2042 AD,
the Earth is a free planet.
After the
great Oil Crash of 2031, Earth was left powerless and with a lack of energy.
Great rewards were proposed to the scientist who could provide the planet with
a renewable energy source which could power the planet and return it to its former
glory. Tensions between countries grew high, as prototypes for devices were
developed, but no country was willing to share the technology. In the middle of
a UN meeting, on the edge of nuclear fallout, enters a young scientist Livius
Denthall. The Macedonian was the leader of Denthall Industries, a small company
investing in future technologies. He stood in front of the rabble of quarrying
politicians and world leaders, calm and collected, with nothing but what looked
like large battery in his hands. With a nod from Livy, the power in the
building went off. Silence fell into the room as the UN members sat confused.
Livy plugged a cord from the main electrics of the building into the device,
and with some clicks of switches, the room’s power returned. The leaders stood
in awe at the capability of the device, which was powering the entire building.
“Ladies and gentlemen” Livy proceeded, “I give you Nuclear Fusion”.
It had
only been three years since the Prototype Fusion Reactor had been developed,
and every person on the planet had power once again. Livius had given the
technology away for free, with the only terms is that the technology is
restricted to no-one. ‘Everyone is equal and therefore deserves it’, he
thought. Denthall Industries was booming, investing massively into every
market. Livius, once a small scientist, was now leader of the biggest company
on Earth.
With a
small fortune set aside, Livy began his own personal project of space
exploration. He had his own satellite put into stationary orbit above the
planet, and began developing new ideas into how to explore space. Livy knew
little about space, but a lot about the technology which works in the
satellites. He eavesdropped on one of NASA’s head meetings, and overheard that
they had picked up a waveband which they could not decipher
Once calm
and sharing, now arrogant and selfish, Livius spent two years deciphering the
codes which were sent on his own. Eventually, projecting the wavelength through
a screen, he listened to the message. “Leader of this planet, we greet you.
Your planet holds a core of great desire for our race. We wish to harvest the
core. Your planet will be put into stasis to protect the fragile atmosphere,
but many humans will die. You are weak, we are strong, and it would be in your
best interests to agree. We come from a realm far from this polluted universe.
Powers will be granted to you, and you may select a few petty lives which you
may spare.” The voice was cold, multi-toned and devious.
Livy
pondered for weeks. ‘Is this a hoax? Who should I tell?’ Eventually though, he
had made his mind up. He ran to his astronomy office, and replayed the message
again. He had no idea how to get back in contact with these aliens. An ear
shattering crack echoed from behind his head, and then a bright light followed.
His senses contorted as a cold swell fell across his skin. He turned around to
see a dark silhouette contrast the bright light. An alien stepped out from the
rift, and spoke “your decision pleases us, leader of Earth. We are the
Sovereignty of this place now”.
Poisoned
by fear and a lust for power, Livius decided which countries should be left
alive. He chose his own, Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and a few other adjacent
countries, as well as selecting about 400 people whom he deemed ‘fit’ to stay
alive. He trembled with a grin on his face, sweat pouring from his face. These
people were ported by the aliens and dropped in the countries, which Livius
referred now as sectors. Within a few hours of the meeting with the aliens, a
magnificent bright yellow light flooded the sky. Citizens pondered at the
beauty of the force field, with no knowledge at what it was. A devastating
crash echoed through the air as an asteroid struck the Earth. The protected
sectors felt nothing, but shockwaves ripped through the planet. A huge hole
tore through the ground, exposing a glow from the core. Huge earthquakes and
dust storms turned the exposed areas into a hellish storm. Few survived.
Another shattering crack shook the sky, as a huge rift slashed open the sky.
Massive ships and vessels poured out and flooded the sky, flying to every
corner of the planet.
Livius
Denthall, stood at the foot of his towering headquarters, and embraced the
cries of the public. He was their saviour. Yet they did not know he was the
cause for all this disaster. “With my technology, I provide you all
protection!” He shouted to cheers from the public.
It had
been a hundred and twelve years since the great disaster. Sectors were ruled by
the Sovereignty guards, and the people obeyed their commands. The people, once
promised by Livius a fair life, were poor and slaved away to stay alive. Though
little complained, as of course they believed Livius had saved them from death.
