Situation
Bruce Edward Morrow provided convincing evidence that a nuclear war would occur in 1989, resulting in the destruction of much of human civilization. This catastrophe could not be averted; however, the effects on humanity and the United States can be mitigated afterwards.
Mission
The Morrow Project is dedicated to the continued survival of human civilization beyond the point of destruction. Supply depots and teams of specially-trained personnel are covertly scattered across North America, to wait through the nuclear war and then begin reconstruction in about 1992 - 1994. The Project is not intended to supplant the legitimate, constitutional government of the United States of America.
Execution
The Project was founded in 1962; Bruce Morrow was able to convince nine leading American industrialists to support his plan. They formed the Council of Tomorrow, which oversees two main organizations: Morrow Industries, a manufacturing company; and the Morrow Project.
Most members of the Project were not told who the members of the Council of Tomorrow are. However, observant Project members spotted many items which originated at Hughes Aircraft, Cadillac-Gage, Textron, Ex-Cell-O and TRW, for example.
By 1964, the first prototypes of cryogenic berths were being tested. The Mk I cryogenic berth was ready in 1968, but no personnel were placed in cryogenic sleep before 1980. The scattered, hidden boltholes and caches were constructed from about 1977 onwards.
Resistweave, medkits, the universal antibody and the universal antidote were all developed (from information provided by Bruce Morrow) in the late 1970s.
A major issue for the Project was how to provide fuel and electrical power for vehicles and equipment after a nuclear war. In 1979, the Project produced the first of its fusion reactors, followed a couple of months later by their first combat lasers. The Mk I HAAM suits were converted to the fusion-powered Mk 2 model in about 1981. Construction of sufficient fusion reactors for the Project's needs took several years; but by 1985 all the teams being frozen had fusion-powered vehicles. In 1987, the Project updated the teams placed before 1985, opening the sealed bunkers and leaving behind new equipment (usually without waking the team members). Many of the earliest teams had Commando Ranger vehicles, which proved to have several performance problems (even with fusion power); most of these vehicles were withdrawn from field teams, and stored at Prime Base or various supply depots.
The possibility of nuclear winter, being discussed in the mid-Eighties, led the Project to include more equipment and training for cold-weather operations after 1986.
Except for one location, all of the Project's teams were in their cryogenic berths by 1989. The central command and communications hub, Prime Base, was built to sustain a couple of hundred persons awake throughout the nuclear holocaust (and unknown larger numbers in cryogenic berths), while they recorded the events of the war. Afterwards, Prime Base would activate Recon, Science, MARS, and Phoenix teams to investigate conditions; eventually, other specialists (such as Medical and Engineer teams) and large supply depots, would be activated.
General orders for the Project are:
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Assist the population in rebuilding America whenever possible.
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Reunite with the bulk of the Morrow Project forces.
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Survive!
Administration
Character Generation
Equipment
Command and Control
Communications
In the wake of World War III, landlines would be cut, microwave links destroyed by EMP, and many satellites shot down or left to spiral down into the atmosphere. The Project wasn't nearly about to launch its own set of communications satellites covertly (one way to inadvertently cause World War III, at least!). There was some uncertainty about the effectiveness of long-distance radio transmission in the wake of a nuclear war, but in the end the Project decided to stick with radio transmission.
Concept of the Game
Recon Team R54
Life in the Early Eighties
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