The Forgotten

The Forgotten is a poorly understood phenomena that affects the memory of humans. Each time it happens people forget aspects of their lives that can differ in both the amount of forgetfulness and what they forget, the most common things to forget are names, one's occupation, skills, and relationships, among other things. It often comes in waves, with an initial moment that the condition is applied with a few smaller and less potent batches that appear days to weeks later. After the First Forgotten on November 3rd, 2076, it seems to have made a permanent presence on Earth, affecting everyone. However, it seems to be less affective to people in higher elevations, as communities in mountain ranges seem to be less forgetful and more aware of the Forgotten than people who live in lower elevations, and during the First Forgotten people in aircraft in the air seem to have even less issues with the condition than anyone else. The Forgotten also seems to be tied to the failure of electronic equipment and the quick discomposure of complex alloys and various other artificial compounds.

Transmission & Vectors

For one to be affected by the Forgotten, they must be on Earth after November 3rd, 2076 3:47 PM EST. However it is unknown if people are still affected by it if they are taken off world during a wave of Forgotten happens. It is also unknown if people off-world come to Earth during a wave will be affected by it.

Causes

Unknown, likely cause is extraterrestrial or cosmic in origin. Many on Earth believe it to be the work of the gods punishing them or showing them reality.

Symptoms

Forgetting memories and skills one has. Here is a short list of common items one can forget when a wave comes: basic memories (can range from short events to majority of ones life), name, occupation (farming, politician, doctor), skills and abilities one may possess (can one build, cook, fight, swim, etc.), language (spoken, written, most common language one may forget is a language is one they learned later in life, it is rare for one to forget the only language they know however it may happen), relationships, current awareness of their location and surroundings, what certain objects are, what certain plants and animals are. 
Another symptom is after each major wave and some of the smaller waves is that people are often in a semi-docile state where they rarely resort to violence when it affects them. During this period of panic and docility can last several hours depending on the strength of the wave, as the First Forgotten the period lasted roughly seven hours for most people. However not everyone goes into this state but still may panic due to the sudden memory loss and the panic around them and may be driven to violence. 
During the First Forgotten, it seems that almost every single person instantly forgot topics such as modern racism and most bigotry, how to drive and repair most mechanical vehicles, and use technological devices such as smart phones, computers, and other technologies.
During the Second Forgotten (WiP-20-40 years after the first), at least in the United States, around 60-75% of the population forgot much of what they knew about the United States of America, whether that be what type of government it was, how its ruler comes to power, who determines the ruler, how they became ruled under the US, among others.

Treatment

There are no known treatments or cures for the Forgotten.

Prognosis

If one has it, they have it. People will live their lives out slowly forgetting aspects of their lives after each wave, but it will not kill you nor will the condition itself necessarily get worse unless there is a big wave such as the First Forgotten.

Affected Groups

All humans on Earth, it is unknown if it affects close human relatives.

Prevention

The only prevention known to non-Earth Humans is not being on Earth when it happens or when there is a new wave.

Epidemiology

The vast majority of the population of Humans on Earth is affected by it, few have been reported to not be affect by it. People only get affected by it after a wave however, and these waves usually happen only once every few hundred years and are followed by smaller, less potent waves in the following month or so. Rarely do large waves happen close together, one example of two major waves happening in close proximity were the first two waves.

Cultural Reception

Modern society essentially collapsed, what little remaining top government officials there were left could not protect the people nor themselves. In the USA, the remaining federal and state government worked together to organize the population and sort everything out but due to the nature of the Forgotten, little could be done about it. However society eventually reorganized itself into smaller nations with that were slowly developing their own identity from the Pre-modern world. Most people are aware of the Forgotten however after generations of no new waves, most people did not understand the severity of a major wave.

Type

Supernatural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital