New Dark Ages

The New Dark Ages (2713-2852) was considered by many to be the most turbulent era in modern human history. The four inner planets in the solar system were hit by a gamma ray burst, creating extremely high ionization in their atmospheres which resulted a massive EMP burst across all four plants that disabled almost all technology. Additionally, the ozone layers of the four planets were heavily damaged causing deadly solar radiation to reach their surface and create extremely dangerous conditions. This disaster caused the deaths of billions and resulted in a massive economic depression that lasted over a century.
== History ==
=== Prelude ===
The Expansion Era had given humanity new hopes and expanded them to previously unimaginable horizons. Most countries believed that humanity was rising to its zenith and a time of enduring peace was at hand. Everyone was completely unaware as the Expansion Era reached its abrupt end.
=== Gamma Ray Burst ===
On September 13, 2713, a Gamma Ray Burst from an unknown distant source swept through the system. It hit Mars, then Earth, Mercury, and finally Venus. The ionizing effect of gamma rays in the atmosphere disabled all electronics and technology in a system-wide EMP. Interplanetary communication departments on Earth, Mercury, and Venus were the first to notice something wrong when contact with Mars was lost, but with the Gamma Ray moving at the speed of light no one could be warned before the entire system plunged into darkness.
The gamma ray completely scorched the portion of the planet hit, setting entire ecosystems ablaze and killing millions almost instantly with lethal doses of gamma radiation. In addition to causing the EMP and shorting out all planet-side electronics in the system, the gamma ray burst tore massive holes in the ozone layers of every terraformed world, resulting in deadly UV radiation that rendered daylight dangerous to all life.
As nearly all aspects of life collapsed due to system-wide power blackouts and deadly changes in the atmospheres, panic, riots, and anarchy ensued. Communication between planets and across long distances was impossible, all spacecraft was grounded and forced to remain in orbit or risk being disabled during reentry, life support systems in hospitals failed, and all forms of computers and operating systems were unusable. The New York Stock Exchange plummeted and the system was thrown into a new great depression unlike any ever seen before. 
=== Aftermath ===
Earth governments quickly took an isolationist, every-man-for-himself approach, with the intent of quickly formulating a plan of relief for their citizens and keeping their populace from turning into a violent mob. This action led to the abandonment of numerous joint projects - including the Committee for the Future of Human Exploration, which abruptly ended their projects to terraform the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.
Many animals that lived naturally on Earth died off from the UV radiation. Only large nations such as the United States and European Union were able to keep their food supply by cultivating massive government-funded ecosystems underground using cloned plants and animals. Many nations on Earth collapsed into complete anarchy from bankruptcy and food shortages which resulted in larger governments annexing them to suppress riots and provide humanitarian relief.
On Mars the Olympian Republic collapsed and many nations succeeded to the Martian Confederacy. Food shortages were even worse than on Earth, resulting in numerous sprawling yet low-tech wars over resources across the entire planet that completely reforged its political map. These conflicts are collectively known as the Martian Interregnum.
Across the system people were forced to wear heavy clothing and eye protection when going outside to prevent skin exposure to UV radiation, despite the sweltering heat from the sun due to a fractured atmosphere. 
=== Recovery ===
Different planets took different amounts of time to recover from the EMP blasts, Mercury being the shortest with 20 years. In some places on Earth and Venus power was also recovered in about the same time, while in others it took decades. On Mars, it took most people as much as 70 years to get power back as the global conflicts severely restricted relief.
Once Mercury recovered they diverted all their resources into providing aid to the other planets and finding a way to return the amount of ozone in the atmosphere to a normal level. A solution was invented when the Mercurians created a primitive Dyson Swarm, which they used to provide the massive amounts of energy necessary to artificially create ozone. This ozone was then shipped to every planet that needed it and deployed into the atmosphere, turning the Mercurians into heroes in the eyes of many. After about 110 years, most planets were finally seeing a return to normal levels of UV radiation.
On Earth, the most powerful nations began to rebuild the devastated ecosystem by distributing the cloned animals created for both conservation and for food throughout the environment. With the memory of nearly two hundred nations now gone for over a century, most now formally accepted the annexations over the New Dark Ages resulting in only about a dozen nations recognized on Earth.
Although most environmental effects had subsided after 110 years, it took another 30 for the economy to fully recover to its pre-blackout condition, totaling the New Dark Ages at about 140 years. 
=== Legacy ===
Billions perished from the initial disaster, lack of power and food, poverty, radiation, wars, and numerous other causes. Countries throughout the system had collapsed, drastically changed, and formed. On many planets, lasting rivalries were forged which would eventually lead to the Great War over a century later.