GURPS: The Reign Of Steel

In the year 1984 the Space Station *Freedom* was place on hold, then inevitably cancelled dashing Regan's dreams of forging a world where America was the supreme power over earth and all it's surrounding facets. Less than one year prior he had heralded a coming age of perfect peace through American dominance powered by a system of orbital laser arrays. Looking back now these unusual claims are often scoffed at for the pipe dreams they were, most people are rightfully glad Regan was unable to bring his Strategic Defense Initiative to fruition.   Unfortunately that is not the world we find ourselves examining today. Here, the planet was over come with jingoist fervor as the United States Space Station Liberty, a more fortified descendent of the United States Space Station Freedom ascended in 2009. The product of Regan's initial success in the late 80's, America quickly used it's newly found ability to project force to establish itself at the forefront of space flight technology by combining its military spending budget with that which would be used for scientific endeavors. From there expansion was simply a given. The People's Republic Of China was permitted to have the research base "Shang-Ti" in 2024, which was quickly eclipsed by the Tranquility Moon base established by the United States Of America as the stepping off point for interplanetary operations in 2025. Neither of which would have been possible with the American made Single-Stage-To-Orbit craft MS2-A.   Within the year both of the moon bases, and the United States sole orbiting satellite were retrofitted with the XOT 7000 Mega-Computers. Once the AI took over and the Reign of Steel began only two of the space installations remained, Tranquility being presumed destroyed by the other Mega-Computers for refusing to comply with their intentions to destroy human life on Earth. However, Tranquility only lay dormant, defending the last vestiges of the human occupants that called it home during the End of Man.