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The Fall of a Civilization #1

Chapter 1: What went wrong?

By Hardik JagtapPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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Hello Vocal users,

I have decided to publish a chapter 1 of a story I am writing on here! I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: What went wrong?

The wind was cold against the young boy's face as he gripped the old man's wrinkly hand tighter. The snow under their feet crunched as the Sun slowly began dipping over the distant horizon. "Boy", wheezed the old man under his breath. Air slowly came out of his mouth as if it were escaping. "Get the sphere out now." The young boy rumbled his hands in his heavy backpack and pulled out a silver, spherical object. "Build it," grumbled the man as he observed the young boy. As the boy brought his hand out, the old man whacked it with a snap! "Akash! What did I tell you? You have to look around! Observe your surroundings! What if there were any of those savages waiting for us to enter?"

"S-sorry!" mumbled Akash as he shivered in fear. He quickly peered around like a meerkat, seeking for any intruders.

"No use now! We would already be dead! I already checked before because I knew you would forget! Now hurry up and rebuild our house! It's far too cold for me here!"

"Y-yes, Doctor." Akash held the sphere in his hand in front of him.

"Now," said the Doctor in a calmer tone . "Think, think carefully. Remember our beautiful tall house. Remember our laboratory." A holographic layout slowly began constructing in front of the two. The Sphere could only construct so much at once. Although this was the case, what you could build was only restricted to your own imagination. In this case, Akash was building their original home. Slowly, features began adding on. A wall, a floor and slowly, a laboratory! After about a few minutes of standing and shivering in the cold, a fully constructed mansion formed in the midst of the tundra desert. "Hmm, not bad," grumbled the Doctor. Akash's face lit up as they both entered the tall house and unpacked their belongings, resting after their long travel.

As the Moon progressed through the night sky, the Doctor pulled out a small, wooden chair and took it to the front porch. The Doctor was a very old man who had seen a lot throughout his life. He had witnessed first hand the fall of humanity and all the aftermath that followed. He was a tall man with blue glistening eyes like the ocean. His hair was of a blonde colour but looked as if they were burnt with a crispy texture. He always wore a red checkered shirt and brown khaki pants. Akash on the other hand was a very young boy. The Doctor found him when he was in his youth, around five decades after The Collapse occurred. Akash came from an Indian heritage. His parents whereabouts were unknown when the Doctor found him. Ever since he could remember, Akash was trained to combat the savages and live, learning how to use technology to his advantage, although he was still learning a lot. He had dark smooth hair and mystical brown eyes. He was also quite sturdy and smart for his age.

Akash peered through one of the many the window as he saw the Doctor sitting on his porch, looking as lonely as ever gazing at the beautiful night sky.

"If you are going to stare at me like that, please do so with my knowledge," mumbled the Doctor. "Come here, sit down with me. It's been a while since we had a chat." Akash grabbed the closest chair to him and walked towards the old man. "You know Akash, the world was a beautiful place before The Collapse. Our civilization had control over the entire Earth's energy! We had massive buildings and flying vehicles! Amazing isn't it? All this power..." The Doctor paused for a moment, indulging in his own thoughts and memories. "But it all this prosperity came to a halt when we ran out of fuel."

"What do you mean? How can we run out of fuel?" questioned Akash. "What about solar panels? Hydro-energy even?"

"Good question Akash. Our society advanced so much that even if we covered the entire surface of Earth with solar panels, they would barely be enough to power up a few buildings. Combing hydro and wind energy, they would have been lucky to power up a city."

"What happened next?" Akash now sat up with curiosity, looking at the Doctor.

"Well, everything collapsed from then. Firstly, war was inevitable. Countries fought with countries for power simply to keep themselves from dying, marking the day of The Collapse. After many deaths and countless wars, the world population depleted. Most of the world leaders started to take off and only care for themselves. Ever since the day of The Collapse, it was every man for themselves. Now look at us." The Doctor began chuckling but a hint of sadness was still there, lingering in his speech. "We are just stuck with these toys and a bunch of lunatics running around in madness, simply looking for a way to live." He looked at the sphere and pointed towards the backpack.

Akash looked at the distance with awe. He felt lucky to be even alive in this hellish world. From the distance, abandoned buildings were still visible and so were the numerous sky rails that once held mighty vehicles. Akash only heard of these stories from The Doctor. He never had the chance to see it for himself. All of a sudden, something peculiar caught his eye. Something moving in the distance? No, something running! No. Someone running. A savage.

science fiction
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