Humanity Rebuilds in the Shadow of the Invasion
By the end of 1901, the world lay in ruins. Major cities were reduced to **charred wastelands**, their populations decimated by **Heat-Rays, Black Smoke, and disease**. London, Paris, Berlin, and New York were among the worst-hit. The once-proud cities now stood as **silent graveyards**, their streets littered with wreckage and abandoned Martian machines.
The Martians' advanced weaponry left vast tracts of land **uninhabitable**. Radiation from their Heat-Rays sterilized entire regions, turning farmland into barren wastelands. The once-thriving countryside was now home to only the **Red Weed**, slowly dying without its Martian masters.
Across the world, the abandoned **hulks of Martian tripods and war machines** stood rusting, monuments to their failed conquest. Scientists and governments scrambled to **reverse-engineer** their technology, but the Martians' secrets remained elusive. Some feared the consequences of meddling with alien machinery.
Survivors emerged from **ruined cities and underground bunkers**, many of them sick from **contaminated water, starvation, and despair**. With governments crippled, lawlessness took hold. Bandits roamed the countryside, while makeshift councils formed in the absence of national leadership.
In 1903, astronomers reported **new flashes on Mars**, similar to those seen before the first invasion. Panic spread across the world. Defensive projects like the **"Thunderchild Initiative"**—a fleet of ironclad warships equipped with experimental heat-resistant armor—were rushed into development.