of lighter, more durable prosthetics.
 * A U.S.-led multinational coalition of armed forces invades Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction. Iraq falls within a month. No WMDs are found.

2004
 * Development begins for Project Phoenix, a new initiative implemented by the US Military inviting amputee soldiers serving in the two Persian Gulf Conflicts to volunteer for advanced prosthetic research.
 * Belltower UK becomes Belltower Associates, an umbrella group including companies such as Belltower Maritime Security, Belltower Alpha, Hack Wall Data Protection Services and Skye Secure Aviation.

2005
 * Project Echelon, a global surveillance system designed to monitor all net traffic, is reportedly relocated to Area 51.
 * Building on their earlier creation of PEDOT-clusters, Darrow Industries scientists create a revolutionary bio-sensor that vastly improves the connection between the human nervous system and artificial limbs. The new technology brings researchers one step closer to thinning the line between prosthetic and organic.
 * China passes its Anti-Secession Law, authorizing immediate war with Taiwan should Taiwanese independence forces ever succeed in separating Taiwan from China.

2006
 * The Human Brain Project, an international scientific research project aimed at understanding and completely mapping brain functions, launches in the U.S. and Great Britain.

2007
 * Looking to increase the efficiency of advanced prosthetics production, David Sarif purchases and overhauls an auto factory in Detroit. Shortly after, Sarif creates a system that automates the manufacturing of advanced prosthetics, converting the newly purchased plant into the first auto-mechanical augmentation factory.
 * starts looking for research partners to help develop an artificial cognitive science program that could increase a soldier's situational awareness in the field. A number of private sector companies, including VersaLife, submit proposals. VersaLife believes a successful program can be designed -- if it can be wired directly into the soldiers' brains. DARPA declines VersaLife's proposal, not willing to go that far. VersaLife then takes the idea to its partner, a private military corporation Belltower Associates. This project, under the supervision of Illuminati, will later be known as the Hyron Project.
 * Nina Sullivan is born.

2008
 * The controversial Omega Ranch begins to take shape with support from the United Nations and several major biotech companies, including VersaLife. Leading the development, the World Health Organization (WHO) begins construction on the new center that will pave the way for research into viral genetics and biological sciences.
 * Taiwan declares independence during the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. One month later, China launches an invasion. The U.S. and Japan do nothing. Taiwan falls in 6 days.

2009
 * Zhao Yun Ru joins Tai Yong Medical as CEO.
 * Stretched thin by two Mideast conflicts, the U.S. Congress passes the Recycle Military Bill, financing free prosthetics for any wounded veteran who re-enlists. With little competition, Sarif Industries wins the lucrative prosthetic manufacturing contract and becomes the number one prosthetic manufacturer in America.
 * Wide-ranging cutbacks in the British, American, German, and Russian military put many trained soldiers out of work; Belltower cherry-picks the best of these men to bolster its own forces.
 * Capitalizing on world reaction to Taiwan‘s fall, Tibet declares independence. Chinese forces swoop in to completely crush the rebellion in 4 days. Photos smuggled out afterward show a large number of prosthetic-equipped soldiers amid the invading army.

2010s
2010
 * August 4: Zhao Yun Ru graduates from the University of Beijing with a degree in Biology and Nanotechnology.
 * German researchers publish the results of a revolutionary study suggesting how information may be coded in neural activities.
 * Taiwanese rebels make a last ditch effort to overthrow the Chinese occupation. Worldwide news reports reveal squads of augmented soldiers brutally demolishing all resistance.
 * Riots break out at the Vancouver Winter Olympics when disabled athletes arrive en mass to protest the IAAF rules.

2011
 * Internet 3 hub is moved to the Area 51 underground laboratories.
 * Darrow Industries publishes "Fittest XY", the first test capable of identifying if a subject suffers from a rare genetic disorder that makes acceptance of an implant not only impossible, but also deadly.
 * As augmentations become increasingly commonplace, entrepreneur Haydon Suyong envisions the creation of healthcare clinics that cater exclusively to the specific needs of prosthetic-equipped patients. After borrowing 50 million Euros from Hugh Darrow, the dream becomes reality and the first clinic for augmented humans opens.
 * Bluewater Global, America’s largest private military organization, disbands due to a scandal that rocks the PMC industry to its core; Belltower takes advantage of the situation to fill the vacuum left in their wake.

