The New World

Flash Fiction

Chapter 1: Global Meltdown
By Joep Derksen

It is 1 January in the year 1. The date should be Saturday 22 December 2012. But, the ancient Maya were right. Life as we knew it had changed completely on Friday 21 December 2012. The long count calendar came to an end, as did the magnetic fields of the planet. As a result, all electrical possibilities came to a complete halt.

It was called a true global meltdown. For reasons scientists did not understand, it was no longer possible to create electricity. All power plants, nuclear or otherwise, became useless in an instant. Anything working on electricity no longer functioned. Television, radio, light, heating, cooking utensils - it all became obsolete and the world was forced to live in circumstances reminiscent of the Middle Ages.

The first day of a new era started positively. It was the first day in history that World Peace had come. Weapon production had stopped altogether, as had military forces and rebel groups. Global communication methods had stopped and telephone and wire communication were impossible. Without it, no one dared to start fighting and peace was all around. It was the first and last day of world peace, as soon food fights would start all over the globe.

In the western world, people’s food was fast rotting without the aid of refrigeration. Having no information whatsoever on what was going on and how long the power cut would last, men, women and children went to stores seeking canned foods and bottled drinks. A vast majority of the stores remained closed, however, since the automatic doors could only open electrically. Soon, people took matters into their own hands. They smashed shop windows in New York, London and Tokyo. Within hours, all food and non-food items had vanished. Police forces were powerless; they had no means to organise themselves and could not stop the looting.

As it became clear that the power cuts were going to last a long time, the situation grew worse all over the world. Food was growing scares, and families in Europe, Asia and the North American continent had to survive winter’s cold with a few candles and a couple of blankets. The thin layer of civilisation, which people are presumed to possess, was washed away in a few days time. People not only roamed the streets to obtain whatever possession they could get, they also armed themselves against other looters. First they brandished hockey sticks, baseball bats and knives, but soon they evolved in gun-wearing criminals.

Mafia organisations in Europe, religious groups in the Middle East and Northern Africa, Chinese triads and fanatic groups in the US soon realised this was their chance to seize power. They gathered their followers, members and volunteers and ordered them to guard the remaining warehouses and storage unites. In return for loyalty, citizens were given basic food supplies and necessities. The old government representatives were powerless. En mass, military staff returned to their families and offered their services - and weapons - to the food supplying organisations.

Before long, the death toll began to rise. Not only from starvation and violence, but also the return of old diseases. It was no longer possible to protect children from malaria or typhus, as vaccines required refrigeration. The child mortality rate increased in Africa and Asia as well as in the so-called first world. Burials were a second thought, and bodies were dumped in mass graves or burned. However, a sinister development grew out of the death toll: human meat as food. The flesh of dead people was being sold. No, not for money. That system was useless. Paper money was used to light the flames that kept houses warm. Human meat was sold for blankets, knives or guns: those items were the new gold in the year 1.

The delirium of hunger and distress appeared at Patience’s door. The 12-years-old played idly upstairs, oblivious to the five ravished gang members who entered her home. They were looking for food, but they found Patience’s father. He did not suffer: two bullets in the head and one in the heart ended his life quickly. Her mother was not so lucky.

Clueless to the massacre, Patience came downstairs to find she was an orphan. Alone and scared, but not without a will to survive, she packed a bag and left her house. She remembered hearing from her parents that the only hope for the future was in Africa. The far away continent had a decades-long history of food shortages and faulty infrastructure. In this new world without electrical facilities, nothing was changed for these villagers. They continued to live their lives and prosper, even amid the death and violence.

Patience ran to the place her father used to take her to watch incoming boats. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she ran as fast as she could until she finally arrived face to face with the Iron Maiden. Patience did not think twice. She hopped on the boat and immediately began searching for a place to hide. Finding nothing but a discarded heap she sat still and listened.

Just then, a crew of men appeared. “There will be no electricity. We have tried everything, but failed. There is nothing left but death and mayhem in this country,” said one of the men before he stopped. Looking directly at Patience, he bent to lift the meagre covering over her hiding place. “Look here, a stowaway,” he said. Pulling her to her feet. “We are sailing to Africa, little girl. Do you want to join?” Patience didn’t hesitate. “I don’t want to go back home.”

Published in: The Holland Times, edition: March 2012.