How it all began

Humanity was slowly approaching the Year of Exhaustion, the moment when the natural resources that had carried civilization for centuries would no longer be available in meaningful quantities. In the first fifteen years, prices kept rising as the first critical resources grew harder to obtain. Materials once considered ordinary became valuable, and entire industries struggled to keep their supply chains running. This period later became known as the Long Shortage.

The following ten years, the Depletion Crisis, were far more brutal. Governments and industries began dismantling old infrastructure to recover whatever materials could still be reused. Abandoned buildings, vehicles, railway lines and factories were stripped for metals and components, and recycling became one of the most important parts of what remained of the economy. The gap between rich and poor kept growing. Those who could still afford scarce materials lived relatively normal lives, while much of the population lived under ever stricter limits.

Governments responded with extensive regulations on consumption, recycling and the use of valuable materials. People were encouraged, and eventually required, to reuse what already existed rather than depend on resources that could no longer be easily extracted. For the first time, humanity had to confront a problem it had pushed aside for decades.

At first, many still believed the crisis could be overcome. Governments, engineers and research institutions worked together on new recycling systems, renewable energy infrastructure and ever more efficient ways of using the materials that remained. Old cities became sources of raw material themselves, and the circular economy turned from an environmental goal into a condition for survival.

But every year the pressure grew. Shortages worsened, international cooperation weakened, and access to energy and materials became one of the defining political questions of the time. By 2087, humanity had reached what would be remembered as the Year of Exhaustion. The world had not literally run out of matter, but the age of easily accessible natural resources was over. From then on, civilization would have to survive on what it could recover, recycle and power with the few renewable sources that remained.