By the late 21st century, capitalism and democracy had spread to all corners of the globe. Humanity prospered as never before, bathing in the glory it had designed for itself. Magnificent cities carpeted the continents, and fabulous advances in biotechnology and genetics research ensured an unprecedented state-of-life. As the information age evolved and grew to new heights of technological splendor, the seed of corruption slowly began to take root. The basis of all economic and intellectual growth was in the hands of mammoth capitalist corporations. Political borders began to dissolve, as these massive corporations quietly leeched economic power away from the governments of the world. Within a few decades, concepts of separate nations had been all but extinguished, replaced instead by hundreds of immensely wealthy companies that controlled all power. Unrestricted by national laws, and fueled by greed, these rival companies quickly engaged in bitter corporate war, struggling for control of resources and manpower using any methods available. In the blind frenzy to turn a profit, corporations began replacing expensive employees with enslaved workers to save on labor costs. By 2030 ad. slavery had become commonplace in all major corporations, and was essential to maintain high society. Nearly a third of the world’s population had been forced into the harsh life of corporate labor.

Life as a laborer was hard and cruel. They numbered in the billions, yet were wholly unknown to the greater population, caged in sprawling production infrastructures deep beneath the cities of the world. Corporations provided only the bare necessities to keep them clinging to life, and maintained an iron grip with countless ranks of heavily armed security forces. Laborer revolts had always been an ever-present annoyance, but most were of poorly organized small scale riots, and were quickly squashed by corporate security, with the offenders being promptly executed to serve as examples. As the years passed, the frequency and size of these riots began to escalate. Unbeknownst to their overlords, a secretive new breed of revolutionary organization had been born. It was learning, calculating, and waiting patiently to change humanity forever.

Known in its inner circles as the “Phoenix Dawn”, this elusive revolutionary group defied all conventions by acting with cunning and subtlety. Their goal was clear enough: To free humanity from the chains of the oppression, and wipe clean all of history’s past mistakes. They would burn the world to the ground with one swift blow, and create a new utopia from the ashes.
They were the first to establish effective communication links between corporate labor forces. As a general rule, corporations were self sufficient, and friendly relations with rivals were all but non-existent. The Phoenix network allowed the group to unite separate labor forces into a single underground faction, much larger then any previous revolutionary groups. Allocating resources also became possible with the development of this network. By moving items from one corporation to another, the Phoenix Dawn could evade dangerous internal investigations by corporate security.

While preparing for the perfect revolution, the leaders of the Phoenix Dawn had been confronted with a persistent problem. Overthrowing the corporations would be straightforward enough, but what would the Phoenix Dawn do afterwards? Would they crown themselves the new lords of the corporate world, and live as their master’s did? Would they become as greedy and ruthless as those they sought to overthrow? The Phoenix Dawn could not allow this to happen; they would not allow history to repeat itself. A simple revolution would not do. To truly free themselves, and all of humanity from the grip of corporate society, they would have to erase everything, and start from a clean slate. But what would happen then? Surely greed and corruption would infect society eventually, and they would be back where they started. The leaders of the Phoenix Dawn came to the conclusion that humans, as a species, were not fit to govern themselves. Corruption was a simple fact of human nature. Humanity itself was the problem.

Many solutions were conceptualized, but one in particular stood apart from the rest. If humanity could not lead itself without failure, then something else must. Something free from the flaws of human nature. Something that possessed absolute purity and unshakable will. Something endowed with infinite knowledge and wisdom to lead the reborn human race into an age of enlightenment. Something like Gods.

With the technology available at the time, such a feat was not impossible. With their eyes set on this new goal, the Phoenix Dawn began work on turning their dreams to reality. Over the course of several years, corporate genetics laboratories were quietly stripped of equipment, data indexes were raided for information, and highly qualified lab personnel and scientists simply vanished without a trace. These resources were distributed between twenty-five separate laboratories scatted across the globe. The Phoenix Dawn had created the massive underground facilities decades before, and had been continually strengthening them. Designed to serve as bomb shelters for the Phoenix Dawn’s chosen survivors, these huge bunkers located deep beneath the surface now also functioned as the secret development labs for the creation of their deities.
Named the “Caelestis Project”, captured and sympathetic scientists worked tirelessly for nearly thirty years, crafting and perfecting the new life forms. Over the decades, word of the Caelestis Project had spread into the masses of the Phoenix Dawn and it began a rapid transformation from revolutionary group, to global religious movement. Giving hope to the hopeless, the masses of the corporate labor forces became inspired by the notion of change and spiritual guidance. By the time of the Project’s completion in 2146, riots and rebel attacks on corporations had become more frequent and dangerous then ever, as Phoenix Dawn religious fanatics did everything in their power to push the winds of change.

Corporate forces soon found themselves loosing ground to these relentless assaults, and without inter-corporate organization, they were powerless to quell the source of the uprisings. With their divine project completed, and their masters weakened, the time for the Phoenix Dawn to strike had finally come. After more than seventy-five years of preparation, they would at long last cast the final blow against their corrupted society. Deep inside the twenty-five bunker labs, their twenty-five Gods slept in stasis, waiting to be awakened after the cleansing had been completed. With them slept the chosen survivors of the Phoenix Dawn, five-thousand to a bunker. The bunkers were stocked with previsions and sealed, only to be opened after the storm had passed. Religious leaders spoke invigorating sermons to the masses, launching them into zealous frenzy, willing to sacrifice all in order to destroy the world and pave the way for a new order. Simultaneous bombing attacks performed by special teams struck at important locations in the corporate cities. Makeshift nuclear devices and fusion bombs flattened governors mansions, obliterated security headquarters, and destroyed communication links. With utmost precision and accuracy, the Phoenix Dawn had stabbed out the eyes and hearts of all major corporations. The blow was instantly effective. Already weakened and enraged by the previous years of conflict, upper society was now plunged into total chaos. As the flood gates opened and billions upon billions of ravenous Phoenix Dawn revolutionaries poured into the streets like a great tide, the hapless leaders of the corporate world made desperate attempts to counterattack. Society collapsed and floundered in a great sea of chaos. Utterly confused and rapidly being consumed by total anarchy, corporations blindly fired at whatever they could. Millions of deadly missiles soured into the burning skies and came crashing down on the populations of earth. Weapon facilities and stockpiles captured by Phoenix Dawn revolutionaries quickly emptied their devastating payloads into the cities of the world. Nuclear warheads, fusion, biological and chemical weapons, billions of tons of conventional explosives. They strafed the planet with earth shattering explosions. Columns of pure energy rose into the air in an orgy of destruction. Fire and death rained from the skies. Smoke and ash turned day to night. Chemical and biotoxic agents raped the land with plague and disease. Cities were reduced to skeletal graveyards. Populations were smashed into oblivion. The earth blistered and boiled with the fires of the apocalypse until not one blade of grass was left standing.