| Year | |
| Event | CERN time travel experiment |
| Outcome | Successful demonstration of controlled, localized time travel |
| Location | |
| Consequences | Unregulated use of time travel technology leading to a 'time war' and the collapse of modern civilization |
| Current state | The world is radically reshaped by the impact of the lost experiment |
In the year 2028, researchers at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, made a groundbreaking scientific breakthrough when they successfully demonstrated the ability to achieve controlled, localized time travel. This experiment, conducted at the Large Hadron Collider facility outside Geneva, Switzerland, represented a landmark achievement in humanity's understanding and manipulation of the fundamental laws of spacetime.
The 2028 CERN experiment built upon decades of theoretical work in quantum mechanics and general relativity to develop a system capable of generating micro-wormholes that could briefly connect distinct points in the timeline. Using immense energies generated by the LHC's particle collisions, the CERN team was able to create these microscopic "time portals" and send specially shielded test objects a few seconds into the past and future.
The success of this experiment was hailed as a monumental leap forward for science, opening up tantalizing possibilities for everything from advanced space exploration to the study of historical events. Researchers speculated that with further refinements, the technology could eventually allow for more significant time displacements. CERN's directors pledged to work closely with global government and academic partners to responsibly develop and regulate this new frontier of knowledge.
However, the euphoria of this breakthrough was short-lived. Within months of the successful demonstration, reports began emerging of individuals and organizations gaining unauthorized access to the CERN facilities and replicating the time travel capabilities. Opportunistic corporate executives, criminal elements, and radical political factions all sought to exploit this technology for their own gain, creating major disruptions across the timeline.
Individuals were traveling back in time to alter the past for their own benefit, changing financial transactions, electoral outcomes, and even the course of historical events. The cumulative effect of these interventions quickly spiraled out of control, as the timeline fractured into an increasing number of divergent branches and parallel realities. Attempts by CERN and global authorities to restrict and monitor time travel access proved futile against the mounting chaos.
As the situation deteriorated, a "Time War" erupted, with different factions vying for dominance by sending operatives back in time to sabotage each other's plans and rewrite history to their advantage. Covert time travel operations escalated into open battles, causing untold damage and loss of life across the rapidly changing timelines. Horrific scenarios unfolded, from the Nazi regime conquering Europe in a altered World War II, to the complete erasure of entire nations and civilizations.
The fabric of reality itself seemed to be unraveling, as the causal flow of events became increasingly unpredictable and unstable. Desperate attempts by CERN and world governments to regain control through technological and diplomatic means all ultimately failed in the face of this time-traveling pandemonium.
The Time War culminated in a near-total collapse of modern global civilization by the early 2030s. With the old order in ruins, a fragmented and chaotic new world has emerged in the aftermath, shaped by the reverberating effects of that fateful 2028 experiment.
Scientific and technological progress has been severely disrupted, leaving many regions mired in a neo-feudal Dark Age. Powerful warlords, techno-cults, and temporal anomaly refugees now vie for dominance across a shattered landscape. The dream of mastering time travel has transformed into a nightmare, and humanity's best hope may lie in rejecting this Pandora's Box of knowledge entirely.
The 2028 CERN experiment stands as a stark cautionary tale about the immense risks and unintended consequences that can arise from tampering with the fundamental building blocks of the universe. Its legacy will cast a long shadow over the future of science, technology, and human civilization for generations to come.