2012
 * As part of their ultimate exit strategy out of Iraq, the US military sends squads of prosthetic-equipped soldiers into the heaviest conflict zones.
 * The Human Brain Project publishes a first draft map of the brain, depicting populations of neurons involved in complex phenomena like reminiscence, future simulation, etc.
 * Germany boycotts the London Summer Olympic games and sends its athletes to compete at the Paralympic Games instead. Picus Communications broadcasts the augmented competition and sweeps the ratings.

2013
 * Ophelia Carter publishes a conspiracy-related book "The Wheels Come Off". Supposedly demonstrated that there could have been no "Soviet-American pact" because America had already sold out to the Grays. According to this theory the polio and influenza outbreaks of the later 20th century were test runs in a larger governmental bio-warfare program.
 * A milestone in the development of augmentation is reached when the 50th healthcare clinic for mechanically augmented patients opens in New Delhi, with nearly 50,000 patients visiting the facility within its first week. At the opening ceremony Haydon Suyong calls his network of clinics "L.I.M.B. International" for the first time.
 * A year after emerging as an underground prosthetic ultimate fighting movement, the Augmented Combat Challenge (ACC) is accepted as a legal sport in 12 countries. Bets taken online and in Las Vegas turns into a multi-million dollar circuit as the sport's popularity rapidly grows.
 * The South American Economic Coalition (SEAC) is formed, headquartered in Buenos Aires.

2014
 * Brian Nittle becomes the first patient with Down syndrome to successfully receive a deep-brain implant capable of stimulating portions of the brain in order to significantly increase natural cognitive functions. The implantation works better than imagined and Nittle is able to lead a near normal life.
 * The volcanic Vilama Caldera complex in Argentina unexpectedly erupts in a powerful 'supervolcanic' explosion, blanketing huge swathes of land in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia with hot ash. Over 100,000 citizens are killed, but the world finds hope in augmented humans as they play a major role in the region's rescue and recovery operations. Their enhanced abilities save many lives and prove to make a crucial difference in relief of this disaster.
 * After having banned augmented athletes years earlier, plans to rewrite the guidelines and rules governing international athletic competitions are announced. "We can no longer ignore the [augmented] population. They are obviously a part of our world, and this is a worldwide competition," says voting board member Harris Stevenson.
 * Adam Jensen joins the Detroit Police Department.

2015
 * Rumors begin to circulate that countries are experimenting with new intelligence-enhancing technology by secretly implanting the device in military and counter-intelligence officers. As leaked intelligence from Asia and Europe begins to corroborate the story, a fear of falling behind these imposing advancements accelerates global bio-technical research to new levels.
 * Terrorist attacks against Saudi Arabian oil fields decimate the country's infrastructure and plunge the world into a major energy crisis In response, an emergency session of the US Congress passes the Green River Energy Bill, opening protected oil shale deposits in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming to development. Seeing the challenges and dangers of drilling in the areas, oil companies begin quietly recruiting augmented war veterans to work at unusually high salaries. Fallout from the enactment of the Green River Bill opens up new emergency powers for FEMA and the NSA, created in preparation for the possibility of civil unrest in the wake of the looming energy crisis.
 * China secretly begins implanting deep-brain intelligence-enhancing implants in its military and counter-intelligence officers.
 * An incident on Earth orbit resulting in the death of the crew of a corporate space shuttle takes place; the accident is blamed on pilot error, but exact details are never released. Rumors of a Chinese military presence in space are rife.

2016
 * A Chinese pilot equipped with a deep-brain intelligence-enhancing implant defects to a U.S. base in the Philippines. The U.S. Military immediately attempts to reverse-engineer the chip.
 * The Singularity Faith of the Machine God (SFMG), a quasi-religious pro-augmentation group, is formally recognized as a church. Augs originally formed the SFMG in 2011 in response to being shunned for going against religious scripts that declare it unholy to biologically 'desecrate' their bodies.
 * New elections in the Russian Federation herald sweeping changes across the region as a series of newly elected officials take power in a bloodless coup d‘etat; the re-named Russian Federated States take a firm stance in the global political arena.
 * In the Arctic and several other oceans across the globe, construction begins on the Panchaea Project, a vast geo-engineering experiment funded by the United Nations and a consortium of corporate interests in order to combat global warming through iron seeding.

