::Technokitty::
technokitty.tumblr.com: September 17, 2013. Of the End, because not much is out there for some reason, and I'm in that sorta mood.
The Beginning
It is difficult to actually determine when it all started. Strange things had been happening for quite a while, and those in charge and involved as still unsure what properly defines a Related Incident, separating it from an Interesting Coincidence. And that isn't counting urban tales. Still, most seem to agree that thirteen years ago is the best starting point, if any. It was, after all, as if something was annoucning that it was here.. One July 21st, 2000, precisely at sunrise, an almost supernatural effect occurred. A mild earthquake, a mild tremor just enough to rattle shelves. It started somewhere in the pacific ocean, then followed the light of the sun's rays, circumventing the planet in a full 24 hour cycle.
The very next day, two hurricanes formed in the upper Atlantic, one surging west to hit Canada's eastern provinces, the other churning east to batter the shores of Europe. Other cases of freak weather came in from around the planet. The frequent influx of natural disasters strained the resources and relationships between nations as they scrambled to take care of themselves while aiding their 'allies.' Within three years, their was a very viable threat of war brewing between several of the more powerful nations.
Mutagens started occurring as well. Naturally occuring fragments of protiens and DNA that somehow triggered major changes in the body in relatively short periods of time. The occurrences were impossible to predict, non-uniform in cause and effect, and just as impossible to prevent. Even those samples kept for study. It's not an infallible agent, only affecting maybe one in five of those exposed, but only 40% survive, and of those, a quarter tend to come out mutated. The mutations are part of what kills victims, as sum changes do not encourage life, and lead to the afflicted death. And it isn't limited to humans. Wildlife, even plants fall victim to it.
A few years into this period, thigs abruptly worsened. The planet itself seemed to get sick an spasm. The poles started inverting, a process that scientists predict will continue for several decades in the least, and their are zone of chaotic magnetic fields throughout the world. Air travel has become risky due to the delicate instruments those field can throw off, the effects of the legendary Bermuda Triangle more or less scattered across the globe. Continental drift kicked into high gear, and the land is changing. Chicago, for one, has drifted almost a mile from the mainland in these few years. New mountain ranges have sprung up, and old ones have receded. Across the land, strange trees people have taken to calling Yggdrasils (or just Drasils) have grown, sometime gaining a dozen or more feet overnight.
With all these changes, societies have been hit hard. Sections of the internet have vanished due to lost servers, a good deal of the wired communication is severed, and the chaotic magnetic field often interferes with cellular and satellite communications. The nations and cities have once again become distanced. The world is wild again. The Larger cities have more or less formed micronations, the countries have become pseudoempires to which these belong.
And yet those cities are often torn apart by inner turmoil. Though the government says they are victims, many see them either as causes or convenient scapegoats. Gangs have taken the opportunity to expand and claim city blocks. Because travel is hard, and supply is limited, many have turned back to human powered transport. Many small scale companies have formed to fill the void formed from the collapse of larger suppliers that can no longer make the vast distances between cities and factories. Many people refuse to stay out too late, as man has once again developed a fear of the night and darkness. Mostly because of the gaunts.
Living Death. That's what the gaunts are. Much like mutants, they are victims of the mutagen. They seem to have some sort of hive mind, and range from the shambling dead many associate with zombies to the lightning fast predators others envision vampires as. From the little published research, it seems that something, whether prion, virus, bacteria, fungus or something entirely new is unclear, kills the sections of the brain required for higher thinking and reason and enhances the baser instincts while directing them. They only seem to kill, feed and reproduce, liking the darkness and avoiding the sun.
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