Chapter 8: The Modern Era

1974 ATB - Vincent xi Britannia ascends to the throne upon the death of his half-brother Luis ho Britannia.

Britannia, the EU, and the Chinese Federation continue their arms race amongst each other.

Physicists in Britannia and the EU both make significant discoveries in the field of quantum mechanics. Both powers manage to construct the first particle weapons. However, Britannia and the EU's prototypes simply don't have the capacity to hold the amount of energy required for full efficiency without overheating.

When the EU spots Britannia contructing a new fleet in the Atlantic, the member nations of the EU set up a defense grid codenamed Liberté. This new system is a network of the various defense systems of the EU member nations. Using data retrieved via satellite and radar, the EU will be able to detect a Britannian invasion in an instant.

1975 ATB - The Chinese Federation demonstrates their modernization to the world by launching the Xīng-75 military satellite into the earth's orbit. The best engineers from all over Asia also manage to improve the designs on existing electrical motors. This, along with the massive population, allows for tanks that rivals the ones used by both Britannia and the EU to be mass produced.

In response, both the EU and Britannia decide to catch up with the Chinese Federation by developing better engines and tanks. Britannia also deploys their newest missile cruisers and aircraft carriers in Hawaii.

1976 ATB - Vincent xi Britannia dies fom natural causes and is immediately succeeded by Dmitri ca Britannia.

1979 ATB - The three superpowers continue trying to outdo one another by creating better electric engines than their rivals. These advancements result in Sakuradite-powered engines to have greater output. With stronger, more powerful engines being available, every power decides to build bigger weapons and vehicles. As a result, the first mobile fortresses are built by Britannia, the EU, and the Chinese Federation soon after.

1980 ATB - With computers being used all over the planet, computer networks start to connect with one another. These massive web of connections between networks leads to the development of the internet.

1981 ATB - Dmitri ca Britannia is assissinated by a member of an underground South American nationalist movement. Ronald re Britannia immeditely ascends to the throne, vowing that the perpetraitors of this heinous act will be hunted down to the ends of the earth.

Imperial troops in Britannia's South American colonies are immediately ordered to investigate and catch anyone associated with the South American nationalists. Several prominent cities on the continent are put under martial law. With martial law enacted, Imperial troops arrest hundreds of civilians and interrogate them through sheer violence. Most of the people arrested are either Honorary Britannians or colonial natives living in the ghettos.

1982 ATB - Though Imperial troops manage to arrest some members of the underground nationalist movements in South America, resistance is still present due to the fact that many of the underground movements are independent of one another.

Another problem for troops is that the ghettos set up in accordance to the 1835 Honorary Citizenship Law have not been fully enforced. As a result, people living in the ghettos manage to slip into mainstream Britannian society and blend in with the general population. This makes finding members of the resistance even harder.

When the economy starts to slow down later in the year, Ronald and his ministers discuss the financial situation on their hands. The current colonial system that is used by Britannia is shown to actually be causing Britannia to loose money and not gain any. This is due to the fact that the colonies' inner and external affairs are handled by the Britannian homeland, meaning all of the colonies' burden is put on the back of the Britannian homeland.

Realizing Britannia's colonial policy is clearly not working, Ronald, along with Parliament, passes the Imperial Area Act. This new law totally restructures the various Britannian colonies in a way that makes administration less difficult for the homeland. The colonies are now called Areas, with each one numbered according to when they became part of the Britannian Empire. Each Area is also allowed a certain degree of autonomy over it's internal affairs and is ran by a Governor-General, who acts as the Area's administrators. These new Areas include:

1. Mexico

2. Central America (formed by conglomerating all the Central American colonies)

3. Panama

4. Carribbean

5. Hawaii

6. Colombia (formed by conglomerating the colonies of Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela)

7. Argentina

8. Peru

9. Brazil

Another change made to colonial policy is the one regarding the social structure of the colonies. As was shown in the crackdown in South America, non-Britannians managed to escape the ghettos and mix in with the Honorary Britannians. To make identification easier, the non-Britannians who refuse Honorary Citizenship are to be called the number of the Area they reside in. Segregation in the Areas are increased dramatically in hope that this will prevent anti-Britannian reisistance from the ghettos to reach the general populace.

1986 ATB - Japan, despite being surrounded by three superpowers, manages to defend itself by using its Sakuradite reserves to manpulate the world. Japan even manages to extort large amounts of money and technology from all three powers by playing the three superpowers against one another. With Britannia, the EU, and the Chinese Federation keeping each other in check, fear of a foreign invasion in Japan is very low.

1990 ATB - The elderly Emperor Tianzi of the Chinese Federation is pronounced dead by court officials. Almost all of Asia mourns the loss of their heroic Emperor. Once the late Emperor's funeral procession is finished, the Emperor is interred in the newly built Imperial Mausoleum, alongside the remains of his father and the other 85 ancestors that preceeded him.

Jiang Fang, son of the late Emperor, becomes the new Emperor Tianzi and Chairman of the Chinese Federation. Unlike his father or grandfather, Jiang Fang is not a strong indivdual and many times indecisive when it comes to politics. The new Emperor Tianzi is then forced to seek the advice of his closest advisors, the High Eunuchs.

