1896-97: The Great Airship Scare. The sighting of mysterious airships started in 1870 but truly became widespread across North America and Europe in the mid to late 1890's. The unexplained phenomena was so pervasive that even Thomas Edison had to publicly and strongly deny he was behind these strange occurrences. An astronomical observatory outside of Ottershaw England claims the activity coincided with activity on the surface of Mars.
1911: The Thule Society, one of the first modern paranormal belief based organizations, is founded in Germany. Similar secret societies and organizations are later established (or re-established) in other major nations.
1939: The Invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany is considered the start of the Second World War. The War is fought on many fronts beyond that of conventional means. Throughout the war, rumors of various amounts of substantiation and reliability arise in regards to 'wonder weapons,' secret societies, applicable pseudoscience, 'foo fighters', the occult and other paranormal activity.
1945: After experiences in World War Two several Allied governments including the United States, Great Britain and Soviet Union invest into research of the paranormal.
1946-57: The first great wave of UFO sightings takes place with sightings reported almost worldwide. Though secrecy is maintained, major governments become aware of extraterrestrial life and proof that they have visited Earth and partially responsible for these reports. Project Grudge, Sign and Bluebook are undertaken to publicly investigate the phenomenon and just as importantly gauge public perception.
1968-78: A wave of UFO sightings is reported in the Soviet Union and largely covered up. Other serious sightings are reported in several neighboring countries including Iran, Finland, Yugoslavia and Poland.
1985: At the Lake Geneva Summit, President Reagan and General-Secretary Gorbachev surreptitiously agree to high level cooperation on investigating extraterrestrial phenomena. Disclosure of this conversation is played off as political eccentricities from President Reagan.
1986: UFO sightings begin to increase dramatically once more.
1989: The beginning of the end of the Cold War and the contest between the two superpower backed alliances. UFO sightings continue to accelerate and eventually expand to other developing nations such as Brazil and South Africa.
1996: Unlike the previous waves of UFO sightings, this one does not taper off. At first, serious scientists write off the reports as hype surrounding the 50th anniversary of the Roswell incident. Reports soon infiltrate major media outlets.
1998: The first documented and verified cases of animal mutilation, then Human abductions are reported throughout the world in sparsely populated areas. World governments step up their military readiness as 'soft disclosure' of the existence of extraterrestrial life is eventually realized by the general public in spite of initial skepticism by the scientific community and increasingly porous news blackouts. Governments and scientists begin attempts at making contact with the aliens. The United Nations Security Council holds a clandestine summit in Geneva, Switzerland. The search for a Commander of the organization proposed in this meeting begins.
1911: The Thule Society, one of the first modern paranormal belief based organizations, is founded in Germany. Similar secret societies and organizations are later established (or re-established) in other major nations.
1939: The Invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany is considered the start of the Second World War. The War is fought on many fronts beyond that of conventional means. Throughout the war, rumors of various amounts of substantiation and reliability arise in regards to 'wonder weapons,' secret societies, applicable pseudoscience, 'foo fighters', the occult and other paranormal activity.
1945: After experiences in World War Two several Allied governments including the United States, Great Britain and Soviet Union invest into research of the paranormal.
1946-57: The first great wave of UFO sightings takes place with sightings reported almost worldwide. Though secrecy is maintained, major governments become aware of extraterrestrial life and proof that they have visited Earth and partially responsible for these reports. Project Grudge, Sign and Bluebook are undertaken to publicly investigate the phenomenon and just as importantly gauge public perception.
1968-78: A wave of UFO sightings is reported in the Soviet Union and largely covered up. Other serious sightings are reported in several neighboring countries including Iran, Finland, Yugoslavia and Poland.
1985: At the Lake Geneva Summit, President Reagan and General-Secretary Gorbachev surreptitiously agree to high level cooperation on investigating extraterrestrial phenomena. Disclosure of this conversation is played off as political eccentricities from President Reagan.
1986: UFO sightings begin to increase dramatically once more.
