I am changing the series from a trilogy to a diptych based on careful reading of the novels Hardwired, Voice of the Whirlwind, and Aristoi.  The prime mover in Hardwired is the Rock War, when the Orbitals dropped asteroids on Earth in order to subdue the planetbound nations and assume domnance.  In VotW, there is no mention of the Rock War, there is a European conflict, and at one point it is specifically mentioned that there have been no wars in America for a hundred years.  The Rock War essentially destroyed America as a nation (in Hardwired) and left profound scars on it.  Also there is an alien species in VotW and evidence from Aristoi strongly suggests that it is a sequel  there are no aliens in Aristoi.