User blog comment:Sokatsui/Time Travel Paradox/@comment-4928331-20130128075321

I'm curious why there's a Reach Apocalypse in the first place.

If the Reach's plan proceeds swimmingly, the people of Earth will be quite placid, and allow themselves to be used by the Reach for whatever they wish for. There would be no resistance, and no need to nuke everything. Let the sheep live in their nice cities.

But from the looks of Impulse's dystopic future, there was a battle royale of sorts. So that means the Reach gameplan didn't actually proceed as planned.