2017
 * Australia declares independence, becoming the Republic of Australia. New Zealand becomes an associate state six months later.
 * In an attempt to catch up to the rapid advancements of rival nations, the US military awards Sarif Industries a top secret, no-bid contract to manufacture intelligence-enhancing chips.
 * Dallas becomes a self-declared “protected city-state”, paving the way for several other so-called fortress cities to come into being over the next decade.
 * Tai Yong Medical invests into the construction of Hengsha Island's two-tiered city on the Yangtze River. The company will build its corporate headquarters in the center of Hengsha.
 * Palisade Bank is founded, with headquarters in the Czech Republic.
 * First documents surface referring to a "Project Aquinas".
 * Canada enacts the Paulsen Program, a gradual strengthening of its borders and military capacity, in the face of economic pressure from its southern neighbor. The most contentious element of the program is the radical decision to force the nationalization of Canada's rich oil sands deposits, securing the country's energy bounty for itself. US-Canadian tensions intensify from this point.

2018
 * Paul Denton is born.
 * Adam Jensen joins the DPD's SWAT team, under the command of Captain Quincy Durant.
 * A containment breach occurs in Omega Ranch, allowing a modified variant of the H5N1 avian flu virus to escape into the atmosphere, killing hundreds of thousands of people. VersaLife and its corporate partners subsequently cut all ties with the facility.
 * The International Space Station is formally transferred to the control of the United States Air Force's Space Command; in response, China's scientific Shenlong space platform is immediately militarized.
 * The Picus Group launches its 400th communications satellite and opens a new virtual channel serving the Chinese Bloc, effectively giving it the longest global reach of any entertainment and news channel on the planet.
 * Japan‘s economy enters a serious downturn; over the next three years, the nation goes through radical changes within its governmental and corporate structures in an attempt to stop the encroaching collapse.
 * The Picus Group launches its 400th communications satellite and opens a new virtual channel serving the Chinese Bloc, effectively giving it the longest global reach of any entertainment and news channel on the planet.

2019
 * The NuChrist Initiative emerges as a US based coalition of forward-looking Christian group that embraces and encourages cloning, augmentation, and the furtherment of biotechnology. Traditionalist Christians hold protest, but cannot stop the membership of the NuChrist Initiative from growing 300% in one year.
 * Belltower Associates, an umbrella group of private military contractors, institutes their new augmentation program, Plan Infinity. The Program offers soldiers immediate augmentations while deferring payment for as long as they remain active employees of Belltower.
 * Omega Ranch is closed down and sanitized. It is then quietly placed into the stewardship of a United Nations committee.
 * Haydon Suyong repays the last million Euros of his original debt to Hugh Darrow while simultaneously opening the 125th L.I.M.B. International clinic in Utah.
 * Scandal rocks the world when a contestant on the highest rated game show in history is caught using an intelligence-enhancing brain implant. He is later revealed to have been fired by Sarif Industries in 2018.

2020s
2020s
 * Mechanical augmentations are just becoming widespread.
 * In the early years of this decade work on nano-augmentations begins. The Majestic 12 scientists assigned to the project (including Bob Page) have a number of difficulties. A self-replicating nanite that can interact with biological material has to be developed. The nanites must be able to interpret commands directly from the mind, and send information back to the mind in a form that can be interpreted. This will take years to develop. A test subject matching MJ12's selection criteria is needed, as young as possible.
 * Australia finds a large underground reserve of fossil fuel off the coast of Antarctica. With the fossil fuel crisis worldwide, tensions between north and south Australia rise. Australian Civil War begins.
 * Faridah Malik and Evelyn Carmichael, working for the Red Arrow-affiliated Arc-air aviation company; are assigned to a smuggling operation, supervised by Belltower Major Narhari Kahn. Malik discovers that the contraband are stasis pods used for human trafficking. Witnessing Kahn executing one of the victims, she parts with Evelyn, and finds herself on the run. Shot down and assumed dead, Malik decides to leave her old life behind - heading for Detroit, and Sarif Industries.

2020
 * The Californian Secessionist Movement is narrowly defeated in a public referendum.
 * Hugh Darrow fires his entire research staff and begins to sell off branches of Darrow Industries.
 * The Royal Canadian Mounted Police come under investigation when they use lethal force to deter a horde of American economic refugees (nicknamed ―snowbacks) from crossing the Montana/British Columbia border near the town of Roosville. The RCMP officers are later cleared of any wrong-doing, further inflaming existing tensions between the US and Canada.
 * Quincy Durant is severely injured during an encounter with an augmented criminal. Having moral objections against it, he voluntarily submits to extensive augmentation. Durant is later put in charge of a new unit of augmented SWAT officers; Adam Jensen is given command of Durant's old unit.

