The Fall as depicted in the intro of Dying Light 2.
The Fall (also referred to as Zero Hour) was a major event within the Dying Light universe, occurring roughly fifteen years before the events of Dying Light 2: Stay Human and Dying Light: The Beast.
Overview[]
Following the initial leakage of a variant of the Harran Virus, the THV escaped from a Level 4 GRE facility in Geneva, Switzerland, the world initially descended into chaos, as world governments were caught-off guard by the overwhelming infections. Despite initial successes by both the Global Relief Effort and local government efforts in curbing the outbreak, the failure by the global scientific community to research a cure for the THV and growing distrust to the GRE's authoritarianism methods paved the way for anarchy, with much of societal order collapsing in a matter of weeks.
Surviving European political and military officials quickly evacuated to Villedor, the last major surviving safe-zone on the planet, then home to nearly two million people. The influx of refugees seeking safety in Villedor, combined with relentless attacks from the THV infected overwhelmed the precarious situation, and forced surviving GRE officials to launch large numbers of THV Genmod chemicals across the safe-zone, in an effort to mass-vaccinate the surviving human population and eliminate the infected. However, in the chaos of the situation, the incomplete nature of the THV Genmod instead led to the near-total collapse of Villedor, as the bulk of Villedor inhabitants were inadvertently killed and converted into the THV infected.
With any organised resistance ceasing to exist, the surviving remnants of humanity and the GRE were forced to fend for themselves. By the mid-2020s, there were merely 20 cities deemed safe for inhabitation, however, the rapidly spreading infection from THV Genmod across the 20 settlements forced the surviving GRE personnel to invoke major missile strikes to limit the uncontrollable spread. Villedor was the only city spared from the missile strikes, as its scheduled bombings in February 2025 did not occur. Although all governments had officially ceased to exist, former GRE research scientist Waltz was heavily implied to have received a form of funding from an outside authority, although by 2036, he appeared to have lost the funding.
02 February 2022
12 February 2016
30 January 2015
Cause[]
Although initially speculated by post-Fall survivors to be a direct consequence of the Harran outbreak, the Fall was instead the result of the GRE's experimentation into a lethal strain of the Harran Virus, the THV. Although the GRE's involvement in the initial Harran outbreak was covered up, its continued covert experimentation with the Harran Virus resulted in the development of the THV virus. Following the revelation of the GRE's continued experimentation with the THV, public condemnation initially led to the cessation of further research into the virus, before further experimentation was continued covertly.
Through yet unknown means, the THV virus breached containment in the GRE's Level 4 facility in Geneva, eventually leading to the near-total extinction of humanity by 2025.
Post-Fall Earth[]
Following the collapse of society, remnants of humanity were forced into numerous settlements across the planet. The hoards of infected, and lingering toxic effects of the THV Genmod chemicals have forced humanity to either remain in walled-off enclaves, or adapt to the dangerous environment by remaining mobile. Most surviving enclaves are forced to rely upon the services of the Pilgrims, whom traverse through the infected areas as couriers. Limited communications, often via Pilgrims have suggested that although most major cities have fallen, surviving communities throughout continental Europe have propped up, including "New Paris", and approximately four settlements on the island of Great Britain, albeit sparsely, as the bulk of the remnants of humanity remain consolidated in Europe.