World War III (Star Trek)

In the fictional Star Trek universe, World War III is a nuclear war that devastated much of Earth which took place during the mid-21st century (estimated as 2050-2053, but never definitively stated).

Related Topics:
Star Trek - World War III - Earth - 21st century - 2050 - 2053

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Some 600 million people died during this war. In the post-atomic horror afterwards, much of Earth reverted to a barbaric state, and legal systems were adopted that ended many individual rights including the right to legal counsel. An attempt was made to execute all lawyers during the post-atomic horror, which was at the very least largely successful. According to the novels of William Shatner, the killing of lawyers began with hangings in the so-called "Kansas Inquisition," an event well known to and possibly even witnessed by the binge-drinking visionary Zefram Cochrane. In 2079, the New United Nations was disbanded after failing to end the war through peace efforts. The exact cause of the war has never been established in canon.

Related Topics:
Lawyers - William Shatner - Kansas - Zefram Cochrane - 2079 - New United Nations - Canon

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The Eugenics Wars, described in the ' episode "Space Seed" as taking place in the 1990s, are sometimes referred to as World War III, however ' established that World War III was a separate, 21st century conflict. It was also strongly suggested in ' that the Eugenics Wars were not a global conflict since an episode of that series featured a visit to Los Angeles in 1996, seemingly untouched by the war.

Related Topics:
Eugenics Wars - 1990s - Los Angeles - 1996

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One philosopher of the time was Liam Dieghan, founder of the Neo-Transcendentalist movement. Dieghan advocated a return to a simpler life, one more in harmony with nature. ("Up the Long Ladder" )

Related Topics:
Liam Dieghan - Neo-Transcendentalist movement

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Key players in the Third World War are Colonel Green (who, after the war's end, ordered the deaths of thousands of victims of radiation poisoning in an attempt to keep the human genome 'pure' and free of mutation) and the Eastern Coalition of Nations (ECON). The ECON's true nature has never been revealed, although most fans assume that the ECON were one of the main villians of the conflict (when the Borg attack Earth of 2063, Lily Sloane assumes that it is the ECON). Also, Encounter at Farpoint implies that the ECON was based around China, or at least had a heavily Chinese influence. It is quite possible that the ECON was an organization of nations which had been previously conquered by Khan in the 1990s. The ECON was also fond of employing soldiers who it had intentionally addicted to drugs to make them easier to control, a strategy also employed by the Jem'Hadar of .

Related Topics:
Colonel Green - Radiation poisoning - Genome - Borg - 2063 - Lily Sloane - Encounter at Farpoint - China - Khan - Jem'Hadar

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Following the war, with almost no major governments remaining (the United States of America was one of the few remaining nations), Earth was left to slowly recover from the nuclear carnage of World War III. Scientific advancement continued, however; in 2063 the development of the first warp engine was followed by first contact with Vulcans, ending the chapter of the post-World War III dystopia and beginning one of prosperity and hope. The United Earth Space Probe Agency was formed, launching first the unmanned probe Friendship One and, following that, the manned spacecraft S.S. Valiant.

Related Topics:
United States of America - Warp engine - Vulcans - Dystopia - United Earth Space Probe Agency - Friendship One - S.S. Valiant

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The exact ending of the post-atomic horror is uncertain. Star Trek: First Contact, which takes place in 2063, implies that it was already over. However in the TNG premiere episode, Encounter at Farpoint Q mentioned that the trial he was holding for the Enterprise command crew was based on a court of the year 2079. This would indicate that the post-atomic horror did not end until at least 2079. But Deanna Troi mentioned to Cochrane that fifty years after first contact in 2063, war, poverty, and disease had been eliminated from the Earth. Within 100 years of Zefram Cochrane making his first warp flight, humanity had solved most of the problems that had plagued them for centuries, and worked to become a full member of the interstellar community.

Related Topics:
Encounter at Farpoint - Q - Enterprise - 2079 - Deanna Troi - Zefram Cochrane

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Spock in the TOS episode Bread and Circuses said that 37 million people had died in World War III, but Star Trek: First Contact gives the death toll at 600 million, although the Federation's records of this period have been described as "fragmentary."

Related Topics:
Spock - TOS

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