2021
 * Hugh Darrow purchases Omega Ranch and reopens it with a new team of researchers.
 * Quincy Durant's SWAT unit massacres the entire Kowalski Bros. Gang at the El Diablo Lapdancing Club.
 * The United Arab Front (UAF) launches a massive invasion of Israel - triggering the Six Month War.
 * China's Upper City construction project is completed in the Shanghai region. Chonming's trio of islands – Hengsha Island, being one of them – become a corporate fiefdom, with Tai Yong Medical free to be a law unto itself.
 * Belltower Associates is now regarded as the world‘s number one private military contractor.
 * In a last-ditch attempt to stave off economic disaster, Japanese prime minister Ataru Moroboshi institutes a new policy of 'neo-sakoku', all but closing the country‘s borders to outsiders in an echo of events in the 17th-19th centuries. Japan turns inward in an attempt to heal itself.

2022
 * Antoine Thisdale, an un-augmented oil rig worker sues for the right to have both of his fully functional natural arms amputated and replaced with cybernetic arms in an effort to compete with mechanically augmented workers in his profession. The Supreme Court rules in his favor, clearing the way for elective augmentation. In response to the ruling, William Taggart creates Humanity Front, a political organization that opposes augmentation.
 * After the Pan-Arab coalition invades Israel, Illuminati control of the region becomes total.
 * LIMB International opens the first clinic in Brazil (and the 359th clinic in the world).

2023
 * Five year old Paul Denton is chosen as a test subject and cloned.
 * Quincy Durant's now corrupt SWAT unit has violently taken down half of the organized crime groups in the city, taking over their operations for themselves.
 * Border skirmishes on the outskirts of El Paso between the Texas National Guard and Mexican military forces create a tense stand-off that lasts for several months. Mexico eventually backs down, but the Mexican government‘s pride is dented. Taking advantage of the situation, representatives of the Russian Federated States make overtures to Mexico City.

2024
 * An investigative news report reveals that a high-profile contestant on a popular American game show had been implanted with an intelligence-enhancing chip prior to his appearance on the program. The scandal causes a significant upswing in popular opposition to the largely unregulated augmentation industry. Humanity Front's membership grows sizably as a result.
 * Sir Roger St. John-Ffolkes officially steps down as CEO of Belltower Associates, giving joint control of the company to his sons Luther and Andrew; in reality, he has served only as a figurehead in this post for the last decade.

2025
 * The Juggernaut Collective makes their debut on the hacker scene when they hijack atmospheric processors used by a popular weather artist in Paris, trashing an event sponsored by Page Industries.
 * Quebec begins agitating for a referendum on independence, but the Canadian parliament are resistant; with public interest in this issue lost, the separatist movement falls apart.
 * Rising Nigerian pop star Ny'ashia Akim is critically injured during a terrorist attack in Lagos. Her songs about growing up poor in war-torn, plague-ridden Nigeria had captured the heart of fans all over the world; many stage candlelight vigils.
 * The Mexicantown Massacre occurs. Adam Jensen refuses the order to shoot an augmented teenager. The order is passed on to Wayne Haas. The boys death provokes the worst riots Detroit has seen since the 1960's. In the aftermath of the riots, a shootout ensues between Jensen and Quincy Durant's teams. In a final confrontation, Durant is badly wounded by Jensen. He is retrieved by Jake Dredger, on behalf of the Illuminati, and given further augmentation. The incident is covered up to save the Detroit Police Department of the embarrassment. Jensen resigns, and is blamed for the entire incident by his superiors. He is hired as the new Chief of Security at Sarif Industries soon after.
 * Automated defenses inside one of the Palisade Bank's data storage facilities killed an engineer. Her death drew international attention until it was proven she had been trying to access a client's accounts.

2026
 * In the wake of ongoing terrorist atrocities, the United Nations begin a series of evaluation studies, considering the future creation of a new trans-national anti-terror force.
 * US Secret Service Agent Anna Kelso survives the Logan circle attack in Washington DC, along with Senator Jane Skyler. Garret Dansky, CEO of Caidin Global; along with Matt Ryan and three other Secret Service agents, are killed. Tyrant operative Joe Wexler is killed by Kelso. Shortly after, Ben Saxon survives Operation Rainbird in the Australian Civil War. Saxon's entire Strike Team Six, including Corporal Sam Duarte, are listed KIA. Ben Saxon is approached by Jaron Namir, who has orchestrated the tragedy in order to recruit him as Wexlers replacement.

