Timeline

Before the Cave-in

1891:

A flood decimates an entire district in Marcheleau.

Following the flood, the government sent a team into the damaged district to survey the area and ensure it was safe for development. The team never reported back. A second team was sent in to investigate, cautioned to proceed into the flood zone with greater care, and discovered the surveyors. Only half of the second team made it out alive.

Zombie Virus discovered. In response, the government paves over the entire district.

It was with the discovery of the Homo Necrosis virus that the district was filled with the seemingly reanimated corpses of its former inhabitants that the government decided to pave over the flooded ruins and start anew. The United States government was ill prepared to handle it. Thus, the zombie plague was sealed away. But it was not forgotten. Throughout the ensuing decades, knowledge of the incident carried across the various administrations, though none ever acted upon the information; for all intents and purposes, the problem had been dealt with. It wasn't until the cave-in in '83 that the issue resurfaced.

Those who were trapped in the district during the flood begin to rebuild underground.

1970's:

Marcheleau begins building a metro system, taking care not to make contact with already-existing infrastructure for fear of zombie virus.

Late 1970's-Early 1980's:

Expansion of the metro starts creating connections between metro line and the rest of the abandoned underground. Zombie virus appears in the metro system.

As the vast complex of businesses, tunnels, residential zones, and the metro itself continued to expand, the construction companies struggled more and more with the limited space. Soon enough, corners were cut and risks were taken to facilitate the expansion of the underground and satisfy its booming population and economy, and an ill-fated construction team broke into the infected zone that had been sealed away nearly a century prior.

After the Cave-in

1983:

Marcheleau causes a cave-in that blocks off part of the metro and seals off other exits in hopes of containing the zombie virus.

Knowing that the incident risked further spread of the virus, the government decided to seal the affected area down completely.

Biological tests on zombies begin, both to discover a cure and to use as a weapon of war.

After the United States government blocked off the affected area, they scoured the underground and brought all known carriers to their first underground laboratory: The Paradigm Hub, run by Project Pandora.

1984:

The CDC discovers the Marcheleau water table is contaminated. Not everyone becomes infected, but some become carriers.

With better knowledge and technology than existed a century prior, the government was better prepared to manage, and perhaps even eradicate the virus. With the ongoing research efforts underway, a daunting prospect began to loom: what if the water table were to become infected? Knowing that the virus arose following the flood, the government began to fear that it may spread into the water table, and thereby escape the bounds of the sealed underground.

Under the guise of measles inoculations, CDC begins identifying carriers of the virus and locking them in the underground for further experimentation.

Under the guise of inoculating the region's populace against an ongoing measles outbreak, the government began to screen its citizens, and discovered that their fears were a reality - there were those above ground that were already carriers of the virus. Debates on how to proceed immediately took place and stretched on for weeks. Though some counseled for a measured approach, ultimately the hardliners won out. Surface carriers were brought to the Paradigm Hub at record speed, spreading the resident researchers thin and wearing down containment resources. That's when the government lost all contact with the Hub. When they sent in a team to investigate, they found it had been overrun, killing and reanimating all researchers and subjects alike. Pandora had no choice but to shut it down and re-invest in a new lab.

Mr. Americana unites the people who were trapped underground and coins them the Mulberrians -- otherwise known as The Dwellers.

In response to Mr. Americana's exclusivity, Jonas Turner and his cronies form the Key Station Gangsters.

Elena Chavez opts to leave the Mulberrians and join the Key Station Gangsters.

1985:

The first disappearances begin. Rumors circulate the undercity of Shadow People abducting victims who crossed the KSG. The KSG make no attempt to refute this.

1988:

Jonas Turner is disappeared by The Shadow People. Elena Chavez takes his place as leader.

1989:

The people living in the sewer system are finally recognized as a group: The Ratfolk