[xtremelady]

Synopsis: End of the world - short story.

‘It began in 2008, or perhaps even before then’ reflected Keiran with a sigh as his gaze flickered across the landscape. The involuntary movement of checking for possible threats was now a well-developed habit, and one to which he gave little thought anymore Street gangs ruled, and all attempts to create some semblance of an alternative society met with failure; those who attempted to initiate change were reduced to ashes. Keiran doubted any of them would voluntarily surrender their total control.

He could only guess if there had been signs of what was to come before 2008. The common people remained oblivious until they began to feel the effects personally. In 2008 the cost of living finally made them sit up and take note at what was happening in the world. Had the British government taken decisive action in this year perhaps things might have been different. In truth little had panned out the way people had expected.

Some blamed oil for the crash in world economies. Peak oil consumption was the term used; although to this day no one was able to say with certainty this had occurred in 2008. The tightness in supply could just as easily have been OPEC’s decision to create higher prices for their commodity. It seemed the impact caused by climate change was a stronger factor. If peak oil consumption had occurred, it was quickly offset by widespread recession and the increased use of renewable power to combat CO2 levels.

Food prices escalated erratically, but the British people felt they were in an insulated bubble in their rich, developed country, safe – or so they thought – from the starvation prevailing in poorer lands fuelled by the rise in demand for bio fuels. Just as people looked to technology to provide greater quantities of oil, so, too, they looked for developments in a second generation of bio fuel - ones that would not need farmland to grow. Scientists may have accomplished this had they been given the luxury of time. In those days, Kieran expected they would also have found cures for AIDS and aging – given time.

Too much rainfall in some areas and too little in others put a strain on crop production in many nations; strangely, even this did not smother the bio fuel industry Instead, genetically-modified crops prevailed whilst wildlife, butterflies, and bees mainly declined. Alternative technologies were still in some form of development when demand for bio fuels peaked in 2011. This catastrophic event caused their society, which was already in a depression, to finally topple. This happened seemingly overnight, yet in truth it took another eight years to unravel. In 2011, the other nations stopped Exports in food and bio fuels; they simply had no surplus to share, no matter the price offered. The UK was not the only nation to suffer this unfortunate fate; Japan, too, did not produce enough to feed their population.

‘Small comfort’ Keiran thought, his eyes reflecting the grim irony. Meat was the first foodstuff to disappear from the British plate; animals unfortunately produced less food then they consumed, and only the rich could afford the meat from those allowed to graze free-range. But even by appropriating the land used to raise animals towards supplying food for human consumption, it wasn’t enough to sustain a nation of 70 million people. The rising discontent of citizens who were out of work, plagued by hunger, and unable to afford public utilities led to an outbreak of violent rioting. The divide between the wealthy and the poor was, sadly, never more pronounced. The rich were well-fed and comfortable in their warm houses. They had access to health care and medicines, while the masses were starving, their children dying of disease. Scientific research was curtailed due to the depression. Partially constructed nuclear power stations stood abandoned. They would not have been a viable option in any case; the supply of uranium in 2011 was not nearly enough to meet the demand, even with investments in new mines. Oil imports declined alarmingly; Great Britain, the once wealthy nation, could no longer afford the expensive import.

Britain might have crawled out of the stinking hole she now found herself in had the effect not been a worldwide phenomenon. In the end, climate change and overpopulation catalyzed the end of civilization. Democracy died with the collapse of society in 2019, when the poor rose up to destroy the politicians and the wealthy.

No revolutionary movement stood behind the uprising which was in essence comprised of millions of angry, defeated people. No group stood ready to step into power with promises of making things better. Afterwards, many varying fractions would arise, but at the time, the old system was completely destroyed.

The government, which had been an icon of democracy, quickly turned into an oppressive dictatorship. Harsh penalties were levied against those who tried to ease their plight, who illegally cut down trees for firewood to cook food and heat their dwellings because they could not afford electricity. The government forbade them to hunt their own game, yet seemed helpless to do anything about the criminals who were running wild.