The hardline High Eunuchs, who served as advisors to the previous Emperor, decide to take advantage of the young, weak Emperor. Through the Emperor, the High Eunuchs manage to issue new laws favorable to them. Such laws include nationalizing smaller businesses, diversion of resources, and higher taxes. Though the new Emperor is weaker and more persuasive than his predecessors, the High Eunuchs are still unable to have complete control over the government. When the High Eunuchs advise the Emperor to pass a law that would create a new collectivization plan, the Emperor refuses to endorse it due to the fact that collectivization will eliminate the little capitalism they have in their country.

1992 ATB - Ronald re Britannia dies and William je Britannia becomes the new Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire.

1994 ATB - Rocket-powered escape cockpits for military vehicles are tested by Britannian engineers. To increase the mobility of the cockpits, mechanical legs are installed in the prototypes. In order to address situations where a cockpit would be stuck in rubble after being launched, mechanical arms were added to help the pilot clear the wreckage.

1997 ATB - William je Britannia suffers a severe heart attack and dies soon after. Charles zi Britannia succeeds William as Emperor.

Britannia's R&D department manages to develop a better propulsion system for military vehicles. This new system, called a Landspinner Propulsion System, allows faster, more efficient movement in tanks and mobile artillery. Computer scientists and military analysts also create the first Factsphere Sensor, a type of advanced camera that uses thermographic imaging to compute countless amounts of data observed. These long, but fast computations would allow the user to perform more efficiently.

The Britannian military, impressed by the results, decides to integrate these devices into some of the prototype robotic frames in hope that a new, nightmarish, robotic warrior can be created. As a result, the military starts calling these potential weapons Knightmare Frames. To help fund the projects, the military enlists the help of some of the wealthiest, most power industrialists in the Empire. One of the most prominent families to fund the projects was the aristocratic Ashford Family.

1999 ATB - The Ashford Foundation completes it's first prototype Knightmare Frame, the Ganymede. Knight of Six Marianne "the Flash" pilots the Ganymede with great skill and shows off the new Knightmare Frame to the Britannian military. Though impressed by the Knightmare Frame's performance, strength, and speed, the military still cannot use them in the front lines due to the fact that the Ganymede is powered by a cord that connects to an external power source.

2001 ATB - Britannia's arch rival across the Atlantic, the EU, sends various spies into the many research facilities around the Empire. Some of EU spies manage to smuggle copies of various blueprints of the Knightmare Frames and their components. Realizing the situation at hand, the EU starts their own Knightmare Frame project in secret.

2004 ATB - The Emperor Tianzi falls gravely ill and is bedridden for weeks. It is later announced by the High Eunuchs that the Emperor Tianzi is officially deceased. As a result, the High Eunuchs entomb the 88th Emperor of the Chinese Federation in the Imperial Mausoleum. The Chinese Federation, however, faces a succession issue. The late Emperor only had one child, a six-month old baby girl named Jiang Lihua. The problem about Jiang Lihua is that not only is she a girl, but is also just an infant. During an emergency meeting between the Central Committee, the Imperial Court, and other senior government officials, many people suggest that they give the throne to the next closest male relative who is of age.

The High Eunuchs, knowing they can control the whole Federation if an infant is on the throne, points out the unique characteristics of the child at the meeting. The High Eunuchs say the baby's red eyes and white hair is a sign that she is destined to ascend to the throne, and not letting her ascend would be a disgrace to the legacy of the Jiang Dynasty. The members of the meeting discuss the situation for a few hours more before announcing their decision. The government is persuaded by the High Eunuchs speech and decide to make Jiang Lihua the new Empress Tianzi. The High Eunuchs as a whole are granted the position of Regent, and would assist the young Empress until she came of age.

With themselves as Imperial Regent of the Chinese Federation, the High Eunuchs have full control over the Empress, and therefore the governing policy of the whole Federation. With the Empress unable to get in their way, the High Eunuchs pass tons of laws and restrictions that reverse much of the economic progress made by the previous rulers. All traces of capitalism are erased, private ownership is eliminated, all businesses are nationalized, and high production quotas are placed on agriculture. As a result, much of the Chinese Federation suffers from famine and poverty. Though supposedly a hardline Communist country, there is plenty of inequality around. The High Eunuchs, senior officials, and the Imperial Court live in opulence and luxury, while the people suffer.

2005 ATB - In their search to create an internal power source for Knigthmare Frames, Britannian scientists discover the scientific principle called Yggdrasil Resonance. When pure, refined Sakuradite is rapidly spinning while suspended within a strong magnetic field, the magnetic properties of Sakuradite interact with the surrounding field, resulting in a very powerful electrical current.

As a result, engineers construct a small iron chamber lined with powerful electromagnets, fill it with coolant liquid, and suspend a cube of highly enriched Sakuradite into the chamber before sealing it. When the magnetic field is activated, the cube starts to rapidly spin, resulting in electrical energy being produced. Since it uses Yggdrasil Resonance to induce an electrical current, the new engine is called a Yggdrasil Drive. The military has great interest in this engine, seeing how a small scale version of the engine can produce much power. The military decides to use these new engines to improve the prototype Knightmare Frames and eliminate the power source problem.

