This timeline documents key dates and events that occur between the 12th and 23rd centuries 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.
The Order of Knights Templar is founded in Jerusalem, when Baldwin II of Jerusalem is approached by a French knight Hugues de Payens who proposes creating a monastic order to protect Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. Baldwin II approves this and allows de Payens and his eight fellow knights to set up headquarters in the city temple. Shortly thereafter they become known as the "poor knights of the temple", or Knights Templar for short.[1]
1129
At the Council of Troyes, the Knights Templar are officially recognized and approved by the church, and are assigned a white mantle to wear, with a red cross added later. In the coming years, Knights Templar quickly become popular in Europe. Soon they are exempted from all local laws and authority except that of the Pope, and their lands exempted from all taxes.[1]
1200s[]
1200s
The Knights Templar invent the use of traveller's cheques to protect the pilgrims' valuables: pilgrims would deposit valuables in a local Templar house, receive a letter of credit, and use this letter to withdraw the funds upon arriving to Jerusalem. This innovative arrangement established the foundations for modern banking.[1]
1218
Construction of Cathedrale de Payens begins in Paris, financed by the Knights Templar, as part of a similar network of churches, cathedrals, and forts throughout Britain, Europe, and the Holy Lands.[2]
King Philip IV develops a plan to suppress the Knights Templar. He orders the arrest of all Templars in France and has them tortured into admitting heresy in the Order.[1] Shortly before or after the crackdown, the Templars secretly move the gold of the French treasury to the Cathedrale de Payens, where it had remained since.[3]
1311
The Knights Templar are officially dissolved by an Apostolic Decree issued by Pope Clement V.[1] However, the organization continues to operate in secret.[2]
1400s[]
1453
29 May: Constantinople falls to an invading army of the Ottoman Empire. Forerunners of the Illuminati sees a rise of opportunity.[4]
Adam Weishaupt forms the "Order of Perfectibilists", also known as the Illuminati.[6]
1786
In Paris, remains from the grossly overcrowded Cemetery of Innocents are exhumed and moved to the quarries of Mont-Rouge, which will later become known as the Paris Catacombs.[7]
1900s[]
1900s[]
1900
90% of Americans are self-employed. In 150 years, this number will drop to about 2%.[8]
1910s[]
1914
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.[4]
The Illuminati gathers genetic data through the administration of smallpox vaccinations.[9][10] 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.[11]
The DuClare family acquires the property for Chateau DuClare, after the Nazis send the previous owner to a camp in Germany for hiding Jewish families, during World War II.[12]
1945
July 16: Project Trinity detonates the first atomic bomb, providing the Illuminati with another opportunity.[4]
American corporations pay 50% in federal taxes. In 100 years, this number will drop to about 5%.[8]
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.[11]
United States Air Force begins "Project Sign" to investigate "flying saucer" reports. The US President forms a separate, secret blue-ribbon panel, code named Majestic 12, to study alien technology and biology.[11]
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.[11]
1949
Project Grudge operations are drastically reduced to just one investigator.[11]
1950s[]
1951
Project Sign/Project Grudge files are reopened under the name "Project Blue Book".[11]
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.[10]
1955
Groom Lake site is recommissioned as a top secret test site for the U-2 spyplane. Airspace is restricted; hangars, runways and other buildings are constructed.[11]
1958
Groom Lake Air Force Base is removed from the index of US public lands. First official designation of this site as "Area 51".[11]
1960s[]
1960s ca
Paolo Soleri develops the concept of arcology - 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.[13] 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.[14]
1963
November 10: President John F. Kennedy states that "the high office of President has been used to foment 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.[15]
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.[10]
Project Blue Book is closed by the United States Air Force 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.[11]
1970s[]
1970s ca
Computers with the ability to automatically sift through massive quantities of information for specific keywords begin operation.
