12 July 2012
Hey all. I've been working on this idea for a little while now, call it a pet project. Anyway, I had been writing it as episodes before I joined Opuss, which I shared on my site. Then it hit me, it is perfect for Opuss and so I want to share it here too. New World started as a writing experiment and to be honest the plot isn't totally complete, any comments are welcome :-). On that note enjoy...
PROLOGUE
“...humanities desire is like an empty bucket that can never be filled.” --Chancellor of the Radiant Order 2130
This is a tale of woe, despair, struggle and love... A tale of two young men gripped in the eternal struggle that is to be, driven by the ebbs and flow of existence. It is a time far in the future, but not so far as to be beyond the sight of those who can see. Humanity had completely colonised their Home Planet, Earth. Like a parasite, they consumed every available land and caused a pox on the entity they called their home. Foulness from the pollutants in the seas and in the air, as they recklessly disposed their waste. Their overwhelming numbers provided an overwhelming drain. Such that, the planet was left with the cumbersome task of recycling these unsustainable products of its inhabitants. Humanity discovered the promise of space exploration; they sought to escape their demise by colonising their neighbour Planet, Mars. And so it was that Humanity began terra-forming Mars, setting up colonies on well chosen parts of the Planet. The Moon did not escape the expansion of Man, as its surface was peppered with bases, which represented different national and political powers; the corporations of course, were not forgotten. The race grew and grew apart as the divide between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-not’ widened. They advanced their technology and revelled in their own ability forgetting completely the Father of Beginnings, the Lord of Spirits, Infinite Eternal... My creator. I am known as The Watcher and I bear witness to their actions. They missed the time of their eternal growth and forgot the spirit, even as I watched others come to them, to warn them of their plight... Alas, it fell on deaf ears. So it came to pass that the Earth spirit, Terra, mourned and cried out to her Father, and he to his Father until the Father of Beginnings heard their plea. Greatly saddened by the works of his children, he gave Terra permission to heal herself. There was a great laugh from a voice long forgotten by Humanity; the Lord of Chaos, for it was he who hardened the Human heart and tarnished their glory. It came to pass that Terra released her physical elements; water, wind, fire and the crust itself, and rejected Humanity. There were those that came from far away, to aid a few of their Human cousins and provide them shelter from their Armageddon; they were taken to join the settlers on Mars, while others after getting warning from their scientific equipment made haste and prepared. They built six great Arks for the six worlds inhabiting the Planet. For nine months they suffered the grief of the Planet, while their creations the AI, had long since left the Planet to begin a life in space. Terra raged and the mother Earth killed over three parts of four of her inhabitants, with less than one part in one hundred of Humanity surviving. When it was done, the Winds stilled and the crust settled, the fire from within ceased to erupt and the waters receded. All was quiet and Humanity survived its destruction, if only barely. Behold, they witnessed the end of civilisation as they knew it. All this I witnessed, even as those on Mars witnessed... The old world had changed but that was now gone and a new one had begun.
This tale begins on the single continent that all tribes of man settled upon. The Humans believed all other continents to be submerged, besides this one and so it was here they chose to rebuild their society. I sent a part of my awareness within their midst and what I saw saddened me. However, as I looked, I saw two individuals and within them the spark, and they began on an unusual journey. Their names were Samson and Eli and they are blessed.
© 2010 by Pthasse Amadeus
New World: Prologue • Opuss № I