RESTRICTED

The Static War (2031–2035): Summary

Summary. In 2031 a near-total failure of global communications was followed by four years of conflict between a number of states. The conflict ended with the armistice of 2035. This summary records the public account. The Organisation's own assessment is held separately.

1. The Blackout. In May 2031, satellite links, undersea cable networks and long-range radio failed across most of the world over a period of several days. Official inquiries attributed the failure to an exceptionally severe solar storm.
2. Restoration was slow and uneven. Without reliable communications, governments formed judgements about one another on incomplete information. Several concluded that the failure had been deliberate.
3. Conflict followed. It was fought by conventional means. A number of cities were heavily damaged; none was destroyed. Participating states: ^X4.
4. Throughout the conflict, forces on all sides reported events they could not explain. Each side attributed these events to the weapons of the other. ^X1
5. By 2035 no participant had been able to show that any other was responsible for the events described in paragraph 4. An armistice was signed. Its terms included a joint monitoring arrangement, under which former adversaries share sensor data.
6. Funding for the Organisation's programmes was diverted to the war effort in 2031. The programmes were suspended. None was resumed.
7. Reconstruction followed between 2035 and 2038. Most major cities were largely rebuilt in that period.

Registrar's note: The official finding stands. It has not been tested against paragraph 4.