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| =Enemy Unknown/UFO Defense=
| | #REDIRECT [[X-COM Timeline]] |
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| ==Manual Notes==
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| It is 1999 and Unidentified Flying Objects ([[UFOs]]) have started appearing with disturbing
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| regularity in the night skies. Reports of violent human [[Alien Abduction|abductions]] and horrific
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| experimentation struck terror into the hearts of millions. The mass public hysteria has only
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| served to expose Earth's impotence against a vastly superior technology.
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| Many countries initially attempted to deal independently with the aliens. In August 1998, Japan
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| established an anti-alien combat force; the ''Kiryu-Kai''. Equipped with Japanese-made fighter
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| aircraft, the ''Kiryu-Kai'' certainly looked like a powerful force. However, after 5 months of
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| expensive operations they had yet to intercept their first UFO. The lesson was clear: this was a
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| worldwide problem which could not be dealt with by individual countries.
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| On December 11, 1998, representatives from the worlds most economically powerful countries
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| gathered secretly in Geneva. After much debate, the decision was made to establish a covert
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| independent body to combat, investigate and defeat the alien threat. This organization would be
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| equipped with the world's finest pilots, soldiers, scientists and engineers, working together as
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| one multi-national force. This organization was named the E'''x'''traterrestrial '''Com'''bat Unit."
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| ==UFO: Defense Timeline (from X-COM Interceptor Manual)==
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| -------
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| Prelude
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| -------
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| 1947
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| ----
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| Army Air Corps personnel from the 509th Bomb Group report the crash of a "flying disk" in the
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| desert near Roswell, New Mexico. Some reports claim that there were two objects, and that one
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| actually housed three alien beings: two dead and one alive. Before the end of the day, Army Air
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| Corps officials retract the story, claiming that the object that crashed was actually a weather
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| balloon. The existence of alien beings is categorically denied.
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| All of the "weather balloon" debris and other physical evidence of the "Roswell Incident" are
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| quickly whisked away to Wright Airfield in Ohio.
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| ----
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| 1997
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| ----
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| Reports of the UFO activity increase thoughout the world. At first, the sighting are relatively
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| rare, and serious scientists write off the reports as hype surrounding the 50th anniversary of
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| the Roswell incident.
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| However, as reports continue to increase, the legitimate press joins the tabloids in plashing
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| "We Are Not Alone" headlines across the front page of major metropolitan newspapers all over the
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| world.
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| ----
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| 1998
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| ----
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| Documented cases of human abductions by UFOs become commonplace in areas of sparse population in
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| countries throughout the world. World governments step up their military readiness, and there is
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| a general news blackout in most of the affected countries. Scientists try to make contact with
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| the aliens, but there is no substantial response.
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| Many countries begin to contemplate a direct military strike against the aliens. Japan, taking
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| the lead with it's stereotypical blind bravery and courage, forms the 'Kiryu-Kai' , an anti-alien
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| combat force. After five months of operation, using the best equipment available, the group is
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| unable to intercept even a single UFO. Due to lack of funding, Japan is forced to disband the
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| Kiryu-Kai in November of 1998.
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| On December 11, 1998, the United Nations Security Council holds a clandestine summit in Geneva,
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| Switzerland. After much debate, it is unanimously decided that a covert, multinational force
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| should be formed to investigate, combat, and (hopefully) defeat the aliens. Assembling the best
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| pilots, soldiers, engineers, and scientists from all the funding nations, the Geneva council
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| establishes X-COM - the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit.
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| --------------------------
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| The First Alien War (AW-I)
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| --------------------------
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| 1999 January 1st: The First Alien War Begins
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| ----
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| X-COM's first secret base is established. Equipped with two state-of-the-art [[Interceptor]]
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| fighter craft and a [[Skyranger]] troop carrier, the base begins scanning local airspace for UFO
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| activity. The base's scanning equipment proves to be extremely effective at detecting alien craft,
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| and the Interceptors, though out-classed by larger UFOs, produce immediate results-downing dozens
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| of aliens ships in the first few months.
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| As X-COM soldiers explore crashed alien craft and collect examples of alien technology, the labs
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| and workshops, staffed with the world's top labs and workshops, study the alien artefacts and
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| develop methods to effectively re-create alien weapons and equipment.