2027
 * Kelso is fired by Agent-in-charge Ron Temple after consulting Nadine "Widow" Stollock about the Tyrants. She is approached by Patrick "D-Bar" Couture. With his help, she discovers that Temple is an insider for the Tyrants, and is apprehended, and freed by D-Bar. She survives, and is subsequently framed for a massacre the Tyrants conduct to kill Temple, and escapes another attempt by Yelena Fedorova. Intercepted by D-Bar, she is introduced to the Juggernaut Collective and the New Sons of Freedom, headed by Juan Lebedev.
 * The Tyrants assassinate Mikhail Kontarsky in Moscow, making Ben Saxon and Gunther Hermann members of the group. Ben spends the night with Yelena Fedorova. After sparing Kelso in the massacre, he is contacted by Janus, discovers the truth about Operation Rainbird, and defects.


 * Sarif Industries Headquarters in Detroit is attacked by the Tyrants and Belltower Spec Ops soldiers. Research on a next-generation augmentation, the Typhoon is destroyed.
 * Adam Jensen receives life-saving mechanical augmentations following this attack.
 * United by Janus, Anna Kelso and Ben Saxon travel to Geneva with a small task force to foil the Tyrants assassination of Bill Taggart. D-Bar betrays them, and all but Saxon and Kelso are killed. Kelso disables Gunther Hermann, but is taken hostage by Jaron Namir, who orders Saxon to kill Taggart. Killing Scott Hardesty, Saxon is able to spare Taggart and save Anna with Janus' help. However; Taggarts assistant, Elaine Peller, is killed by Hardesty, making the Tyrants objectives partially successful. The incident pushes the UN to consider regulation on human augmentation.
 * VersaLife struggles to meet the demand of Neuropozyne, resulting in a global shortage. Augmeneted people everywhere are struggling. Zaaphire Biotech announces its development of Riezene, as a cheaper alternative to Neuropozyne.
 * Britain's Queen's augmentation sparks outrage.
 * VersaLife announces they have successfully cured AIDS in laboratory mice using nanites.
 * Nadine Stollock escapes custody in New York when a law enforcement 80-X Boxguard robot opens fire on the police.
 * Hiding in Costa Rica, Ben Saxon and Anna Kelso suffer the effects of Darrow Deficiency Syndrome. Saxon travels to Panama City and makes a Neuropozyne deal with Camila Cardoso. Discovering that Belltower is behind dangerous population testing of Riezene on behalf of Zaaphire Biotech, he tries to warn WHO Inspector Stuart St. John, only to witness his assassination at the hands of a new Tyrant operative; Sam Duarte. Aided by Alex Vega, a disgruntled Belltower pilot, he departs Panama, going after Zaaphire Biotech in Canberra. Kelso goes into hiding with the New Sons of Freedom.
 * Florida Governor Philip Riley Mead, hinting at a high level cover-up, urges Congress to reconvene Committee hearings on human augmentation, which has been suspended for six months since the attack on Sarif Industries.
 * 2nd World Enhanced Games scheduled for Summer 2028 in Asia. 9300 augmented athletes expected to compete.
 * Ny'ashia Akim, now fully augmented, sweeps the PlanetMusic Awards in Los Angeles, winning in six categories.
 * Joshua Korbin, a member of the New Sons of Freedom bombs the Capitol building of the state of Washington in Olympia. Simultaneously, his organization calls for the Pacific Northwest to secede from the US.
 * Belltower Associates 12th Regiment brings the Australian Civil War closer to an end by quelling an uprising in the northern territories of the continent.
 * Adam Jensen is called in from sick leave to handle a Purity First siege at the Sarif assembly plant in Milwaukee Junction. Tracking the signal from a biochip used by an augmented mole, leads Jensen to Highland Park. He defeats Lawrence Barrett, who advices him to go to Hengsha, before killing himself with a grenade.
 * En-route to Hengsha, Adam Jensen is diverted to Juarez, Mexico to save Sarif's niece, who is also the daughter of Natalie Freedman, a high ranking member of Humanity Front. A Humanity Front rally in Detroit is attacked by an augmented terrorist, leaving many casualties. Adam follows a lead to Montreal, where he befriends British security operative Katrina Sutherland, and discovers that the terrorist is Quincy Durant. Durant kills three Sarif scientists, and kidnaps Vera Marcovic, who is saved by Jensen. Jensen and Sutherland interrogate Jake Dredger, who dies from his implanted killswitch being activated. Adam and Katrina become lovers. David Sarif meet Bill Taggart and Zhao Yun Ru in London. They offer him a place in the conspiracy, which he immediately refuses. In a final confrontation, Quincy Durant takes Katrina Sutherland hostage, and requires Adam Jensen's life for hers. As Adam is about to take his own life in a hopeless attempt to save her, Kathrina sacrifices herself to save him. Adam kills a dying Durant in a fit of rage.
 * Adam Jensen finds Arie van Bruggen in Hengsha, and escapes a Belltower assault lead by Narhari Kahn. Infiltrating Tai Yong Medical, he discovers that Megan Reed and the other scientists are alive.
 * Adam Jensen confronts Eliza Cassan, and kills Yelena Fedorova, in Montreal.
 * Pictures of scientists conducting painful experiments on teams of augmented super-soldiers appear on Picus TV, leading to anti-augmentation riots worldwide.
 * Adam Jensen infiltrates a Humanity Front rally at the Detroit Convention Center. He locates and confronts Isaias Sandoval, leading him back to Hengsha.
 * The World Health Organization issues a global biochip recall after a series of glitches are experienced by augmented individuals.
 * Adam Jensen infiltrates the Harvester hideout in Hengsha and confronts Tong Si Hung. With Tongs help, he bombs the Belltower dock, and stows away on the Hei Zhen Zhu. The bombing is also a diversion for Tong's son to escape Hengsha.
 * Page Industries speeds up its plans to build the first permanent commercial space station, named "Heaven".
 * Adam Jensen is discoverd aboard the Hei Zhen Zhu, and interrogated by Pieter Burke and Netanya Keitner. Mysteriously set loose, he infiltrates Rifleman Bank Station. With help from Keitner and Garvin Quinn, he discovers that the station is a detention camp, using kidnapped civilians as test subjects for the OCM Project; headed by Tiffany Kavanagh and Gary Savage. Keitner is killed, and Adam confronts Burke and his Spec Ops soldiers. Quinn places him in another statis pod on another ship.
 * Adam Jensen awakens at the Omega Ranch. With the help of Declan Faherty, Eric Koss and Nia Colvin, he infiltrates the secure area, kills Jaron Namir, and finds Megan Reed.
 * Hugh Darrow invites hundreds of influential people to Panchaea's grand opening. On live television, he activates a signal that sends all augmented people into a hallucinogenic rage, resulting in the Aug Incident. 50 millions of people die and hundreds of thousands more are injured during the incident.
 * Adam Jensen defeats the Hyron Project, kills Zhao Yun Ru, shuts off the transmission, and either:
 * At Hugh Darrow's request, broadcasts his recorded confession about Panchaea and the Illuminati - hoping that the world will abandon any ideals of transhumanism.
 * At David Sarif's request, alters Darrow's confession, directing blame on Humanity Front - hoping that transhumanism will get a chance to flourish.
 * At William Taggart's request, erases all information about the Illuminati from Darrow's confession, and tells the world that the incident was caused by contaminated Neuropozyne - hoping to give the Illuminati control over transhumanism.
 * At Eliza's suggestion, depressurizes Panchaea, killing everyone on board (himself included), leaving the world without any answers of what caused the events - free to independently decide the fate of transhumanism.
 * Megan Reed joins the Illuminati, and works with them on a project involving "nanite-virus chimera".

