Disaster hit Europe as operating systems went down all over the continent. The authorities were dumb-struck and declared a state of emergency. Especially in the first hours, when the cause of this sudden black out was unclear, people were startled.
Initially it was thought this was the prelude of a foreign invasion, as nearly all major powers have invested heavily in technological warfare. The federal army was mobilized and national militias took to the streets.
Turkish and Russian border guards were alarmed by the sudden troop movements and anticipated an European attack. Moskow launched preemptive airstrikes at military bases near its border, destroying the defenceless SAMs. President Koblenko later appologized for what he called 'a somewhat premature reaction to an unclear situation'.
Two hours after the black out it became clear that no foreign power was responsible. Using antique telegraphs, the European leaders were able to communicate with their allies across the ocean. It turned out that Billysoft had simply pulled the plug.
The main reason for this sudden descision were the European lawsuits against the company. As early as the 2010s, European leaders had been concerned over the positon of the monopolist. This resulted in a series of financial penalties against Billysoft.
According to Gill Bates, the current chairwoman of the company, these fines simply cost too much money and Billysoft had decided to retreat out of Europe to avoid further conflicts.
Unfortunately, almost the entire continent was dependent on their web-based software and when Mrs. Bates pressed the red button, screens across Europe went black. This not only resulted in political tensions with their eastern neighbours, but also in a complete disruption everyday life. Traffic lights went off, leading to massive accidents in cities like Paris and London. In Austria the avalanche alarms were inactive and large parts of Holland were flooded because the pumping stations were down.
Stock markets were closed, but the price of the Euro dropped dramatically, especially after China decided to dump a trillion, now worthless Euros. One Euro is now worth only 0.00000001 Renminbi and the price is still falling.
As a result of the economic crisis, thousands of Europeans have tried to get across the Turkish border and refugee camps have been established in Thrace.
India, Brazil, China and the Arab Union have promissed the EU an extra 10 billion dollar of aid, mainly to prevent famines, diseases and social unrest.