Early 1970s: Santeau is founded in France as a waste management company.[17]
Late 1970s: Santeau wins a contract to partially rebuild the crumbling Paris sewer system, despite grumblings of bid under-cutting.[17]
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.[14]
1980s[]
1980s ca
The US National Security Agency designs the ECHELON system by interconnecting all SIGINT information gathering computers in the UKUSA Agreement into an integrated whole.
Nia Colvin is born to a blue-collar family in Detroit.[18]
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.[24]
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.[32]
1996
Hugh Darrow purchases and revamps a struggling prosthetics manufacturing company in England, creating Darrow Industries.[32] 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 People's Republic of China. A top official of China's 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 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.[14]
Professor Ellen Heber-Katz discovers the world‘s first regenerative mice (the MRL strain).[14]
1999
January 1: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain succumb to Majestic 12 pressure exerted via the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union (EMU) and adopt the Euro as their currency.[10]
White Helix Labs are destroyed in a fire started by Adam Jensen's biological parents, who attempted to put an end to the genetic experiments performed at the facility.[34][35]
2000s[]
Retinal prosthesis
2000s[]
Early 2000s ca
Santeau Water is now the major water treatment and supply conglomerate on the globe and controls much of the planet's fresh water.[17]
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.[14]
Japan renews its defense obligations with the United States and embarks on a costly rearmament program.
A high-power lineman who, after losing both of his arms through severe electric shock, 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.[14]
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.[24]
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.[24]
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.
Following national elections, the United Kingdom adopts the Euro as currency. The Illuminati now fully control Europe's finances, and Europe later becomes a financial satellite of Majestic 12.[10]
Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is introduced to the US market.[37]
Engineers in Copenhagen fabricate diamoissonite, a revolutionary carbon-fiber material that paves the way for the creation of lighter, more durable prosthetics.[24]
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.[24]
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.[14]
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.[24]
2005
Project Echelon, a global surveillance system designed to monitor all net traffic, is reportedly relocated to Area 51.[11]
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.[14]
China passes its Anti-Secession Law, authorizing immediate war with Taiwan should Taiwanese independence forces ever succeed in separating Taiwan from China.[24]
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.[24]
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.[14]
DARPA 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.[39]
Nia Colvin graduates magna cum laude from MIT with a degree in biochemstry.[18]
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.[14]
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.[24]
August: A cholera outbreak starts in Zimbabwe and lasts until June 2009, resulting in 4288 deaths. Conspiracy theorists believe the outbreak is man-made and is part of Illuminati's human depopulation agenda.[41]
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.[14]
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.[24]
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.[24]
The Acoustic Wave Theory is proposed which claims that seismic activity emits acoustic wave energy within certain frequencies that could carry the potential to trigger sympathetic quakes up to thousands of miles from the original epicenter. This theory has since been rejected by many geologists as untenable.[43]
2010
August 4: Zhao Yun Ru graduates from the University of Beijing with a degree in Biology and Nanotechnology.[44]
German researchers publish the results of a revolutionary study suggesting how information may be coded in neural activities.[24]
Taiwanese rebels make a last ditch effort to overthrow the Chinese occupation. Worldwide news reports reveal squads of augmented soldiers brutally demolishing all resistance.[24]
Riots break out at the Vancouver Winter Olympics when disabled athletes arrive en mass to protest the IAAF rules.[24]
2011
Internet 3 hub is moved to the Area 51 underground laboratories.[11]
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.[14]
LIMB clinic
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.[14]
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.[24]
As part of their ultimate exit strategy out of Iraq, the US military sends squads of prosthetic-equipped soldiers into the heaviest conflict zones.[14]
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.[24]
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.[24]
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.[45]
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.[14]
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.[14]
The South American Economic Coalition (SEAC) is formed, headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[24]
Augmented fighting championship
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.[14]
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 people 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.[14]
A measles outbreak in Congo results in 4500+ deaths. Conspiracy theorists believe it was another man-made outbreak.[41]
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.[14]
Adam Jensen joins the Detroit Police Department.[24]
Ashani Talwar and Masaaki Oshiro are two of the richest people under 30 in the world. After a chance meeting in Switzerland, they fall in love and marry.[46]
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.[14]
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 also 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.[24]
China secretly begins implanting deep-brain intelligence-enhancing implants in its military and counter-intelligence officers.[24]
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.[24]
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.[24]
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.[14]
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.[24]
Panchaea
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.[24]
2017
Australia declares independence, becoming the Republic of Australia. New Zealand becomes an associate state six months later.[24]
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.[14]
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.[24]
US Congress pass the Corporate Sovereignty Act.[47]
Tai Yong Medical invests into the construction of Hengsha Island's two-tiered city on the Yangtze River.[21] The company will build its corporate headquarters in the center of Hengsha.
