"Today we have entered into a new era for mankind. An era unseen since the last days of Apollo nearly a century ago. Back then we sought out only the Moon. Today we dare to dream higher for we now aim for the very stars themselves and the worlds that call them home."
Zefram Cochrane on April 7th, 2064 at the revealing of the Zefram Cochrane statue.
"On this day one year ago we made history. Humanity has regained its footing and in so doing has also inexorably reshaped its destiny and has started to march forward to a better world for all mankind. A world liberated from lawlessness. A world once again governed by law and order. A new order now exists in this world. An order that I hope is one that leads mankind not to it's ruin but to ever greater heights. To worlds unseen by the eyes of man and to days as of yet unseen".
Lily on April 7th, 2064.
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For most people in Starfleet in 2151, April 5th, 2063 was the day mankind regained it's footing and began to slowly rise from the fires of the third world war and restore the world to what it once was. Green and full of life. But, of course, none of them lived in the dark days that Cochrane did. If they had most of them would know that life wasn't nearly as great as their halo-novels would have them believe. Sure life was good for the people in the new cities. But for a great number of Terran (Earth humans) life was very much still the dark and dangerous streets of the tent cities.
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When news of his achievement reached the scattered ears of what was left of the nations of the world the start of something new started to form. It was a slow thing. Something that wouldn't fully form until the signing of the Unification Treaty in 2070 but nevertheless it was clear to all that something unprecedented in human history was starting to happen. The cry of a million radios sounded in every tent in every tent city, in every rust-covered den, and in every dark alleyway that housed what was left of mankind. All yelling out that Cochrane had done the impossible. He had beaten light itself. Sure the way he did it was about as haphazard and dangerous as could possibly be achieved but he had done it. He had broken lightspeed. He had showed the world that it could be done and that in time a new life could be had for all. One that could see their children free of the radiation and sickness. Free from the endless pain of hunger and cold. A life worth living and not mere existence or survival.
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But for every hopeful child dreaming of a better tomorrow stood somebody else who saw this new order as a threat to their existence. For the lowest of low life was good. The land was lawless and power came by way of force. Now, however, their time seemed to be ending. The power they had gained was going to be ripped away from them and given to those who were seen as weak and foolish. This is best known today as the Crime Wars. A set of wars that lasted from 2064-2076. In those twelve years, nearly 138,000 people would lose their lives due to the attacks on the crime lords that the new police forces started to perform at the start of 2064 or due to attacks on them as they attempted to ensure law and order in the tent cities. It was a time where loss of life was a daily occurrence and the sight of a body or two wasn't seen by most as a cause to worry. Life was better in the sense that law was slowly being reestablished, at least in the major cities. But for most life was much the same as it was in the dark days of the war. To them the only thing that changed was the sudden uptick in violence as the many crime lords attempted to hold onto their power for as long as they could. Something that day by day and week by week was slowly being lost to the new order. The age of lawlessness was nearing its end and for many people living in the tent cities it couldn't die off fast enough.