Cataclysm

Elysian Journal

           

Prague, Czech Republic- Dr. Peter Rankin of New York announced earlier today that C4, or the Commission for Counteracting Climate Change, has reached a decision regarding new extraplasmic protective technologies. The decision has been heralded as forward thinking and revolutionary in the battle against climate change, carried on since the late twentieth century.

“What we proposed is a two-pronged action. First, we would use extraplasmic generators placed at varying latitudes around the Earth, and on floating rigs in the oceans.” Dr. Rankin told the Journal. “Without delving too much into the actual nitty-gritty of the science, we’re going to qualitatively change the ozone about the Earth to develop a more reflective quality in order to reflect more heat into outer space.” Dr. Rankin’s second prong of the plan, he later explained, is to move the Earth using antimatter rockets anchored in Earth’s atmosphere to actually alter the orbit of the planet.

“The change is going to be extremely minimal, and the Earth’s rotational patterns are going to shift less than a quarter of an inch farther from the sun. However, this shift will be enough to lower the average temperature of our planet by two degrees, in order to create a buffer zone to match any further warming.”

Many conservative and religious fundamentalist groups have expressed concern over the action. “Dr. Rankin means well, but the data does not reflect an exponential curve in the warming, but rather a cyclical pattern.” Edgar Orson, of the Christian Science Foundation said. “Such a drastic move as actually altering the Earth’s orbit could have effects that would leave the world reeling, if not destroy it altogether.”

Despite opposition, NATO, the U.N. and E.U. have all agreed to the plan set forth by C4. “These are drastic times, and drastic measures are a requirement for survival,” Secretary General of the United Nations Pyotr Ilyich said Tuesday at an international press meeting in Moscow. “We must act quickly, or be wiped out by the thoughtlessness of our forefathers. Fortune favors those bold enough to step toward victory; without boldness, we are a dead race on a dead world.”

The plan is slated for execution on the first of January, 2021, a scant eight weeks from the date of this writing. Despite the controversy, Dr. Rankin remains convinced the action agreed upon is the best course. “The plan has been adopted quickly because of the enormous amount of testing, calculation, and planning that has gone into its creation. The most brilliant minds in science have gathered behind this plan. I would swear on a god I don’t believe in, this plan is absolutely foolproof. Nothing will go wrong, because nothing can.”

Chapter 1.

            I awoke in Hell.

            If it was Hell, though, it was the Norse hell, where time and bone froze alike, and the damned were forced to wander.

            I opened my eyes and let them adjust to the freezing darkness. I was pinned by something that yielded slightly when I struggled. I pushed hard against my prison, and it shattered like an egg.

            Like a phoenix of ice, I was reborn.

            The darkness was not so complete when I stood, bluish light filtering through the densely indigo air through my shattered apartment windows. A bluish blob the size of my index nail  hung in the darkly blue sky. The moon? The sun?

            I kicked my feet free of the drywall that had fallen and stood next to my collapsed bed. What had happened? I had fallen asleep late last night, perhaps two or three. My uniform for my next shift as a security guard for the munitions plant I worked at was hanging on the door, along with my Glock. The air was bitterly frigid and felt thicker. Whatever had happened had cause some amount of damage, but I couldn’t hear sirens, or even see lights. What time was it? What day was it?

            I dressed in a long sleeve shirt and a thin hoodie, then put my parka over that. Long underwear, jeans, snow pants, a pair of regular socks, and then over those, my thick woolen socks, then my heavy winter boots. It hadn’t had a chance to snow yet here, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I was already feeling numb.

            The door leading out of my apartment was frosted, but after heaving on it it swung in with a crunch. Outside, the situation was even worse than I thought. The city had huge swathes of buildings that had partially collapsed. The metropolitan area of Elysia was huge, stuck in the massive, rolling forests of Missouri. Surrounding the city, small hamlets dotted the woods. Lights were out all over the place, and only here and there a light glowed in Elysia, as far as I could see. A wolf bayed in the distance, and dogs, here and there, barked. Otherwise, there was silence.

            I grabbed my pistol and holster and belted them under my parka. It was going to be dangerous. I knocked on my neighbor’s door. No answer. Mrs. Hamstead was aging, though, and it was possible she was hurt. The door was locked, but a window was unlocked, and I climbed inside. Her house was in even worse shape than mine. Her refrigerator had fallen over, and was lying open, food scattered across the floor. Lights had shattered, and glass glittered everywhere. I stepped gingerly over a picture of her and her grandkids and walked to her bedroom.

            “Mrs. Hamstead?” The small apartment was silent. I pushed the door open and saw that the ceiling had collapsed, but the slight figure in the bed had no debris on her.

            “Mrs. Hamstead, are you okay?” She didn’t stir, and a sick feeling came over me. She was facing away from me, and I stepped forward and shook her.

            “Mrs. Hamstead?” She rolled onto her back, and I felt sick. Where her eyes should be were sockets, and bloody tracks ran down her face. Blood had bubbled from her mouth and stained her flowery nightgown. Her frail body was bruised red and black. I stepped back. She was old, perhaps whatever had knocked down so many buildings had killed her. Even so, I felt ill. She had been kind to me, and her death struck me deeply.