From the introduction: The Awesomepocalypse - that's what they're calling it. Some corporate dipshits decided that they were going to roll out their newest soda. Overcharge without waiting for the tests to get done, but in their pursuit of profits, they fucked up - after all, rushing a product through testing can result in something with negative side effects. In this case, it lead to the drink inadvertently turning everyone who drank it into zombie-like creatures now known as the "DQ".