2028
 * Paul Denton's mother, who is unable to have any more children but wants another, is approached by MJ12 operatives posing as fertility experts. She is told that she will be paid handsomely in exchange for participating in experimental surgery that will allow her to become pregnant. Mrs. "Denton", had been poor her entire life, now she could have another child and have enough money to raise her family in comfort. The "fertility experts" assure her that the surgery is minor and the risk is minimal. After the parents of Paul Denton agree, the mother is implanted with a cloned embryo of Paul. Their lives have already been carefully monitored by MJ12 for many years.

2029
 * March 17: JC Denton is born.
 * Scientists perfect embryonic incubator. Additional clones grown over the next 15-20 years.

2030s
2030s
 * After the HIV cure is released in 2030, new antibiotic-resistant diseases appear that were thought to be under control. Resistant strains of tuberculosis hit the developing nations, particularly India, very hard. Also, an influenza pandemic spreads around the world, killing millions of people, after a researcher accidentally releases samples of the deadly 1918 flu virus (Spanish flu) from bodies buried under the North Polar icecap. Together, these pandemics left the population notably smaller than it was a hundred years earlier.
 * VersaLife is instrumental in fighting these epidemics. VersaLife soon branches to embrace all forms of science and commerce.
 * At an unknown time between 2031 and 2035 Majestic 12 executes a coup against the Illuminati.

2030
 * A cure for AIDS is developed by VersaLife.
 * A major earthquake hits the West Coast, destroying most of San Francisco and dumping all of Los Angeles and most of Southern California south of Lompoc into the ocean. Rumors are that the earthquake was caused by some conspiracy cult who planted low-radiation nuclear explosives along the San Andreas fault. The earthquake forces the government to declare the west coast (or what is left of it) a disaster area

2031
 * Utah declares independence and annexes Arizona and Nevada. They are followed by fringe groups in Texas.
 * Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming form the Northwest Secessionist Forces and secede from the US. This year marks the start of the Northwest War and the Siege of Squalnomie.
 * All of these attempts to secede fail. Martial law enacted by the US government following the reintegration of the rogue states into the motherland continues for many years in some areas.