He remembered how he had been devastated by losing his children to malnutrition, disease, and the freezing cold of those first brutal winters. Then his wife had been beaten to death by a local gang; and then, one by one, his friends, too, had died. Keiran now believed that they were all better off, for death was inevitable and life unsustainable. He had long since passed the point of despair, and felt only resignation at the ultimate fate of all on the island.

The looted farms lay in an uncultivated wasteland and their promise of being turned once again into viable food production an impossibility. All attempts to start up the farms again had been destroyed by hordes of hungry people. Knowledge of agriculture all but vanished with time All books had been burned for heat back in 2011, when the consequences for such actions were overridden by immediate needs. All animal life, wild and domestic, was wiped out in the quest for food; every tree was harvested, every fish was netted.

The people who still remained seemed to be the only food source. The once great civilization was reduced to a tangle of warring factions; cannibalism and slavery were the order of the day. Their so-called values disintegrated to dust, along with their great ideals, and their arrogance.

Keiran’s stomach churned, reminding him he hadn’t eaten now for five days. Even so he forged on, having little hope and even less recourse except to wait for death. Sometime his anger sustained him, rising from the torment of his inability to do anything, and the memories of what once was and what could have been.

But often his thoughts turned to future societies that would one day visit the island, and how they would perceive the people who once lived here. Would they learn the lesson of their failures? Or would they just repeat them? This society had never learnt the lessons of the past; what had happened on Easter Island never learnt from. The saddest part was the promise offered by his civilization, of great technical advances and the eradication of illness and poverty. If they had only lived within sustainable limits!

The old government was blamed and their failures accredited to their plight, but he rather doubted they could have done much to prevent it. In 2008 there were already too many people in the world to sustain them all.

Keiran laughed bitterly, remembering when people in the past always referred to Africa and China when discussing overpopulation. How short sighted they were back then, how little thought was put into the reasons we managed to feed our own and why they appeared to be sustainable. How quickly their system would topple if the trade they relied on was cut off.

Starvation would take him soon; he just hoped it would be sooner than later. A release to the pain the suffering and memories....

***

“What did I tell you, eh? Keiran ...one heck of a great game, eh?” His friend nudged him, clearly expecting a response.

Keiran slowly removed his head gear, purposely ignoring Sam’s urgings for feedback. “I need a drink,”

“Yeah, I felt like that the first time,”

Keiran closed his eyes. “Damn realistic, those issues are real, Sam!”

“Well that’s the beauty, isn’t it? Each scenario begins in the present and follows different paths...that one is one of the worst,” Sam grinned, reaching for another disk as if to illustrate his point.

“That one was enough – jeeze, Sam, people could believe this will happen – hell, it could bloody well happen.” Keiran couldn’t believe that this thought provoked no terror within his friend.

Sam, who appeared to love his reaction, offered him the disk he held. “Try this one.”

Perplexed, he stared at the disk Sam held with scepticism.

“Trust me, you will like this one; right up your alley with its utopian overtones.”

Keiran reluctantly took it. “First that drink.”

***

Sam had been right; he much preferred the next scenario, so much so the horror of the first was soon forgotten, along with the message it offered. After all “Pessimistic Outlook 2008” was just a game.

[Vorcla]

Nicely done, Claire. Nice little twist at the end; after all the darkness and hopelessness, it's only a game. What's chilling, though, is how quickly they forget the lesson that was taught!

[xtremelady]

thank you very much Rick, and for your hard work in editing and also for all your help with this story - without you wouldn’t have been readable

[Peppy]

I like the rant-tone of the story. The best stories, to me, are the ones that over-exaggerate on the details, makes them seem more real and plausible. (No wonder we have politicans.) A pessimistic outlook indeed. I don't think it would have been any good if it didn't sound like ranting.

I have to say, it was well-written (or well-editted). "Spot on" is what I think a British would say.

Hmmmmm...

The ending, well, made it worth while to finsih. It makes me think.

The involuntary movement of checking for possible threats was now a well-developed habit, and one to which he gave little thought anymore

Knowledge of agriculture all but vanished with time

You forgot your periods.