The
Crumbling |
The prophets of old predicted the end of this age would be preceded by the appearance of many fiery objects in the sky. And so it came to be. From the cosmos, streaking comets and meteors adorned the night sky, beautiful and jewel-like. But for many this was a terrifying beauty. Within religious groups, people hung their heads in submissive dread. Others, more optimistic and convinced of their purity, looked skyward anticipating deliverance through ascension.
Public penance became commonplace, and many of the rich surrendered their wealth. Spiritual fanaticism flared, stimulated by prophecy, spectacle, and proclamations of heavenly visitations. At the other end of the spectrum, inner fear of impending doom fostered the extremes of murder and suicide.
Among the flamboyant and frivolous, skywatching became the vogue. Commercial aircraft, refitted with special viewing ports, ferried the rich to high-altitude viewing of the cosmic extravaganza. Books and songs dramatized the events. Clothing and fashion designers, makers of movies, and toys, all found inspiration in the celestial show.
The scientific world, entirely enraptured, fired rockets to sample the wakes of the interstellar objects. Data fed computers hummed and produced information faster than it could be read.
On earth, the long occurring and gradual phenomena of global warming suddenly surged. The band of heat normal to equatorial earth expanded north and south into the major food producing temperate zones. The sterilizing effect of the winter freeze was compromised. Crops endured assaults of insect blooms and disease infestations. Food became the major issue when humanity experienced its first worldwide crop failure. The majority of cultivated food plants, of similar hybrid types, lacked diversity, which amplified worldwide vulnerability. Starvation touched every continent.
The earth's hot places blistered and cracked in the increasing heat. From within, it rumbled and groaned with terrifying frequency. In California, a long series of closely spaced moderate quakes reduced most major cities to a pile of rubble.
The state's manmade dams crumbled and released rivers that rampaged through towns and cities. Unchallenged fires raged, fed by broken fuel lines and spewing oil wells. The wild lands of brush and forest burned. Of the heroic and desperate who ventured into the smoke and rubble, few returned.
California was not alone in the devastation. Similar disasters occurred worldwide. Large cities suffered the most. Panic and confusion raged. Hospitals ceased functioning, and the sick had to fend for themselves. Law enforcement dissipated into self-defense. Collapse, collapse, collapse.
Where the rains did fall, they were ponderous. Rivers broadened, lakes expanded to seas, and the polar ice shrunk. In Antarctica, a large portion of the western ice slope slid into the sea. Ocean levels rose dramatically evoking coastal flooding. Collapse, collapse, collapse. |
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