2033
 * November 20: Alex Denton's assigned false birth date.
 * May 13: Nick Pausback's assigned false birth date.

2034
 * Experiments begin on second generation of clones (~age 5).
 * Toxicological study found no carcinogenic effects at chlorine concentrations a thousand times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency revised Kyoto standards.
 * February 25: Wade Walker's assigned false birth date.

2035
 * Having lined up all of the Illuminati's political, financial, military and religious arms beneath it, Majestic 12 inherits the mantle of de facto ruler of Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. It's rebellion is complete.
 * Paul and JC Denton's parents are killed by Majestic 12; JC is sent to Switzerland for schooling under the watchful eye of the MJ12.

2036
 * Paul Denton attends a university.

2040s
2040s
 * Tracer Tong begins working on the AI project named Ava Johnson.
 * Common emotional centers in the brain are discovered some time between 2042 and 2046.

2040
 * Paul Denton, age 22, graduates from a university and joins UNATCO.

2042
 * Sporting Weapons Act is passed.
 * National Secessionist Forces are formed by American citizens refusing to give up their ordnance. Led by Leon Woods they intend to "liberate" Washington, Montana, Oregon, and Northern California.

2045
 * Leon Woods dies during his infamous "last stand".

2046
 * In response to the Upper West Side bombing that killed 45 people and wounded over 100, newly enacted grid zoning laws allow the police to wall off regions of Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs. Foot traffic between these "zones" is prohibited, and traveling between zones is restricted to authorized subways or highways subject to police surveillance.
 * The "crash of '46" occurs. The construction of an unnamed building in Paris is stopped.
 * Work on "Ambrosia" project is suspected to begin this year.

2047
 * Most likely year of Alex Denton's "birth" in the cloning vats at Area 51.
 * The Somnolente Ile (Sleepy Island) scandal in France occurs. French President Serra and reputed members of the Zuganov crime family meet at Côte d'Azurin in an attempt to funnel almost three billion credits of tainted money through French banks. Beth Duclare is reported, but not proven, to be one of the banking interests involved. Accusations against President Bourges-Maunoury's administration, linking key members of his Council of Ministers to the scandal, resurface in several tabloid publications five years later.
 * Rumored to be the approximate beginning of the work on Aquinas by Page Industries.
 * JC Denton graduates from Swiss school.

2049
 * Doctor Moreau starts to work in the MJ12 lab under UNATCO.

2050s
2050
 * Paul Denton becomes the first successfully nano-augmented human.
 * Silhouette sabotages the Internet broadcast of the World Cup by inserting 20th century style advertisements mocking the excesses of mechanical augmentation and UNATCO.

2051
 * UNATCO and Interpol storm the Knights Templar headquarters in Paris and destroy the organization.
 * 15234 young people serve sentences in the state's FBI-run "good behavior" camps, a legacy of the Northwest War.
 * The Statue of Liberty is destroyed, UNATCO frames Silhouette.
 * The Gray Death plague begins.
 * Beth DuClare is assassinated by Majestic 12 while attempting to protect her daughter, Nicolette from the attack. After her death, Beth DuClare's body is dissected and placed in cyronic storage.
 * Paul Denton discovers the truth behind the Gray Death plague, learning that UNATCO is working with Majestic 12 to control the supply of the Ambrosia vaccine to garner political influence. In response, he secretly begins working with the NSF as their informant inside UNATCO. Suspecting Paul's betrayal, but lacking evidence to prove it, Gunther Hermann warns his superiors not to trust Paul.
 * Gary Savage's scientists escape from Area 51. They destroy the Universal Constructor and steal the technology.
 * JC Denton joins UNATCO and (officially) becomes the second nano-augmented human.