2008 ATB - The nations of the world decide to hold an international conference to ensure that the balance of power is protected.

At Lhasa, Tibet, representatives from Britannia, the EU, the Chinese Federation, the Middle Eastern Federation, Japan, and the Australian Confederation meet together. The Australian Confederation once again reaffirms its policy of international neutrality, something all the nations approve of.

Another issue that is raised is a lack of international law regarding POW's during times of war, a problem that was prominent during the Great World War. All the nations write up an international guide on how POW's will be treated along with what defines a POW. Once all the nations agree on POW treatment among one another, each nation signs the international law, later to be called the Tibet Accords.

Japan also assures the three superpowers that their access to the Sakuradite reserves are to be protected and intact.

2010 ATB - The people of New Zealand, believing that the politicians in Australia don't represent their interests, vote to secede from the Australian Confederation. The Australian Confederation finds this act constitutionally legal since a popular referendum was held along with the fact that Australia doesn't want to fight against people who clearly don't want to be with them. As a result, the Republic of New Zealand is founded.

Charles zi Britannia and the Britannian government decide to send forces to New Zealand and demand capitulation. When the Imperial Britannian Navy arrives at the shores of New Zealand, the young republic quickly capitulates and becomes Area 10 of the Holy Britannian Empire. Britannia tells Australia that it will respect Australia's neutrality and not set foot on their soil. Australia, as a result doesn't voice any opposition to this move.

However, Japan, viewing this move as Britannia bridging the gap between Asia and the Americas, gets extremely worried. Using their Sakuradite reserves as leverage, Japan, the EU, and the Chinese Federation cut much of their trade with Britannia, hoping Britannia might be persuaded to step down. This incident would later be called the Oriental Incident.

As a result of this incident, the Britannian nobility and wealthy demand that Charles issue a declaration of war against Japan. However, Charles strategically knows any move towards Japan will cause the EU and the Chinese Federation to react. Military and economic advisors calculate that Britannia can handle one of them if they were to declare war, but a combined EU-Chinese Federation Army might just be too much. Charles then decides to make a secret deal with the Chinese Federation. Britannian ambassadors are sent to Luoyang to meet the young Empress and the High Eunuchs. Britannia's deal to the Chinese Federation is that if the Chinese Federation doesn't declare war when Britannia invades Japan, then Britannia will insure that they will have full access to Japan's Sakuradite. Britannia also requests the leasing of bases in the Philippines until the end of the war.

The Chinese Federation, thinking that Sakuradite will become cheaper if Japan's trading policies are gone, supports the plan if Britannia signs a Non-Aggression Pact with them. Britannia agrees and both nations make the deal in secret.

The Britannian government also uses the privately owned Toramo Agency to buy small amounts of land in Cambodia. Britannia hopes that this land will serve as a hub for Britannia's trade and military interest in the East Indies without causing an international incident.

August 10, 2010 ATB - The Holy Britannian Empire invades Japan and swiftly takes over the Japanese Islands thanks in part to the newly built fourth-generation Knightmare Frames.

Seeing this occur, the EU and the Middle Eastern Federation votes to go to war against Britannia. The Chinese Federation declares neutrality as a result of their secret agreement.

2011 ATB - Greenland and Iceland are occupied by Britannian forces. Both are combined into Area 12.

2013 ATB - Euro-Britannians, Britannan nobles who have roots in old Europe, lead forces across the Bering Strait in hope of reclaiming their ancestral lands. Within a year, Britannian troops manage to march through Siberia with ease. All Britannian-occupied territory east of the Urals is then reorganized into Area 13.

2014 ATB - Britannian forces, which have been at a stalemate against EU forces in the Atlantic, finally break through and manage to land in Western Africa.

2015 ATB - Britannia combines the various West African colonies of the EU-member nations into one entity. This entity is named Area 14.

2016 ATB - Britannian forces manage to fight their way across the Sahara Desert and manage to besiege the city of Tripoli. The area of Libya is soon made into Area 15

By the end of the year, Britannian forces manage to invade the EU's South African colonies. The region of South Africa becomes part of Britannia under the name Area 16.

2017 ATB - Once securing the defenses of the newly gained lands in Western Africa, Britannia marches into Egypt. Soon after, Egypt becomes Area 17. However, even after becoming part of the empire, small amounts of anti-Britannian resistance is still present in Egypt, resulting in many quick skirmishes between Britannian and EU forces.

Forces under Second Princess Cornelia li Britannia manage to defeat the forces of the Middle Eastern Federation and turn the region into Area 18. The governments of the Middle Eastern Federation manage to escape to the EU, where various governments in exile are set up.

Author's Note: Well there that's my version of the Code Geass world's history. Hoped you liked it. Like I said in the first chapter, this timeline was made because some of my future fanfics will be using this timeline as part of the story. If anyone is confused about my timeline or has some questions about some things, feel free to ask. I would love to hear your comments.