2023:After the end of the Volgan War against the Eastern Bloc countries, work starts on building a vast Mega City centered around New York, in an attemp to cope with with the rapidly soaring population of the East Coast states.It was intitially intended to house three to four million people; America's population was rapidly approaching a thousand million.
2031:The enormous metropolis was nearing completion. Such a vast structure needed a special form of government, and so a new form of policing system was introduce to cope with the problems posed bysuch a concentrated mass of humanity. The Judges were hand picked, at first, from the ranks of the regular police forces, but were soon established as a separate entity, with recruit trained from a very early age. They had a more senior status than the regular police, and were respected and feared on the streets for their grim impartiality. The first Chief Judge, Judge Fargo (known to later generations as "The Father of Justice"), was responsible to the president himself.
2039:The success of Mega City One inspired other areas to build Mega Cities, and plans were drawn up for Mega City Two, to run down the whole of the Western seaboard, and Mega City Three, centered around Texas and the other Southern States. Each was designed to accomodate around 200 million citizens.
2040-47:Mega Cities Two and Three were built, on the streets of all three Mega Cities, the Judges had replaced the traditional police man, as violence and crime escalate under the alrady crowded conditions.
2051:Judge Solomon reluctantly takes over as Chief Judge on the death of Judge Fargo, at the insistence of the other members of the Council of Judges, the ruling body of the Justice Department of which the Chief Judge is head.
2058:Solomon steps down, in favor of Judge Goodman, and returns to the street where he is happiest.
2066:A new process of accelerated cloning, coupled with Genetic Control screening for probable Judge material, means the trainees are able to become Judges in record time. The legendary Judge Dredd is one of the first children to benefit from this new technique.
2070:Caught in a maze of diplomatic wrangling, President Robert L. Booth of the USA starts the Atomic Wars, which rapidly devastate most of the USA, USSR, and Europe. The Mega Cities escape direct nuclear attack, however, because of experimental laser defence systems installed just a year earlier. Shocked by such an abuse of power, the citizens of America rise up and despose President Booth; he still has many loyal followers, however, and control over the country's Mek-troop army, and a bloody civil starts. The citizens petition the Judges to take over the running of the country,
2071:In the heart of the Cursed Earth, a vast irradiated wasteland formed in the wars, Booth's Presidential Guard is finally defeated at the Battle of Armageddon, but only at the cost of the lives ofa hundred thousand Judges and Mek-troops. Acting in his temporary position of Grand Judge for all three Mega Cities, Judge Solomon pronounces his famous 'Judgement of Solomon',which states thatthe desposed Booth should be put into suspended animation, and entombed in Fort Knox for one hundred years.
2072:A steady inflow of homeless refugees from the ruins of the Cursed Earth swells the post-war population of the Mega Cities; MC-1 has 550 milliions, MC-2 has 350 millions, and MC-3 has 260 millions. More and more blocks are being built, but demand far outstrips the supply of housing and many citizens form large shanty towns outside the walls of the Mega cities. Gradually, the problem is eased by new fast construction techniques, but space in the Mega Cities is becoming tight.
2083-86:After years of wrangling over independance and goverment, civil war breaks out between Mega Cities One and Three. The latter does not feel it is getting a fair deal, being governed by people in the other Mega Cities, and thatits individual identity is being submerged. The other to cities oppose the idea in the interest of unity, however, and (probably more importantly) the high valuable resources controlled by Mega City Three.
2087:The war ends in a stalemate, however, and, deciding any further conflict would simply be a waste of time, Mega City One allows Three to secede and declare its independance, Mega City Three adopts the name Texas City; the other two form closer links with other and from 'The Union'.
2088:Luna-1 moon base is established by all three Mega Cities. Although it hailed as a great scientific achievement, it is seen by many as a diplomatic exercise, designed to renew and cement relations with Texas City. Goverment of the colony is divided intitially between all three cities, with a senior Judge being sent every six months to take over as Chief Judge.
2099:The people of Mega City One unveil the Gigantic Statue of Judgement in honor of the Judges. The city's population has risen to a staggering 800 million, and many people are homeless. Some enterprising citizens take to the road in evermoving mobile homes, and all of the suden there are 18 million of them, perpetually driving the roadways of the city. A robot rebellion, led by renegade droid Call-me-Kenneth, brings about widespread destruction beforenits finally quashed; anti-robot lobbies gain much support.
2100:Mega City Two is prey to the deadly viral desease,2T(FRU)T, which threatens the very existence of the city. An overland mission finally reaches the Mega City with the antidote after a long and dangerous trek across the Cursed Earth.
2101:Chief Judge Goodman is murder on the orders of the mad Judge Cal, who takes control of the Mega City for a hundred day reign of terror, during which time he make a goldfish his second in command and sentences the whole city to death.
2102:The resistance movement, led by Judges Griffin and Dredd, finally rise against Cal and his alien mercenaries the Kleggs, and the tyrant plummets to his death from the top of the Statue of Judgement while proving his ability to fly! Griffen takes over as Chief Judge, and the Mega City gets back to 'normal'.
2103:A series of Block Wars accelerate into Block Mania, under the inflluence of Orlok the Assassin, a Sov agent who has been putting drugs into the water supply. The Mega City errupts into chaos, with neighbor fighting neighbor, and even Judges being affected by the drug.
2104:Supreme Judge Belgarin of East Meg One launches an all nuclear strike on the already weakened Mega City One, and the Apocolyse War begins. Prolonged fighting devastates both the Mega City One and the Sov sides, but a daring raid into Sov territory results in the obliteration of East-Meg One by its own missiles, and invaders finally surrender. Chief Judge Griffin has died in the war, along with over four hundred million other citizens and Judges. Most of Mega City One is in ruins, and millions are homeless, setting up more makeshift shanty towns in and outside the walls. Judge McGruder, head of the SJS, takes over as Chief Judge.
2105-07:The city is gradually rebuilt, but many parts still lie in ruins, and irradiated Sectors (or Rad-pits) are dotted around the city. Disease is a common hazard, and pollution is not diminished by tough laws. Unemployment is nearly 90%, and many bored citizens turn to crime, often just for something to do. A wave of insane crazes sweep the city, inspired by controversial vid shows and renegade Juve gangs, and the Judges are ever more hard pressed to keep the peace. They are stronger than ever, and they have The Law on their side!
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