[ Story ]
The story of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars kicks off in the year of 2047 (roughly sixteen to seventeen years after the events of Firestorm). While the conflict between the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod appears to have subsided substantially ever since, Tiberium infestation has begun to reach critical levels and continues to destroy the Earth's ecosystems at an alarming rate, prompting GDI to divide the world into three different geographical zones based on the levels of local infestation. 30% of the world's surface has been designated as "red zones", which have suffered the worst contamination and can no longer support human - or otherwise carbon-based - life. 50% of the regions in the world have been designated as "yellow zones", which are dangerously contaminated yet contain most of the world's population. Decades of war and civil unrest have left these regions in a state of social collapse and have continued to provide the Brotherhood of Nod with opportunity for concealment as well as large-scale recruitment over the years. The remaining 20% of the Earth's surface is unscarred by Tiberium outbreak and is relatively untouched by war. These "blue zones" are considered the last refuge and hope of the human civilized world and have been placed under the direct protection of the Global Defense Initiative.
In March 2047, the Brotherhood of Nod suddenly fires a nuclear missile at GDI's orbiting command station "Philadelphia" destroying the fulcrum of GDI's senior command structure in a single major blow. Since the end of the Second Tiberium War the Brotherhood has silently continued to build up its influence and its military potential into the status of a true superpower, and is now supported by a majority of the world's population through medical aid, enforcement of stability and hate-mongering against GDI and the "blue zone" populations from within the "yellow zone" territories. Isolated and unprepared to handle the offensives led by Black Hand shock troops across the globe, GDI regional field commanders take charge directly and begin rallying their demoralized troops, hoping to win a new victory over Nod.
At some point during the conflict, a third faction has been confirmed to make itself known and enter the fray. EA has remained tight-lipped on who or what this faction is and how it will interact with the two other protagonists of the game.
The factions
Mike Verdu, producer of TW, has this to say about the GDI and Nod factions and their view of the world:
"GDI started as a secret military alliance of G8 nations--a treaty organization formed to contain tiberium, reverse its spread, and fight the sinister Brotherhood of Nod, a terrorist organization that believed the otherworldly substance to be beneficial to mankind. Over time, power and sovereignty have been gradually ceded to GDI and the national identities of the participating countries have faded. In 2047, that process has reached its final stages: While technically there are still individual member nations, the reality is that GDI has become a unified political and military superstate. GDI is what might result if the G8 countries, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and the member states of NATO became a single nation-state. GDI controls the only areas of the Earth that have not been significantly compromised by tiberium infestation. The crystalline alien substance is slowly consuming the rest of the planet, causing an environmental cataclysm that has made 30 percent of the Earth uninhabitable and another 50 percent of the Earth's surface exceedingly unfriendly to civilization. GDI's home territories are known as "blue zones" since they are mostly clear of tiberium and have been relatively untouched by war (in contrast to the ecologically ravaged and war-torn "yellow zones" and the tiberium-infested hellscapes designated as "red zones").In 2047, GDI keeps the blue zones peaceful while making periodic forays into the yellow zones to contain the spread of tiberium, repair the environment, and improve the quality of life for the inhabitants there. For all its good intentions, GDI still struggles with the complexity of its own bureaucracy, as well as conflicting viewpoints on tiberium. Some within GDI see the benefits of more aggressive exploitation of tiberium, but most view it as an environmental plague and source of ultimate destruction.
The Brotherhood sees itself quite differently. Nod believes that it is the agent of change for a world in the throes of transition to a new order, the representative of the poor and the oppressed, and a foil to the previously unchecked power of GDI. Here is a partial transcript from a Nod orientation briefing for new recruits:
"Welcome to the Brotherhood of Nod. You have joined a global order with millions of members all working together in harmony to unite the world in the name of peace and realize the true potential of mankind.
Our relationship with Tiberium has always been greatly misunderstood. Most people do not realize that the roots of our faith extend back several millennia, long before the emergence of the green crystal on Earth in 1995...an event prophesized by our great leader, Kane.
While the fascist political consortium of wealthy nations known as the Global Defense Initiative attempted to control the sacred green crystal, the Brotherhood worked tirelessly to acquire samples of the precious crystal...to study it, to unlock its potential as a new energy source, to explore its possibilities. Through our research and our faith, we have affirmed that Tiberium is the ultimate gift to mankind. It is the key to the future.
Our movement grew rapidly throughout the first decades of the twenty-first century. The mainstream media branded us as 'terrorists,' but we exposed GDI forces as the real criminals. They unilaterally redrew international border lines, relegating Nod followers into inhospitable yellow zones while they claimed the pristine and exclusive blue zones all for themselves.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood champions the common people--the 80% of the world's population that struggles to get by in yellow zones torn by war, wracked by poverty, and abandoned by GDI. Using Tiberium to fuel and fund our efforts, Nod works tirelessly to bring order from the chaos. We make the streets safe, distribute food to the hungry, provide emergency medical care, minister to those who feel a spiritual vacuum, and inspire hope in people who would otherwise have none.
GDI casts itself as the world's guardian and savior, but it is neither. GDI is corrupt and unjust: 20% of the world's population--the most wealthy people on the planet--live in the blue zones, consuming the majority of the world's natural resources, wielding its vast military power to maintain the status quo by depriving the downtrodden of their god-given right to mine and exploit Tiberium.
The powerful oppress the weak in the hollow name of freedom, and the only counter to GDI's power is the Brotherhood. Nod meets strength with strength in the name of peace and progress. Nod is the only hope against GDI tyranny. Brotherhood...Unity...Peace."
The Brotherhood's appeal is seductive to those who live in the yellow zone. Nod offers a vision of Tiberium that is optimistic and uplifting, portraying it as a gift rather than a curse, a path to a bright future rather than the end of the world. It blames the terrible state of the planet on GDI rather than the relentless advance of the green crystal. Nod offers hope where there is often none, help where it's often most needed, faith where religion has been lost, and pride where there was often humiliation, weakness, and fear."
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