1962: The Last Winter In Moscow

Timeline

1. October 20, 1962, Cuba: the Soviet Union installs a missile base in Cuba and conducts human experiments there.
2. October 22, 1962: the missile base in Cuba is discovered by U.S. intelligence.
3. October 23, 1962: the human experiments conducted at the Cuban missile base are leaked.
4. October 24, 1962: many Soviet troops stationed in Cuba become infected.
5. October 25, 1962: the remaining forces urgently return to the Soviet mainland.
6. October 26, 1962: U.S. forces destroy the Cuban base.
7. October 27, 1962: an unknown virus infection caused by the human experiments is confirmed among the surviving troops who returned to the Soviet mainland.
8. October 27, 1962, 8:00 PM: all remaining troops become infected.
9. October 28, 1962: the protagonist, scientist Sergei Andropov, examines the infected and names the virus R-14.
10. October 29, 1962: the infected riot as a group, break out of a camp in Leningrad Oblast, and spread the infection. The protagonist loses consciousness in the chaos and is transferred to a hospital in Moscow Oblast.
11. October 30, 1962: Soviet authorities seal off Leningrad Oblast.
12. November 4, 1962: the infected break through the blockade and spread into nearby regions.
13. November 25, 1962: Stalingrad Oblast falls.
14. December 2, 1962: Vladimir Oblast falls.
15. December 7, 1962: the Second Battle of Moscow begins, with infected forces against the Soviet Army.
16. December 26, 1962: all Soviet forces retreat.
17. December 26, 1962, 5:00 PM: Moscow falls.
18. December 26, 1962, 8:00 PM: the Kremlin Regiment abandons the Kremlin and retreats with the General Secretary.
19. January 1, 1963: all Russian territory except parts of Siberia falls. Soviet military announcement: 132 million infected.
20. January 5, 1963: the administration and the military collapse.
21. January 8, 1963: the protagonist wakes in a ruined hospital room at Botkin Hospital in Moscow.

Characters

• Sergei AndropovThe protagonist. Born in the Russian SFSR of the Soviet Union, he graduated from Moscow State University in 1934 and became a Soviet scientist. He was one of the personnel assigned to the Cuban missile base.

Setting

The R-14 infected organism, hereafter "the infected", is an artificial virus created on October 22, 1962.

The virus spreads when a person is bitten by an infected individual or killed by one.

Fortunately, if a special drug is used after a bite, the infection can be halted. However, the drug is single-use.

The protagonist escapes Moscow, hears from survivors that a "safe zone" exists, and heads toward Siberia, the place believed to be safe.