BroccoliRiceTofu on Nostr: THE REUNION OF DARKNESS Chapter IX. It was 2026, the pandemic which had sheltered ...
THE REUNION OF DARKNESS
Chapter IX.
It was 2026, the pandemic which had sheltered society had passed; but the isolation remained. As more people shifted into virtual relationships over real ones, Clout became your social status. The amount of followers and likes you had, controlled the amount of overall influence and the amount of reach you could maintain.
The world at this point had become a mono-culture. The days of the cliques were gone. No more jocks, cheerleaders, punks, or goths roaming the halls of the local mall. Buckley felt as if he was lost in how he fit in. He still had the drive to be unique in an un-unique world. The normal order of society that he grew up in was gone. This division and generational gap created a huge divided government.
All facets of the government were now controlled by the single dominating party, the New Era. This party controlled the investigative, legislative and judicial functions of society.
The change in the young created the highest ‘on-demand’ mentality ever seen. Patience and anticipation was gone. Anything that went viral, was shared on social media for no more than 12 minutes, received 200 million shares, and dissipated just as fast as it had been written. Just as quickly as it was gone, the new & relatively more important news of that day had been shared …a ‘celebrity boob slip.’ This was what the world had now become.
Buckley, who was still one of th few who didn’t subscribe to the traditional social news channels, came upon this forgotten story online. It read of an underground army that was being persecuted by the New Era for treason. This group was suspected of forming an alliance with other fraternities, including factions in Europe. The call sign to other members was the distinct red shoes. This sign was a direct homage to the Pope, and to symbolize ‘truth in the blood of Christ.’ The undercurrent for fear of revolution was worldwide, and any challenge to the power of the New Era was publically destroyed.
The red shoe army was now leading the fight on behalf of the people, implementing data leaks onto social media platforms in order to expose the dangers if things continued. The New Era knew how powerful this gorilla tactic was, since they saw their own rise to power mirrored in these activities.
Buckley is driving home along Pena Blvd, when the emergency broadcast signal comes on. The announcement included details of the immediate food & water shortage. Rations were being implemented, and fear engulfed Buckley’s mind as he thought about his family.
These thoughts quickly dissipated as 13 black sedans went racing past him, followed by a police escort. The group was racing to the airport. The final vehicle in the bunch had a presidential logo on the door, and flags on the hood. Buckley thought it was odd to see the president coming to Denver. But the immediate traffic stoppage pulled his attention elsewhere.
After the drive home took an extra hour due to the road closures, Buckley decided to head to the store. By the time he got there, things were already getting out of hand. The parking lot was a zoo, cars in every direction.
As he entered the store, the shelves were nearly empty; and those that had food were being grabbed as fast as the eye could see. Quickly the energy shifted in the store, and caused fighting in the aisles. All this immediately came to a screeching halt, when a gunshot was heard outside of the store. Three masked men killed a lady over a bag of groceries. Buckley needed to get out of here and go home.
When Buckley got home, he turned on the TV to show his wife what was happening. The red flash across the screen let them know breaking news was just coming in. The president was having a news conference. All the stations and channels were overrun by the same event. The President was live from an ‘undisclosed’ location. It looked like something out of a James Bond movie. The corridor behind him was all cement. The flags standing next to him barely covered the fully armed military guards in the distance. The announcement was clear. Due to the serious allegations and potential revolution, the New Era did not feel it was safe to import goods. The supply of goods that could aid in these events was to be cut off.
The New Era then suggested that individuals stay home at this point, and rations would be provided to your door within the next few days. ‘Stay safe, and we will protect you,’ they continued. Scrolling across the bottom of the screen ran a 1-800 number to call in any suspicious activities. Citizens were instructed to call if they noticed individuals that were acting or if they said something troubling. The reports were urged as a way to shorten the length of time the actions would occur. This would help prevent elongated shortages, they explained, allowing resources to be allocated swiftly until the threat had dissipated. The terms of the declarations also stated, ‘due to the high stress of these times, and allocation of law enforcement, they would no longer be fighting the ‘war on drugs.’’ This included those little yellow pills, which now had the street name ‘hornets.’ The resources that were needed to fight this war on drugs quickly went to providing daily essentials. Hornets became an immediate way to help those under extreme stress.
Within a couple days, there was a ring at Buckley’s door. It was a box with water, food, medical supplies and more. As he stepped outside to get the box, he noticed that it was much chillier than usual for the start of the summer season. ‘It also should not be this dark this early’ he thought to himself. Buckley decided to search online to find out what was going on.
In the news, near the bottom of the website, there was a small article about the core of the Earth. Buckley learned that the Earth goes through cycles, including the core of the Earth. Currently the core is slowing down compared to prior years, and occurred every 72 years. The article then stated that the magnetic field of the Earth, caused by the rotation, could potentially alter the earth's tilt. The magnetic field is vital in the protection from the sun's radiation. Buckley quickly dismissed this article, thinking to himself, ‘I'm sure this is just some quack study.’
That night Buckley couldn't sleep at all. He went downstairs and took some medicine to help him finally rest. Once he laid back down, he began to drift off. It was about 1:30 in the morning when once again the night terrors began. He knew that he was dreaming but he could see his room. He couldn't move his body yet his eyes were open. He could look around but he felt paralyzed, could not breathe, and once again this night paralysis would put him in a state of shock. He could barely move his fingers, even with all the energy in his body. His hands were cramping worse than had happened in as long as he could remember. Buckley lifts his hands up, trying to shake off the feeling of electric shock in his nerves, and sees blood dripping from his wrist. His hand was so tight he couldn't open his fist, so he took his left hand and tried to pry open his right hand. With his left hand twisting and digging into his palms, he was stunned at the sight of blood on his left wrist as well. Finally his hands opened and he was able to get a large breath of air. Buckly sat up in bed and realized everything was fine.
