M. Banner - Stone Age

Do not drive your truck or my Jeep around. It will be one of the few vehicles that work because it uses a points ignition system. The first bad guy that hears you coming will shoot you dead to take your vehicle. This should be held for an emergency only. If the house is overrun, and you can escape, I have provided you with a map so you can go to a place I have secured for you in Colorado. You’ll find these instructions in the leather book, including the notes of its original owner, my great, great, grandfather, Russell P. Thompson III.

I don’t know exactly what the future holds, but I suspect that the power will not go back on in our lifetimes. That is because I believe the CMEs will continue for years and years, and our magnetosphere which has protected us so far is breaking down, allowing more of the damaging plasma to get through and continue to induce electromagnetic waves throughout our atmosphere: This is what screws up our radio, internet, and solid-state circuitry. Additionally, you’ll need to watch out for radiation and UV light from the sun, which will be many times as intense as it is now. I suspect you will see a rapid increase in skin cancer on those who survive the first year. Cover up when you’re outside.

I won’t lie to you. The life you will now live will be the hardest you have ever experienced. But, you should be able to survive with what I left you. I have faith in you, your abilities, and your love for each other.

I lost my faith when I went to war and had to kill people for my country. The cause was right, but I started to doubt God’s existence, and about whether we are anything more than ants to a creator. Your family has brought me hope and love, and with it, the faith that I lost so many years ago.

I pray that you strive to persevere, even when you will want to give up, that you support one another, and that your love for one another grows. Most of all, survive, for me.

I pray that I will see you again during this life. However, if I don’t, I pray that it will be long before we meet again on the other side of death.

God’s peace.

The reflection of a solitary figure grew in the polished glass of CMERI’s front door. A man with features wrinkled from a lifetime of too little sleep, crowned by gray hair and a fedora, sporting a full grey beard more common to men of a century ago, stopped arm’s length from the handle. Pulling a single page and masking tape from a leather saddle bag he wore like a backpack, he quickly pasted the page to the door and stepped back. He considered his immediate work and its message. Then he gazed admiringly at his lifetime of work, represented by this building. He would probably never see his building again. A lifetime of work was completed. Now time to move on to his next two jobs: surviving and getting to Cicada.

He turned and walked with purpose to a recumbent delta trike parked in the middle of the complex’s private driveway. There was no fear of blocking traffic that would never come again. He mounted the seat and pulled down on the fedora’s brim, to keep the winds from taking it. Pushing forward he began his next journey, the long pedal of over five hundred miles from Salt Lake City to Boulder, Colorado. He was thankful the world ended during the summer.

The page taken from his stationary at home usually carried a Trebuchet font. On this one, he had written by hand in careful block writing.

From the Desk of Dr. Carrington Reid

THE END HAS ARRIVED. ALTHOUGH I HAVE BEEN PREDICTING THIS DAY WOULD COME, EVEN I WAS UNPREPARED COMPLETELY FOR ITS ARRIVAL.

WE EXPERIENCED A WORLDWIDE MULTIPLE CME EVENT. OUR SERVERS, AND WE BELIEVE, EVERY COMPUTER IN THE WORLD, EVEN THOSE WHICH WERE PROTECTED, HAVE BEEN DISABLED OR DESTROYED. ALL ELECTRONICS, INCLUDING ALL SENSORS AND TESTING EQUIPMENT HAVE BEEN RENDERED INERT.

CMERI’S EXISTANCE SERVES NO FURTHER UTILITY, SO WE HAVE CLOSED INDEFINITELY AND HAVE LEFT TO BE WITH OUR FAMILIES.

MOST SCIENTISTS, LIKE ME, ARE OUT OF A JOB. THE SKILLS WE LEARNED ARE NO LONGER NEEDED IN THIS WORLD. I WISH I KNEW HOW TO FARM OR HUNT. IT MAY BE AT LEAST A GENERATION OR TWO, BEFORE WE CAN START USING 21ST CENTURY TECHNOLOGY AGAIN.

I AM GOING TO TRY TO MAKE IT TO COLORADO, TO AN EXISTING COMMUNITY OF HAND CHOSEN INDIVIDUALS WHOM I BELIEVE WILL HAVE THE RESOURCES AND KNOWLEDGE TO REBUILD OUR SOCIETY.

IF ANYONE READS THIS, I’M SORRY I DIDN’T DO MORE TO WARN MORE PEOPLE TO PREPARE. I TRIED.

GOD BE WITH US ALL,

The auroras were gone for a full day now and it was dark out. The first total darkness they had experienced since the auroras started. The sky was a carpet of stars and nothing else. The length of the beach, usually lit up like a Christmas tree in December, was as dark as the night. They could still hear occasional gunfire, but it was otherwise silent.

The Kings were careful not to turn on or use any electronic devices, in case there were any induced currents lurking around. Before plugging anything into the house’s electrical line, Bill used a current tester to test the line: Nothing. Although Max warned them that their solar panels would be slightly degraded because of the solar storms, he said they should work, if the storms passed. However, it was dark now, and the panels would provide no help for the next test. Feeling safe, Bill pulled the batteries stored in their safe room and connected them in parallel to the incoming line from the solar panel’s control box. Max said they had been fully charged a month ago, so they should still be holding a charge. The other batteries hooked up to the system during the Event were already fried.

They each plugged in a couple of lights around the house. Lisa and Sally stopped in the kitchen, lit by candlelight, they held their collective breaths and both had their arms out and fingers crossed, with expectant expressions on their faces. Bill walked outside to the circuit panel, just outside their patio door. There was nothing more to be said, so Bill flipped the switch.

The lights flickered, and then they turned on.

Like a beacon of an old lighthouse casting it’s light out to sea, the light from their house cut through the blanket of darkness inside and out, sending beams of brightness seemingly everywhere.

All the Kings yelled in excitement, jumping up and down, and holding onto each other.

Bill was ecstatic. This was it. Maybe many lives would eventually go back to some sort of normal. Maybe it wasn’t going to be as bad as Max had told them.

Air conditioning. Computers. Cold beer.

It might take a long time to restore what was lost, and undoubtedly many will still die, but maybe, just maybe, it would be something like what they had before.

Bill kissed Lisa, knowing she had similar thoughts.

The lights blinked. Then they flickered. Then they went out, this time for good.

They all stopped just as abruptly, frozen in place, afraid to move an inch.

They waited.

There was silence and stillness all around them. Even the waves barely moved. It was a quiet that seemed unfamiliar.

Two of the lights they had just plugged in popped, their bulbs exploding outward. This sudden noise startled all three of them, especially Bill who was standing closest to one of the two.

Then they heard something, a strange noise coming from the distance. With the noise came a bluish light, then more orange-like, and now green. This light, along with the noise, was coming from outside the house.