2052
 * JC Denton begins active duty, defects a day later.
 * President Philip Meads' approval rating is now 35 percent.
 * President Mead unilaterally pays the United States' late dues to the United Nations, defying congress for the third time this year. Members of both parties critizise the move.
 * Responding to an outbreak of Gray Death in New York, a mass grave is dug in Gateway National Park.
 * Worldwide flooding from melting polar ice caps is at its minimum.
 * A chlorine spill contaminates Hudson River, and leaves East River almost lifeless.
 * Bob Page makes a record donation of over ten million credits to the Clinics and Hospices Association of New York, the largest private donation in the organization's history.
 * Beth DuClare is awarded the Legion of Honour posthumously. The award is accepted on her behalf by her famously reputed lover, President Alain Bourges-Maunoury
 * The VersaLife building in Hong Kong is bombed, leaving at least 35 dead and 100 wounded.
 * McMoran Global Steel win a contract to transport ore from the Zhou Enlai Lunar Mining Complex. Soon after the first mass driver (a vehicle used to transport the ore) is deployed, it crashes into the Earth, killing over 2,000 people in Ibadan, Nigeria.
 * President Mead declares martial law in New York, shutting down city services. Public Health Directive 27 (PHD27) is issued, ordering all bodies to be cremated. A crematorium opens in Yankee Stadium.
 * JC Denton is wanted for the murders of Juan Lebedev, Joseph Manderley and Anna Navarre.
 * Philip Mead, rumoured to be infected with Gray Death, announces the declaration of martial law throughout the United States, citing a "fundamental threat to the American way of life in the form of organized, insidious terrorism." Mead appoints Walton Simons, Director of FEMA, to spearhead an interim council tasked with managing the government response. 24 hours later, the country is in turmoil and teeters on the edge of social collapse.
 * JC Denton merges with Helios. The process overloads the Aquinas Router, triggering an explosion which kills Bob Page and destroys the global communication network. This results in the Collapse, the worst economic disaster in history, and a new Dark Age. Countries disintegrate overnight, plunging the world into chaos.
 * Unable to control the power of Helios, JC Denton is isolated in Antarctica and falls into a prolonged coma.
 * May 13: Nick Pausback's incept date.

2053
 * Illuminati Chad Dumier and Nicolette DuClare initiate their plans to re-establish order. Dumier takes over the WTO, while DuClare, in the guise of "Her Holiness", founds the Order Church.
 * The WTO incorporates the city of Trier, Germany. Eldrin Braeden, a influential local businessman, is driven from power as a result of the incorporation.

2054
 * February 25: Wade Walker's incept date.
 * March 17: JC Denton's incept date.

2055
 * November 20: Alex Denton's incept date.

2060s
2067
 * causes a significant shift in Nanite Swell 9, one of the fifteen global Nanite Swells.

2069
 * Donna Morgan becomes WTO Security Chief.
 * Paul Denton tests new biomod architecture on himself - the experiment fails, Paul goes into coma and is cryogenically preserved to prevent death.

2070s
2071
 * The WTO charter with Seattle is ratified by referendum, resulting in city-wide riots (so-called Refinery Riots). The protesters claimed that the results of the referendum were falsified and did not reflect the will of the people, particularly those living outside the enclave. The riots lasted for several days, resulting in multiple deaths.
 * The first human expedition to Mars is completed, with the words "Mankind is now the inhabitant of two worlds" broadcast in both English and Spanish. Conspiracy theorists contend that the landing was staged.

2072
 * With no practical uses, mechanical augmentation is made completely obsolete due to its inferiority to nano-augmentation, which is now common.
 * Chicago is destroyed in a terrorist attack by the Knights Templar. The Chicago Tarsus Academy evacuates Alex Denton, Billie Adams, and several high-ranking staff members to the Seattle Tarsus Academy.
 * The Mag Rail is finalized.
 * Alex Denton awakens JC Denton from his coma.
 * Alex Denton uploads the Aquinas protocol to either:
 * Paul and JC Denton and step into their infusion chamber in Liberty Island to give the Helios AI the perfected augment structure. Alex Denton's perfected nanites are distributed to every human being on the planet, which leads to a peaceful posthuman civilization, governed, not ruled, by a benevolent, all-knowing AI.
 * the Illuminati in Liberty Island. The Illuminati gains control of all communications, and operates the world economy and society in secret, through Aquinas and an orbital science platform called "Ophelia", allowing high stability for the price of government control and ignorance.
 * the Knights Templar in Liberty Island. Alex then kills both Paul and JC. The Dentons' blood and biological architecture are then used to eradicate all type of augmentations and transgenics. This leads humanity into a dark age of luddism and fear of technology.

2200s

 * After Alex Denton murders every possible leader of humanity in 2072, without a central authority, humanity descends into the worst chaos and anarchy imaginable. Two centuries of war have scorched the earth and all life has been destroyed. The only remaining survivors are the Omar, who begin to instigate space travel in search of a better homeworld.
 * Note: This is one of the possible endings of Deus Ex: Invisible War and has not been established as canon.