The Highway War

Most people know of the Highway War through the hit virtual drama SEVEN, this is the only real 'record' that they have of the conflict. It is also generally assumed that the conflict and its numerous skirmishes and battles all took place in the northern regions of settlement. Certainly Sergei Kurosawa and Dante Watanabe sought to convey. And given what little information they had it was only natural that they would focus on the north. It was where the audience for their product was located after all.

In reality the period of 2212 to 2219 CE is detailed in official UN records as well as Party and City Hall records as the Interregnum. A period of transition from the Settlement Era to the Consolidation Era. Dig deeper into the records that are kept in City Hall in Krasnygorod, in the UNPALAZ archives in Utopia and the stacks of the Grand Library at Monolith City and there is something momentous.

UN historians dubbed it the Seven Years War, Monolith City Archivists called it the Scourge War while the authorities in Krasnygorod referred to it as the Highway War. From one perspective it could be argued that each of these are three separate conflicts fought in three separate regions. Kurosawa and Watanabe certainly thought the Highway War was a uniquely northern incident.

Instead each three conflicts were in actual fact theaters of the one overarching conflict. The Seven Years War was the Western theatre, the Scourge War was the Central theatre and the Highway War was the Northern theatre. Most historians generally think that these conflicts were separate, this has been deliberately imposed. First by the Party in Krasnygorod secondly by UNPALAZ in Utopia.

Official records, unavailable to the public, demonstrate that each war was coordinated by a central body. That body used various elements across the continent to wage a full scale war against the settlers. Disturbingly while this central body was able to bring together disparate elements and fight across a wide geographic space it remained in the shadows, on the fringes.

Speculation among SASF, UNGC, UNEXCOM & UNPALAZ circles believes that the native inhabitants might not be as dead as previously thought. But apart from this conflict which hints at an counter settlement agenda there has been no other significant sign that the original inhabitants are still here, biding their time.

Of course when Kurosawa and Watanabe were making their seminal virtual drama they had no access to the records. In fact the only official record they had access to was the history of the Seventh Volunteer Corps aka 7th VC. Raised to fight against the growing razboyniki threat the Seventh VC would become SEVEN, It was easier to make a film around seven bold ronin fighting cyber bandits and monsters than a unit of several thousands.