Cyborg Lions & Tigers & Bears! Oh My!
In the distant future, much of our war-torn planet has become too toxic for sustaining life. Enter some meddling aliens.
The Setting:
Late 22nd — early 23rd Century Southeast Asia.
Backstory:
World War 3 lasted about a week. One bloody week.
During that time, the non-stop nuclear and chemical bombs volleyed between the US, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea had left the entire Northern Hemisphere devastated and uninhabitable (Of course, no one actually remembers who fired the first shot).
Millions perished in the beginning. Millions more in the following weeks as thick black clouds from multiple bombs blocked out the sun, bringing a wrathful early winter, as if Mother Earth herself was punishing humanity for unspeakable crimes. Many died horrific deaths from radiation burns that would not heal. Crops withered, animals died.
Human survivors now consist of desperate refugees clinging to life in places far to the south in the remaining habitable zones beyond the reach of the radioactive fallout: Australia, New Zealand, Southern Africa, Madagascar and parts of Chile and Argentina.