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.[24]
Adam Jensen joins the DPD's SWAT team, under the command of Captain Quincy Durant.[49]
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.[24]
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.[24]
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.[24]
Žofie Růžička is elected President of the Czech Republic in a landslide election, becoming the country's first female president.[50] Under her leadership, the Republic experiences an economic boom, turning Prague into one of the world's leading metropolitan cities.
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.[24]
Picus News, the world's largest news network
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.[14]
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.[14]
Omega Ranch is closed down and sanitized. It is then quietly placed into the stewardship of a United Nations committee.[24]
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.[24]
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.[24]
The HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) facility in Alaska is active again.[51]
Early 2020s: 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.[10]
Early 2020s: A hacker named "Eli" posts a call-to-arms-type message on the Darknet, inviting those "dis-elushuned with the stranglhold 1 purcentors have on R world" to join him in attacking, exposing, and "spoiling their plots." This event is considered the beginning of the Juggernaut Collective.[52]
The Californian Secessionist Movement is narrowly defeated in a public referendum.[24]
In the United States, Antoine Thisdale — a completely healthy man unable to find work in Utah's increasingly lucrative oil shale industry — sues for the right to amputate himself.
Hugh Darrow fires his entire research staff and begins to sell off branches of Darrow Industries.[24] Speculations regarding his plans for an early retirement abound.
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.[49]
Nia Colvin is fired after Tai Yong Medical's hostile takeover of Latham Systems and is subsequently hired by Sarif Industries.[18]
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.[24]
2021
Hugh Darrow purchases Omega Ranch and reopens it with a new team of researchers by Christmas.[24]
Quincy Durant's SWAT unit massacres the entire Kowalski Bros. Gang at the El Diablo Lapdancing Club.[49]
The United Arab Front (UAF) launches a massive invasion of Israel - triggering the Six Month War.[56]
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.[24]
Belltower Associates is now regarded as the world‘s number one private military contractor.[24]
The Czech Republic’s economic boom, combined with its policy of offering tax breaks to augmented laborers, transforms Prague into a hub for transient contract workers passing back and forth between Eastern Europe and the E.U. nations. At the same time, the lack of housing for these short-term inhabitants becomes an issue.
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.[24]
Humanity Front poster
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.[10]
LIMB International opens the first clinic in Brazil (and the 359th clinic in the world).[14] This amid a gathering of Humanity Front protesters, members of a group who believe the human body is sacred and should not be tampered with.
In Central America, an epidemic of tubercular parotitis leaves 100+ dead and 25000+ sterile. Conspiracy theorists believe it was yet another man-made epidemic.[41]
2023
Five year old Paul Denton is chosen as a test subject and cloned.[10]
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.[49]
Border skirmishes on the outskirts of El Paso between the Texas National Guard and the Mexican Army 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.[24]
Útulek Complex poster
Pressed by an ever-increasing influx of temporary workers on one side, and a lack of adequate housing on the other, the Czech government hires The Santeau Group, a European-based construction giant, to build a massive, one-of-a-kind, temporary housing project on the outskirts of Prague. It will be named the Útulek Complex.
