Timeline of the Great Scourge

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Riding with Lackhart's Lancers

The cracking of super-heated air makes my head snap round. A flash of searing light lances across the landscape, followed by a second. In the distance, I see a body crumple.
“Down and out!” The excitable voice of Rich Lackhart bursts from the radio speaker. “Let’s keep it moving, Lancers.”
Another morning’s commute for a mid 21st Century haulage gang.
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Motorway Patrol interview

It is 4am on a cold September morning. Patrol Sergeant Dave Chapman takes a deep draught of hot tea, standing at the service station in the shadow of the Severn Bridge. For the past two hours, he has driven from London at a sedate 55 mph, showing the flag and protecting his patch. Now he takes a well-earned break.
“Everyone seems to think that we have high-adrenaline lives; that the excitement never stops. We have our moments, but actually, most of what we do is just remind people that we are here; that there is a law; and that someone cares if they break it. That is often enough.”
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Latest opinions

23/9/55: Babylon is a true inspiration in these times of darkness. Under the dynamic leadership of Sir Hector McDonaugh, the company has thrived while so many others failed. Read more

20/9/55: Mayor Rod is victorious. The battle against an insidious foe has been won, and Mayor Forrester-Smythe’s aggressive policies have been vindicated. While others dithered, Mayor Rod took action. The result? Londoners are safe from a creeping infection that has decimated nations, destroyed civilisations and ripped communities in half. Read more

18/8/55: The recent attacks on everyday citizens have shocked the nation. The brutal slaying, just yards from his own doorstep, of Dominic Bruehl, a student with a glittering academic career, has deprived a young man of a brilliant future. On the same day, the gang that style themselves the Motorway Marauders have killed a working driver just weeks away from his retirement. Read more

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Timeline of the Great Scourge
2031	First case of Fever breaks out in a small town of Korwai in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The endemic kills over 1,000, with an 80% mortality rate. Many of the victims appear to have been driven insane towards the end of the illness, turning on each other and medical helpers in bestial rage. An additional 200 people died in the violence that raged through the town.
2035	Korwai Fever has spread throughout India. Religious leaders blame the Korwai Fever, believed to be transmitted by sexual contact, on declining morals and rising Westernism. Several women throughout the country are stoned for adultery, while cinemas that show Western movies are attacked and burned down.
2038	First reports of Korwai Fever in Europe. The disease is characterised by butterfly-shaped rashes across nose and cheeks and red, raw, scaly patches on the skin. Patients have swollen joints, mouth ulcers, partial alopecia and show an aversion to sunlight, which clinicians believe exacerbate the condition. In the final stages of the illness, patients show signs of psychosis (delusions and hallucinations), before descending into aggression and violence. Cause of death from the illness is secondary infections such as pneumonia, but more than 50% of patient deaths occur through violence, either from other patients or in self defence by uninfected neighbours, medical personnel or bystanders.
2040	Korwai Fever is spreading through Europe. Medical professionals are unclear on the agent for the disease. Suggestions include a bacteria, virus or parasite, with potential vectors including bodily fluids, aerosol spread (inhaling bodily fluids), contaminated water or insects. The similarity to syphilis, at least in the early stages, fuel the “sexual contact” theory. Britain has no known cases, dismissing the illness as the “Indian disease.”
2042	First cases identified in France. Britain imposes strict quarantine regulations on all visitors from Europe, violating European rules. The states of the European Union begin to re-establish long-defunct border controls, limiting free movement of individuals and workers in order to contain the disease.
2044	The United Kingdom closes the Channel Tunnel. A cabal of major businesses, spearheaded by right wing tabloid the Daily Informer, campaign to build a great wall around London, arguing that if the Korwai Fever reaches the UK, the capital city will need to be in a position to enforce a quarantine.
2046	As the Great Wall of London is built, resources and manpower are diverted from throughout the country. Protests and complaints tip over into violence throughout the country. The Army are called in to reinforce local police. The Daily Informer refers to protesters as “bleeding heart Communists, determined to ruin our great county.”
2047	Virulent outbreaks of the disease occur throughout India, Europe, Asia and the US, christened by the Daily Informer as the “Great Scourge”.. Whole towns are deserted, their populations stricken by illness, slaughtered by Korwai Fever victims or fled. In Britain, where the London Wall is 90% finished, the Army is given orders to prevent anyone entering the City while quarantine is imposed. An estimated 250,000 people are killed trying to cross the M25 to get to the city’s medical and food resources.
2052	The European Union dissolves as the population fragments. Since 2052, an estimated 3 billion people have been killed by the Korwai Fever, with populations in some areas at less than 10% of their pre-Great Scourge levels. Towns are deserted, while many country villages have become fortress towns, with walls, armed guards and a violent distrust of outsiders. Any person suspected of Scourge is outcast, leading to large communities of Korwai Fever colonies emerging, mainly in deserted towns or hamlets.
2055	The present day: Religious groups continue to harangue the populace about the lack of morals, while medical experts remain incapable of preventing the disease. Limited success in treatment emerge in London, where isolation, chemical and radio-therapy and a 10 day course of blood exchange shows a 90% success rate in curing the condition. The drugs are rare, the process expensive, and the blood must by cloned from the patient in advance of contracting the disease, limiting its usefulness to all but the most wealthy and well-prepared.