1989: The beginning of the end of the Cold War and the contest between the two superpower backed alliances. UFO sightings continue to accelerate and eventually expand to other developing nations such as Brazil and South Africa.
1996: Unlike the previous waves of UFO sightings, this one does not taper off. At first, serious scientists write off the reports as hype surrounding the 50th anniversary of the Roswell incident. Reports soon infiltrate major media outlets.
1998: The first documented and verified cases of animal mutilation, then Human abductions are reported throughout the world in sparsely populated areas. World governments step up their military readiness as 'soft disclosure' of the existence of extraterrestrial life is eventually realized by the general public in spite of initial skepticism by the scientific community and increasingly porous news blackouts. Governments and scientists begin attempts at making contact with the aliens. The United Nations Security Council holds a clandestine summit in Geneva, Switzerland. The search for a Commander of the organization proposed in this meeting begins.
It had been known for at least a half century, perhaps even longer that we were not alone in this Universe. But now Humanity faces an unprecedented threat, Alien Invasion. Some might argue that invasion is too strong a term. No large scale battles have been fought, territories conquered, cities occupied by otherworldly armies or flying saucers hovering over the White House yet. But recent events have shown that while we know scant little of the extraterrestrials or their motives, technology, beliefs or goals, they have presented a clear and present danger to Human civilization.
Whatever actions we undertake, whatever missions we prosecute, whatever mandate we choose to operate under, our primary mission is the defense of Humanity. Defense implies combat, but research and intelligence gathering are just as important. Their technology is superior to ours in almost every way including in military capabilities which leaves a question of motive. Sure the presence of aliens is a threat, but how long have they been here? Why are they escalating now, from mere observation to interference, abductions, and even outright attacks? What do they want with Humanity... or Earth itself?
If we as a society, as a civilization, are to survive we must be courageous. While we would welcome peaceful coexistence as a victory, we must be prepared for the long war. And it is a war we can win. Humanity has been an open book to the Alien threat for at least a century now but the tide is turning. Every encounter, every engagement, every scrap of information we can glean from the Extraterrestrials is knowledge we have gained and an advantage removed from our mysterious adversaries in this clash of civilizations. We wish you luck Commander.
- United Nations Special Council of Funding Nations
Whatever actions we undertake, whatever missions we prosecute, whatever mandate we choose to operate under, our primary mission is the defense of Humanity. Defense implies combat, but research and intelligence gathering are just as important. Their technology is superior to ours in almost every way including in military capabilities which leaves a question of motive. Sure the presence of aliens is a threat, but how long have they been here? Why are they escalating now, from mere observation to interference, abductions, and even outright attacks? What do they want with Humanity... or Earth itself?
If we as a society, as a civilization, are to survive we must be courageous. While we would welcome peaceful coexistence as a victory, we must be prepared for the long war. And it is a war we can win. Humanity has been an open book to the Alien threat for at least a century now but the tide is turning. Every encounter, every engagement, every scrap of information we can glean from the Extraterrestrials is knowledge we have gained and an advantage removed from our mysterious adversaries in this clash of civilizations. We wish you luck Commander.
- United Nations Special Council of Funding Nations
This quest will involve the main character being controlled in a CYOA style format, where a series of choices will be presented to the readers who will elect the path or avenue to be taken, starting from character generation to developing the apparatus to defend against the alien threat and beyond. Along with developing the 'Commander' character, the readers will be charged with securing funding, recruiting personnel, acquiring equipment and developing the organization that will be Earth's first and potentially only line of defense against the known unknown threat of our extraterrestrial visitors. To do this, the Commander will curry and exchange influence with various organizations, including governments and their agencies, military branches, corporations, and other non-governmental organizations. They will acquire resources ranging from actual funding, to fighter jets to fallout shelters. And they will build upon and improve the Commander and their development as well. And mysterious aliens won't be the only adversaries as well. Parallel organizations with merely competitive or directly antagonistic intent will also arise and need to be dealt with. The world was a complicated place before the current conflict and the presence of extraterrestrials certainly hasn't simplified things any.