He addressed them publically, and said that he had seen the incoming meteorite
but had no time to get a message out. He lied and said he had developed the shield
as a prototype. He was the ruler of this new world.
Nicholas
Taylor was a courageous young man, born into sector 2, a hundred and twelve
years after the great disaster. His upbringing was harsh, living in a sector ravaged
by gangs and the black market. His mother and father worked as tailors in the
sectors market, and the income was enough only to support basic life. He had
many young friends, his favourite of which was Elise Johansson, a beautiful
girl with a strong ambition. Nicholas always detested the people she hung
around with, they called themselves the revolution. Many were taken and none
returned. There had always been whispers in the air about peoples radical
theories about what happened to the planet, over a century ago. Though, most
people now born into sectors, very few people actually cared. This life is all
they knew.
Elise and
Nicholas walked by the boundaries of the sector; two fences stood twenty feet
tall, barbed and vicious, between them and the infamous canyon wasteland. Dust clouds
to the east crawled along the floor of the canyon, as the gradient slowly rose
to the jagged mines just over the horizon. To the west, lush mountains and
clouds rolled into the distance. The change in scenery was beautifully dramatic,
as if all life had been torn from the wasteland to the East. They sat and
watched as mysterious cargo vessels skimmed the pale red sky, transporting
there merchandise from the mines to the other sectors. She took his hand, as
they remained until the day drew to a close. There seemed to be no worries in
sector 2, not even the black market rabble put them off the peacefulness of the
night.
Ten years
later, on an eerie night, Nicholas heard a creak from his shady room’s window.
Elise was sat on the windowsill, with a bandana covering the lower part of her
face. She wore the colours of the Custodian Revolution; dark purple laced with
highlights of a rich green. She explained how she had been brought to the light
about what the real world is. Her ideas of what had happened shocked Nicholas. He
believed no word of it. She was adamant and held her ground. “Come with me,
we’ll show you what happened a century ago” she said softly. “These freaks have
poisoned you, Elise, don’t go” He shouted. She dropped from the ledge and
disappeared into the night. He ran to the window to see a few dark figures
running into dark twisting alleys of the square.
Nicholas
had not seen Elise, or anyone who wore the colours of Custodians since that
night. The whole group it had seemed, had been eradicated of had moved
underground, preserving their pride. The whole gang systems had fallen apart,
and everyone seemed to be getting on in the new perfect community.
Nicholas
was stood in his room, staring out the same window as he did when she left,
when suddenly a series of loud bangs echoed across the street. Lithian Guards
and Sentinels marched through the streets, beating women in their way and
shooting men who tried to stop them. Each wore armour, head to toe, embedded
with dark grey and red emblems of their creeds. The guards stood at least three
foot taller than the tallest man who got in their way, as they shunted
civilians with their weapons. They carried massive rifles, none of which
Nicholas had seen before. Compartments of a blue liquid glowed underneath the
rifles, as some sort of power source.
They had
no clear aim, as they marched to the court yard in front of his house. People
screamed in terror, as confusion rippled everywhere. Shots ricocheted across
the courtyard as a man was shot trying to defend his property. The Sentinels
laughed and kicked the body aside, before kicking down the door of that house.
Nicholas jumped as suddenly a massive crash bellowed from beneath him. A
Lithian Guard, just as tall as the Sentinel, but with sleeker and more devious
look. Nicholas’s dad ran to the door, stood inches away from the Guard, as
proudly said “Get out of my house!” There was silence for a moment, as the
masked Guard stood above his Dad. A shot fired. His Dad stood, blank faced and
pale, as a streak of blood rolled from his bottom lip. Nicholas’s vision
blurred, he stood shell shocked as he watched his Dad drop to the floor, dead.
Time went painfully slow, as his Mother ran to his Father’s side. The Guard raised the gun, pointed it at his Mother’s
chest, and with the terrible cries of rejection from her, shot a single bullet
into her delicate body. They lay in a bloody mess and the foot of the stairs.
The Guard turned, looked up at Nicholas, and walked out, shutting the door
behind him.
No comments:
Post a Comment