Chapter IX.
It was 2026, the pandemic which had sheltered society had passed; but the isolation remained. As more people shifted into virtual relationships over real ones, Clout became your social status. The amount of followers and likes you had, controlled the amount of overall influence and the amount of reach you could maintain.
The world at this point had become a mono-culture. The days of the cliques were gone. No more jocks, cheerleaders, punks, or goths roaming the halls of the local mall. Buckley felt as if he was lost in how he fit in. He still had the drive to be unique in an un-unique world. The normal order of society that he grew up in was gone. This division and generational gap created a huge divided government.
All facets of the government were now controlled by the single dominating party, the New Era. This party controlled the investigative, legislative and judicial functions of society.
The change in the young created the highest ‘on-demand’ mentality ever seen. Patience and anticipation was gone. Anything that went viral, was shared on social media for no more than 12 minutes, received 200 million shares, and dissipated just as fast as it had been written. Just as quickly as it was gone, the new & relatively more important news of that day had been shared …a ‘celebrity boob slip.’ This was what the world had now become.
Buckley, who was still one of th few who didn’t subscribe to the traditional social news channels, came upon this forgotten story online. It read of an underground army that was being persecuted by the New Era for treason. This group was suspected of forming an alliance with other fraternities, including factions in Europe. The call sign to other members was the distinct red shoes. This sign was a direct homage to the Pope, and to symbolize ‘truth in the blood of Christ.’ The undercurrent for fear of revolution was worldwide, and any challenge to the power of the New Era was publically destroyed.
The red shoe army was now leading the fight on behalf of the people, implementing data leaks onto social media platforms in order to expose the dangers if things continued. The New Era knew how powerful this gorilla tactic was, since they saw their own rise to power mirrored in these activities.
Buckley is driving home along Pena Blvd, when the emergency broadcast signal comes on. The announcement included details of the immediate food & water shortage. Rations were being implemented, and fear engulfed Buckley’s mind as he thought about his family.
These thoughts quickly dissipated as 13 black sedans went racing past him, followed by a police escort. The group was racing to the airport. The final vehicle in the bunch had a presidential logo on the door, and flags on the hood. Buckley thought it was odd to see the president coming to Denver. But the immediate traffic stoppage pulled his attention elsewhere.
After the drive home took an extra hour due to the road closures, Buckley decided to head to the store. By the time he got there, things were already getting out of hand. The parking lot was a zoo, cars in every direction.
As he entered the store, the shelves were nearly empty; and those that had food were being grabbed as fast as the eye could see. Quickly the energy shifted in the store, and caused fighting in the aisles. All this immediately came to a screeching halt, when a gunshot was heard outside of the store. Three masked men killed a lady over a bag of groceries. Buckley needed to get out of here and go home.
When Buckley got home, he turned on the TV to show his wife what was happening. The red flash across the screen let them know breaking news was just coming in. The president was having a news conference. All the stations and channels were overrun by the same event. The President was live from an ‘undisclosed’ location. It looked like something out of a James Bond movie. The corridor behind him was all cement. The flags standing next to him barely covered the fully armed military guards in the distance. The announcement was clear. Due to the serious allegations and potential revolution, the New Era did not feel it was safe to import goods. The supply of goods that could aid in these events was to be cut off.
The New Era then suggested that individuals stay home at this point, and rations would be provided to your door within the next few days. ‘Stay safe, and we will protect you,’ they continued. Scrolling across the bottom of the screen ran a 1-800 number to call in any suspicious activities. Citizens were instructed to call if they noticed individuals that were acting or if they said something troubling. The reports were urged as a way to shorten the length of time the actions would occur. This would help prevent elongated shortages, they explained, allowing resources to be allocated swiftly until the threat had dissipated. The terms of the declarations also stated, ‘due to the high stress of these times, and allocation of law enforcement, they would no longer be fighting the ‘war on drugs.’’ This included those little yellow pills, which now had the street name ‘hornets.’ The resources that were needed to fight this war on drugs quickly went to providing daily essentials. Hornets became an immediate way to help those under extreme stress.
Within a couple days, there was a ring at Buckley’s door. It was a box with water, food, medical supplies and more. As he stepped outside to get the box, he noticed that it was much chillier than usual for the start of the summer season. ‘It also should not be this dark this early’ he thought to himself. Buckley decided to search online to find out what was going on.
In the news, near the bottom of the website, there was a small article about the core of the Earth. Buckley learned that the Earth goes through cycles, including the core of the Earth. Currently the core is slowing down compared to prior years, and occurred every 72 years. The article then stated that the magnetic field of the Earth, caused by the rotation, could potentially alter the earth's tilt. The magnetic field is vital in the protection from the sun's radiation. Buckley quickly dismissed this article, thinking to himself, ‘I'm sure this is just some quack study.’
That night Buckley couldn't sleep at all. He went downstairs and took some medicine to help him finally rest. Once he laid back down, he began to drift off. It was about 1:30 in the morning when once again the night terrors began. He knew that he was dreaming but he could see his room. He couldn't move his body yet his eyes were open. He could look around but he felt paralyzed, could not breathe, and once again this night paralysis would put him in a state of shock. He could barely move his fingers, even with all the energy in his body. His hands were cramping worse than had happened in as long as he could remember. Buckley lifts his hands up, trying to shake off the feeling of electric shock in his nerves, and sees blood dripping from his wrist. His hand was so tight he couldn't open his fist, so he took his left hand and tried to pry open his right hand. With his left hand twisting and digging into his palms, he was stunned at the sight of blood on his left wrist as well. Finally his hands opened and he was able to get a large breath of air. Buckly sat up in bed and realized everything was fine.