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.[14]
Australia discovers 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, with privatization vs. nationalization becoming the core issue. Australian Civil War begins, as the northern Free States of Australia secede from the South Australia Federation.[57]
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.[24]
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.[24]
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.[14]
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; whom Jensen had approached, with info on Durants criminal activities, two days before the incident. Acting on orders from the illuminati, Durant is further augmented. 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.[58]
Juggernaut Collective's logo
2026
Construction of Rabi'ah begins in Oman deserts, but is plagued by technical problems.[59]
582 significant international terrorist attacks occur this year.[60]
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.[24]
Death of investigative reporter Casey Bradshaw. She is officially listed as a casualty of the Australian Civil War. Conspiracy theorists, however, allege that she was killed for exposing government sanctioned nuclear proliferation in Australia.[61]
2nd World Enhanced Games scheduled for Summer 2028 in Asia. 9300 augmented athletes expected to compete.[65]
Ny'ashia Akim, now fully augmented, sweeps the PlanetMusic Awards in Los Angeles, winning in six categories.[66]
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.[67]
According to the United Nations Terrorism Task Force, the number of serious international terrorist incidents grew to 1285, up from 582 last year.[60]
Belltower Associates 12th Regiment brings the Australian Civil War closer to an end by quelling an uprising in the northern territories of the continent.[68]
Lack of funding for national space agencies limits space exploration, with only the chinese and american militaries fielding regular flights. As Moon Base Omega is planned for slow expansion, and corporations operate automated orbital factories and satellites, Page Industries speeds up its plans to build the first permanent commercial space station, named "Heaven".[69]
The Aug Incident occurs. 50 million people die and hundreds of thousands more are injured.
In Prague during the Incident, Žofie Růžička’s augmented bodyguard goes insane, crashing their limo into the Vltava River and killing them both. Růžička’s death heralds a turning point for the Czech government; in the months that follow, pro-Aug representatives and the laws they’d set in place will be ousted and overturned one by one.
In the Arctic Sea, rescue crews swarm over Panchaea, searching for survivors. David Sarif is one of the few pulled out alive; Hugh Darrow, Zhao Yun Ru, and William Taggart top the list of missing and are presumed dead. After a week, the rescue effort will be downgraded to one of recovery and the world will turn its attention elsewhere.
In December, Adam Jensen’s body is found in the deepest underwater regions of Panchaea amid pieces of the Hyron Project. It is pulled from the water by an Illuminati-controlled recovery team and secretly sent to a black site facility in the Baltic Sea for identification and study.
Aftermath of the Aug Incident
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.[10]
In response to the worldwide crisis caused by the Aug Incident, the U.N. rushes to pass the Taggart Act, a piece of legislation designed to regulate the mechanical augmentation industry. It includes a strict classification and licensing system, and requires that all augmentation products obtain an official seal before they can be sold. The Taggart Act only targets mechanical augmentation products and the companies that make them. To cope with rising violence and racism against augmented people, governments all over the world independently enact legislation to “protect” their augmented citizens.
Augmented Rights Coalition poster
Disturbed by the failure of many of these new laws to see augmented citizens as victims of the Aug Incident, grassroots pro-Aug support groups all over the world begin banding together. By July, they will have chosen both a name—the Augmented Rights Coalition—and a spokesperson to lead them: Talos Rucker.
Hit hard by both the Taggart Act and a variety of local government laws and embargoes, the mechanical augmentation industry begins to collapse. Its final death throes are accompanied by a boom in black-market suppliers and the criminal elements supporting them.
Back in the States, Megan Reed accepts a job at VersaLife and moves to San Francisco to begin her life anew. Her first project, code named The Orchid, is ostensibly meant to be a cure for Aids, but draws heavily on the work she had been doing at Sarif Industries before the Aug Incident occurred.
Golem City
Prague’s newly anti-Aug government cancels the Santeau Group’s contract and seizes control of the Útulek Complex. Declaring that the facility will henceforth be used as permanent housing for unlicensed Augs, they begin relocating hundreds of augmented citizens into it. The complex soon gains a nickname: Golem City.