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| UFO activity continues to increase worldwide. X-COM funding to fluctuate; the organization is
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| funded voluntarily by the establishing countries of the world, but a loophole in the X-COM
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| charter allows contributing nations to raise or lower their funding based on their perception of
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| X-COM's success. Countries out of the original base's scanning range quickly become dissatisfied
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| with X-COM's performance. Fearing the loss of funding, X-COM scrambles to increase the detection
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| range of its original base, and start searching the world for other possible base sites.
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| The aliens become increasingly bold. They begin landing in large metropolitan areas and
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| terrorizing the population. The number of abductions decreases as the aliens turn to wholesale
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| slaughter of Earth's population.
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| As more alien incidents take place, it quickly becomes clear that the invasion force consists of
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| not one, but numerous alien species.
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| ----
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| 2000
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| ----
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| X-COM expands, with more bases placed strategically around the globe. This pacifies most of the
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| contributing nations, and the organization's funding stabilizes. Even so, X-COM base commanders
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| come up with alternative funding scenarios in case the situation worsens in the future. Tentative
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| deals are made to sell X-COM and alien equipment and weapons to certain underground organizations
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| for a significant profit.
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| As captured alien equipment is researching, it is logged into an on-line data bank dubbed
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| the "UFOpedia" by X-COM scientists and operatives. This knowledge is quickly put to practical
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| use, as X-COM agents are equipped with more powerful weapons and devices bases on alien
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| technology.
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| 2001
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| Starting early in the year, X-COM patrols begin to discover alien bases in hidden locations
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| throughout the world. X-COM base commanders agree that the best defence is a strong offence.
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| Every time a new aliens stronghold is discovered, a strike force is sent to clear and destroy
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| the base. Despite numerous victories, new alien bases continue to appear.
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| X-COM research into the alien culture and technology proceeds as worldwide UFO and alien
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| terrorist activity continue to increase.
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| ----
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| 2002
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| X-COM commanders begin to realize that they are fighting a losing battle. While Earth is the
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| nexus of alien activity, the aliens' infrastructure and leader ship is obviously not based here.
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| It becomes clear that the key to defeating the aliens is discovering the base from which they are
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| coordinating their invasion.
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| Despite continued success in some geographical areas, X-COM funding is severely reduced as
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| beleaguered nations ratify pacts with the alien forces. Base commanders make the unpopular but
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| financially sound decision to concentrate their interception and ground-attack efforts in only
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| the richest, most powerful nations of the world. This strategy, coupled with increased sales of
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| X-COM and alien technology to "unknown buyers", provides X-COM with enough money to continue for
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| some time. It is recognized, however, that a final solution to the alien problem must be found
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| soon.
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| After a spate of successfully interceptions and alien base invasions, X-COM personnel get the
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| break they are waiting for. Interrogation of captured alien leaders shows that the alien's home
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| base is on Mars, in a area known as [[Cydonia]]. Using all the captured technology available,
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| X-COM engineers construct the [[Avenger]] - an interplanetary spacecraft capable of transporting
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| troops and heavy equipment to the aliens' Mars base. Manufacturing efforts increase dramatically,
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| as weapons and equipment are produced for use in final strike against the Martian base.
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| X-COM soldiers invade the alien base at Cydonia. After a fierce battle, the alien "Brain"
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| creature that had apparently been guiding the entire invasion is located and killed. UFO activity
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| declines to zero, and the remaining pockets of alien resistance prove to be disorganized and easy
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| to defeat without the leadership of the " Brain". The war is over.
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| As the last of the aliens at Cydonia base are being hunted down by the X-COM strike team, an
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| automated distress beacon is activated.
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| A transmission of unknown content is broadcast to Earth.
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| The strike team manages to shut down the beacon within a matter of seconds. After extensive
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| study, scientists conclude that the message was a call for reinforcements from the aliens bases
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| on Earth. Since these bases have already been neutralized, the alien message is dismissed and
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| quickly forgotten.
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| After a period of six months, information about the X-COM operation is released to the general
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| public, the news comes a no suprise to most of the world, since the presence of X-COM craft and
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| personnel in the world's major metropolitan areas had become commonplace over the previous year
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| and a half.
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| --------
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| END FILE
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| --------
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| And the timeline continues through the events leading to [[Background (TFTD)|Terror From The Deep]].
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| ==Back to==
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| [[X-COM|Enemy Unknown]]
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| [[Category: X-COM Timeline]]
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