G.H.O.S.T.

GHOST was the assigned name of a military research program on the planet of Fountain III. Its creators started out with the best of intentions, but as all too often happens, it ended in catastrophe. The GHOST project almost drove an entire planet's populace to extinction. Only one survivor, Tannilyn Reinn (more commonly known as Ghost) ever made it off the planet, though she counts herself as a casualty.

What Happened

The GHOST project represented military interests from several powerful nations over Fountain III. It would be easy to blame the largest of these, the Confederacy of Essell, for its creation and the events that it set in motion. In truth, it is far more complicated, and its full and detailed history may never be known with total clarity. All we know is that the nations of Fountain III were facing a global crisis, and they came to arrive at GHOST as their solution.

What It Meant

GHOST, or to use its full project name, the "Guiding Hand for Our Safe Tomorrow" was designed to solve a problem. Several problems, really. The world was in a financial crisis. Resources everywhere were stretched thin. Relations between countries had deteriorated as trust became a rare commodity. Soon, the whole planet seemed to be under the grip of a worldwide cold war. GHOST was intended to change that. It was one of the few military programs that, from the start, was never intended to kill anything or anyone. It was, essentially, a completely defensive weapon.

What It Was

Though never publicly revealed, most nations' military forces were on constant alert, and ready to begin full scale attacks on their neighbors as soon as the theoretical command would come. It never did, but the leaders of Fountain III could not let that possibility hang over them. GHOST was a network of beacons across the planet - in all nations. These beacons would broadcast a signal globally. This signal would be received by any nearby technology that was compatible - everything from mobile phones, to PCs, radios, cars, and most notably any military weapons technology. It was a failsafe, ultimately. A ceasefire button.

What Went Wrong

The signal was broadcast in a dry test run. The media would cover it as a global blackout, caused by power failures in the global Grid as further maintenance had been delayed due to financial issues. The signal was received by millions of devices across the planet, and among those devices, something sent the signal, corrupted, back. GHOST was designed to be an anti-technology weapon, but it was itself, simply advanced technology. The signal disabled the failsafe network and turned it into doomsday weapon.

The Fountain War

Fountain III was almost entirely leveled by the weaponry of its own people. The corrupted signal activated global and national defenses. A world war was waged by an echo. We don't know much more, as only one person survived, and even now she hasn't overcome completely the trauma of her world's death.