Collapse (Deus Ex)
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The Collapse (known in an ending of the first game as the New Dark Age) is a major event in the plots of the computer game Deus Ex and its sequel Deus Ex: Invisible War.
In the first game, when JC Denton destroys Area 51 and the center of multimedian communication and the Aquinas communication grid, the Internet is disabled and humanity descends into a period of war and economic recession known as The Collapse. It takes place over several months (indicated by J.C.) after the events of Deus Ex, and indirectly impacts almost every event in Invisible War. Following The Collapse, transport between regions is slow as commercial air transportation is nonexistent and the only remote travel is facilitated through private pilots.
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[edit] Why a Collapse?
In practical terms, Deus Ex ended with three possible endings. JC Denton could either choose to merge with an AI known as Helios, allow the Illuminati to regain control of the world, or destroy the Area 51 facility and the Aquinas system, removing the means by which any person or group could rule the world (with the side effect of destroying the world economy and creating a new "Dark Age").
Thematically, The Collapse allowed Invisible War to use all three endings as a starting point. Instead of each ending preventing the others from happening, the merging with Helios is regarded as having effectively destroyed Area 51, but did not completely remove the ability of the Illuminati to control the world. Essentially, The Collapse can be seen as an enabler of the concurrence of all of Deus Ex's endings: the destruction of the world's economies, JC's merger with Helios, and the return of the Illuminati to power. The only real aspect of the original's three endings that cannot logically be incorporated is JC joining the Illuminati.
[edit] Events of The Collapse
While the specifics of the world collapse are not told (everyone in the game world has dealt with the events for more than two decades), it is implied that the sudden decentralization of communications and control caused long-dormant rivalries between nations to erupt into all-out war.
[edit] The Dentons go into hiding
For a while after the events of Deus Ex, JC Denton/Helios accomplishes much at his home base on Liberty Island. With the Statue of Liberty destroyed, JC's newfound knowledge of nanotechnology allows him to rebuild it as a brightly glowing specter of its former self.
Regardless of what had been done, the strain on JC's body would eventually be too much for him, forcing him to go into suspended animation. A company known as ApostleCorp was started by Paul Denton in order to research an improved nanotechnology that would better allow JC to work with Helios.
This work would eventually lead to the creation of the Tarsus Academy, whose primary goal would be to test new generations of nanotechnology on "trainees". One of these would be Alex D, the main character of Invisible War.
[edit] The Illuminati Rebuild
Following the end of the Collapse, two major groups begin to form. The WTO comes back into power to rebuild society and its financial structure, and the Order Church forms as a means of support and care for those who have lost friends and family during the events of The Collapse.
Interestingly, while diametrically opposed to one another, the WTO and the Order are both secretly ruled by the few remaining members of the Illuminati: Chad Dumier, governor of the WTO, and his lover and Her Holiness of the Order Church, Nicolette DuClare.
This interesting arrangement — two groups violently opposing each other, yet ruled by the same people — was designed under the expert understanding of universe [1] by the two Illuminati. Realizing that post-Collapse society would not tolerate a single governing body, they chose to split their attention. Those who would wish to see high profits and technology would flock to the WTO, whereas those seeking peace and spiritual fullness would join the Order.
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