The war dragged on. Pretty soon, NATO got in on it. Then Australia. Then mercenaries from Africa and South America. The Middle East suspended all infighting when the profits came rolling in from the rivaling armies (except for Israel, which held its own impressively with NATO and was one of the last truly independent areas left). Nukes and E-bombs flew like mayflies. A tempestuous hurricane of biowarfare and chemical warfare ravaged the planet.

In their conquest, both on the military attack front and the usurpation by the Russochinese government of the capitalist corporate structure in those lands they left (relatively) undamaged, they came across the knowledge of my program. Naturally, having come into control of RoSecurity, among just about all other surviving corporations, they wanted to get ahold of me. Also naturally, I had to go into hiding. And it worked, for a while at least.

And then I stowed away on that cursed warship…