Information about Belltower Associates’ involvement in human trafficking gains worldwide attention when the Collective, a group of activist hackers, leak details about an alleged black site facility located near the Spratly Islands. Already reeling from the loss of over a third of its special forces units due to the Aug Incident, the PMC goes bankrupt.
Black market sales of weapons and augmentations reach unprecedented heights. At the same time, local intelligence agencies fail to stop a series of high-profile attacks around the globe. Blaming the failures on a lack of international intelligence-sharing, the U.N. pleads for the formation of Task Force 29, an integrated anti-terrorist intelligence and response team overseen by Interpol. Joseph Manderley is appointed to run it.
Concerned by growing rumors of mistreatment and abuse leaking out of the Útulek Complex, Talos Rucker decides to move there, making it the de-facto headquarters of the Augmented Rights Coalition.
Having been largely quiet since the death of its CEO, at the end of the year the Tai Yong Medical Corporation announces the creation of a breakthrough technology: a dampening chip which, when implanted in an augmentation, makes its user “safe again.” Several countries immediately add implantation of the chip to their anti-augmentation laws.
In Alaska, an augmented man fitting Adam Jensen’s description wakes up from a coma inside a rehabilitation center run by the World Health Organization. His memory of who he is and how he got there is sketchy at first, but within weeks Adam Jensen’s name will be added to the official list of Panchaea survivors.
In London, Belltower Associates quietly sells its special forces division to an undisclosed buyer, lays off a bulk of its remaining augmented staff, and rebrands what’s left of itself as Tarvos Security Services.
Hit hard by regulatory measures, cancelled contracts, and anti-augmentation sentiment in Detroit—not to mention the prolonged convalescence of its CEO and founder—Sarif Industries declares bankruptcy. Many of its assets will be snatched up by Tai Yong Medical, one of the only companies to survive the industry’s collapse.
Dozens are killed in Prague when a bomb goes off inside a high-priced hotel. Picus News reveals that government officials had been meeting there and fingers the Augmented Rights Coalition as a suspect. Talos Rucker denies it. Two months later a second bomb explodes, this time inside a police station. Task Force 29 opens up a covert field office in Prague to investigate the attacks.
Faced with a continuing humanitarian crisis over the mechanically augmented that only seems to be getting worse, the UN Security Council drafts the Human Restoration Act, a resolution intended to address the Status of Augmented Peoples worldwide. After much debate both internally and in public, it is scheduled to be voted on in November.
A confidential UN report warns that Earth's population will hit 10 billion by 2040, 10 years earlier than expected, and that without moderation this rate of growth will prove unsustainable.[73]
Augmented Rights Coalition is declared a terrorist organization by the United Nations.[74]
The American Seismological Society downplays public fears of the imminent 2030 earthquake, claiming that California can endure any quake with the latest stabilization technologies. An international summit on seismology takes place in Hawaii later this year, addressing increased tectonic activity in the Ring of Fire.
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, and started already in 2027. 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.[10]
VersaLife is instrumental in fighting these epidemics. VersaLife soon branches to embrace all forms of science and commerce.[10]
At an unknown time between 2031 and 2035 Majestic 12 executes a coup against the Illuminati.
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[10]
2031
Utah declares independence and annexes Arizona and Nevada. They are followed by fringe groups in Texas.[10]
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.[10]
May 13: Nick Pausback's assigned false birth date.[75]
2034
Experiments begin on second generation of clones (~age 5).[10]
Toxicological study found no carcinogenic effects at chlorine concentrations a thousand times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency revised Kyoto standards.[76]
February 25: Wade Walker's assigned false birth date.[75]
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. Its rebellion is complete.[10]
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.[10]
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.[77]
2045
Leon Woods dies during his infamous "last stand".[77]
2046
In response to the Upper West Side bombing in New York 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.[78]
Ambrosia flyer
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.[10]
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.[79]
Silhouette sabotages the Internet broadcast of the World Cup by inserting 20th century style advertisements mocking the excesses of mechanical augmentation and UNATCO.[81]
2051
A decapitated Statue of Liberty
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.[82]
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 cryonic 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.
