Timeline

2033: Commercially Viable Fusion Energy

In 2033, a new alloy, Kelvinium, is discovered. It works like an incredibly efficient solar panel, but is tuned to the infrared frequencies of light: those we perceive as heat. Thanks to this property, Kelvinium becomes the new best way to convert heat into electricity, and vice versa.

This invention allows fusion reactors to finally reach a positive yield of 2%, making them commercially viable. Construction began the same year, and completed 6 years later in 2034.

2035: The Discovery of Hardlight

Indonesian scientist Laban Bacha accidentally discovers a strange phenomenon: for just a fraction of a second, the photons that are created during a fusion reaction behave more like matter than like electromagnetic waves. They can clump together into a solid, which very quickly turns back into light.

By focusing the energy output of a fusion reactor into a beam, Bacha is able to create simple shapes, like a fast, but temporary 3D-printer, or a CRT television. This discovery is dubbed "hardlight".

2042: Cold Fusion

French researcher Juliette Moreau discovers that by aiming two opposing beams of hardlight at deuterium, the fuel for nuclear fusion, she could increase the pressure enough to trigger a cold fusion reaction.

This discovery allows for the creation of much smaller and safer fusion reactors, small enough to fit inside of every appliance that needs power.

2042-2083: The Holo-Age

Thanks to the ubiquity of cold fusion reactors, technologies which were deemed too energy-vore to be commercially viable in the past, such as climate engineering, personal rapid transit or super-AI trained on yottabytes of data, all suddenly come into the realm of the possible.

The applications of hardlight were explored more and more throughout this period. Due to the ability to instantly replace broken hardlight, it was used as an indestructible building material in the construction of mega-structures such as space elevators.

2083: The Flare

One day, something went wrong. Every single piece of electronics around you either exploded, or caught on fire. A couple seconds later, you saw airplanes falling out of the sky. You were inside at the time - those who weren't, got sick and died after a couple months. But they might have been the lucky ones.

This was the Flare - and nothing has been the same since then.

2083-2084: The Long Winter

The first two years after the Flare were the hardest. Food stopped being delivered to your local supermarket, so people grew hungry. Then, desperate. Then, violent.

Un-controlled forest fires, and volcanic eruptions covered the skies with ash and soot, causing a 2-year long winter. Earthquakes created cracks in most buildings, so finding shelter from the cold became impossible. The frost, as well as acid rains, killed pretty much any crops that were not inside of a greenhouse.

The vast majority of humans died within those 2 years. Those who made it usually had to get their hands dirty.

2103: Present Day

This is where your story starts. Good luck.