American corporations pay about 5% of federal taxes, compared to 50% in 1945.[8]
About 2% of Americans are self-employed, compared to 90% in 1900.[8]
President Philip Mead's approval rating is now 35 percent.[83]
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 criticize the move.[84][85]
Responding to an outbreak of Gray Death in New York, a mass grave is dug in Gateway National Park.[86]
Worldwide flooding from melting polar ice caps is at its minimum.[87]
A chlorine spill contaminates Hudson River, and leaves East River almost lifeless.[88]
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.[89]
US government regulators have nationalized the third airline this year. The Federal Aviation Administration claims that the airline's management botched the safety records.[90]
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[91]
The VersaLife building in Hong Kong is bombed, leaving at least 35 dead and 100 wounded.[92]
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.[93][94]
President Mead declares martial law in New York, shutting down city services.[96] Public Health Directive 27 (PHD27) is issued, ordering all bodies to be cremated. A crematorium opens in Yankee Stadium.[97]
President 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.[98] 24 hours later, the country is in turmoil and teeters on the edge of social collapse.[99]
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.
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.
Paul Denton tests new biomod architecture on himself - the experiment fails, Paul goes into coma and is cryogenically preserved to prevent death.
Paul Denton is infused with an experimental nanite meant to make nano-augmentation available to every human being. The infusion is botched, and the nanite starts disintegrating Denton from inside. To save him, he is placed in cryostasis until a new, safe architecture is developed.[100][101][102]
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.[13]
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
World population is approximately 10 billion.
The last survivor of the eight member Mars crew, Dr. Martin Xelos, dies in a helicopter crash.
Alex Denton uploads the Aquinas protocol to either:
Paul and JC Denton and step into their infusion chamber in Liberty Island to give the HeliosAI 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.
↑ 2.002.012.022.032.042.052.062.072.082.092.102.112.122.132.142.152.162.172.182.19The actual birthdate of the character may be the year listed above or the immediate prior year. (Birthdate information of the character is known solely by the character's age as listed in an official character profile or an in-game profile. However, the character's age, when given only as a whole-number year, only permits an approximation to a range of two years. For example, someone who is age 20 on June 1, 2030, could have been born anywhere between June 2, 2009, and June 1, 2010. For purposes of this timeline, the character's birthdate is listed in the second year of the two-year range).
↑
M05CairoCryoScientist1: "My guess is that it was a botched infusion. Justice, if you ask me. Mother Nature's way of saying, "Don't play with that.""
M05CairoCryoScientist2: "Looks like it was more than a standard infusion. This IS Paul Denton we're talking about. It appears they designed it as a new breed of nanite, one suitable for the entire human race."
M05CairoCryoScientist1: "Given that it's been two years since they tried to infuse him, I'm guessing the procedure did not go according to plan."
M05CairoCryoScientist2: "The nanites actually began disintegrating him from the inside. They put him in cryostate so that they could find a cure."
M05CairoCryoScientist1: "When will they learn? The human organism should not be altered in such ways."
M05CairoCryoScientist2: "That's why we're here -- to learn what we can from this experiment so that we can put a stop to these plans they have for all humankind." Note: The date is one year later than what Tong says.
↑
StandardPlayer: "What happened to Paul?"
JCDenton: "He nearly died two years ago. My chief scientist, Tracer Tong, thought that he had perfected the biomod substrate, but there were recombinant anomalies in Paul. He had to be cryogenically frozen to save his life. Luckily, the tissues in you and the other subjects at last accepted complete transformation."
↑Tracer Tong: "He, too, is helpless and in need of our new systems. We thought we had the infusions perfected three years ago, but his body rejected them, violently. He had to be cryogenically frozen until we could finish the design."
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