2032 ~ The Fall of Mankind
Alexander Edmund Fortune the Third is definitely not a Hero, but a small band of misfits are convinced that he can lead them in a Hero's cause. Alex is not so sure, but a mysterious visitor in the dead of night will turn his world upside-down . . . Again.
*
I hope you find it possible to enjoy. :)
*Keenan's name has been changed to Garen. Sorry for any confusion!
Chapter 1
Until
Introduction
On the last day of 2031, eight billion people celebrated the dawning of a new year, full of bright futures and endless possibilities, and it had certainly seemed that was how it would be. Resolutions were made, kisses exchanged and statuses updated all over the world. The human race staggered onto January 1st with their heads held high, and everything had felt almost perfect.
Until, on the 21st of April 2032, mankind began falling, fast.
At first, the warning signs were barely noticeable; a few of the banks going bust, smaller businesses closing down – and then disappearing entirely, more and more people being left homeless and jobless. But then, it had gotten even worse.
Along with their wallets, people’s very souls began to be drained of resources, until the majority of mankind was just one giant, ever-functioning machine, which kept the world turning at the cost of its own sanity.
Economies spiralled. Empires hit rock-bottom.
But the technological market had always thrived. The whole population of earth was constantly upgrading, upgrading, upgrading, until – just four years earlier – the latest version of the iPhone had hit the shelves, and not a single one had sold.
Then the mainstream river of Facebook had dwindled down to a pitiful trickle, Twitter was now only used by forgotten, aging pop stars, and MySpace . . . Well, no one over the age of forty had even heard of that.
Investors had brushed all of this off at first. That was, until things had become more serious, and they'd finally realised what was happening.
People had become tired of technology.
But not only that, they had become tired of life in general. The human race had become tired. The technology they had already was no longer keeping them entertained, they wanted more, more, more. More than the companies could possibly provide. The wanted more than they could ever possibly get.
Slowly – all over the world – people began turning off their electronic appliances.
Just smaller things at first, Kindles, iPods, Mac Books . . . but, gradually, the iPads went too, then the Laptops, the Televisions, the iPhones . . .
Until, slowly, in every country and every state, in the very year that the popularity and prevalence of Technology had reached its height – it began to fall; further and faster than anything in the history of human existence.
But at first, no one noticed.
Until Microsoft went, (it was the first to go of course; Windows systems were far outdated) then the Apple franchise followed just a few weeks later. Bill Gates’ gargantuan empire crumbled overnight, and – as if by a doomed, irrepressible flick at a standing line of dominoes – this was the first in a chain reaction that left utterly no one untouched.
With technology – something that had been so enormous a part of everyone’s lives for so long – all but gone, people had no clue on how to spend their spare moments (which everyone found they had a lot of once social media had been brutally discarded).
And people drifted even deeper into their world-weariness.
Something had to be done, but no one knew what. The human race had slipped into a depressed lull of inactivity. Society almost ceased to be. The tweets of forgotten, aging pop stars fell on deaf ears and blind eyes.
A suffocating blanket of deathly stillness wrapped itself tighter and tighter around populated Earth, until it silenced even the iBirds.
Mankind had fallen more swiftly and silently than a ghostly leaf, in a pale, fading forest.
And no one had even realised, until it was too late.
On the last day of 2031, eight billion people celebrated the dawning of a new year, full of bright futures and endless possibilities, and it had certainly seemed that was how it would be. Resolutions were made, kisses exchanged and statuses updated all over the world. The human race staggered onto January 1st with their heads held high, and everything had felt almost perfect.
Until, on the 21st of April 2032, mankind began falling, fast.
At first, the warning signs were barely noticeable; a few of the banks going bust, smaller businesses closing down – and then disappearing entirely, more and more people being left homeless and jobless. But then, it had gotten even worse.
Along with their wallets, people’s very souls began to be drained of resources, until the majority of mankind was just one giant, ever-functioning machine, which kept the world turning at the cost of its own sanity.
Economies spiralled. Empires hit rock-bottom.
But the technological market had always thrived. The whole population of earth was constantly upgrading, upgrading, upgrading, until – just four years earlier – the latest version of the iPhone had hit the shelves, and not a single one had sold.
Then the mainstream river of Facebook had dwindled down to a pitiful trickle, Twitter was now only used by forgotten, aging pop stars, and MySpace . . . Well, no one over the age of forty had even heard of that.
Investors had brushed all of this off at first. That was, until things had become more serious, and they'd finally realised what was happening.
People had become tired of technology.
But not only that, they had become tired of life in general. The human race had become tired. The technology they had already was no longer keeping them entertained, they wanted more, more, more. More than the companies could possibly provide. The wanted more than they could ever possibly get.
Slowly – all over the world – people began turning off their electronic appliances.
Just smaller things at first, Kindles, iPods, Mac Books . . . but, gradually, the iPads went too, then the Laptops, the Televisions, the iPhones . . .
Until, slowly, in every country and every state, in the very year that the popularity and prevalence of Technology had reached its height – it began to fall; further and faster than anything in the history of human existence.
But at first, no one noticed.
Until Microsoft went, (it was the first to go of course; Windows systems were far outdated) then the Apple franchise followed just a few weeks later. Bill Gates’ gargantuan empire crumbled overnight, and – as if by a doomed, irrepressible flick at a standing line of dominoes – this was the first in a chain reaction that left utterly no one untouched.
With technology – something that had been so enormous a part of everyone’s lives for so long – all but gone, people had no clue on how to spend their spare moments (which everyone found they had a lot of once social media had been brutally discarded).
And people drifted even deeper into their world-weariness.
Something had to be done, but no one knew what. The human race had slipped into a depressed lull of inactivity. Society almost ceased to be. The tweets of forgotten, aging pop stars fell on deaf ears and blind eyes.
A suffocating blanket of deathly stillness wrapped itself tighter and tighter around populated Earth, until it silenced even the iBirds.
Mankind had fallen more swiftly and silently than a ghostly leaf, in a pale, fading forest.
And no one had even realised, until it was too late.
70 Comments
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I love this...I really wish you would continue tho...its a bit of a cliff hanger there :) ur such an amazing writer I wanna see the rest of this story :)
I missed this story! Awesome new chapter. You're so creative, it's incredible! The only criticism I can give is that you capitalize the word after a question mark even when it's not necessary (ex: '"Hello?" he asked' would be correct, as 'he asked' and 'hello' are related in this case - see what I mean? I'm horrible at explaining). Either way, you're an awesometastic writer. I love your stories.
This is a really good story!! :D
Keenan. Is. AWESOME XD
XD You're welcome! XD Haha...it's your choice of whatevs. But this sure was really wonderful. It's like the first war story I read on here! XD Nah...epicness is epic. XD
Aaah!! The End!!! I loved it!!! This was awesome! Somehow this line cracked me up :/I want you to trust me, Alexander Edmund Fortune the Third, son of Alexander Edmund Fortune the Second, grandson of Alexander Edmund Fortune the First./ XD
Oh My God, I was like quite angry at Alex for not going with him, but it was all a dream...XD I loved it! Wonderful job!
Thanks so much! Gosh, don't you just love Keenan? lol, I know, I know, I shouldn't obsess over my own characters XD
Lol, I understand! Alex, Alex, Alex, what will we do with you? D:
I'm not sure if I should continue, l don't want it to get cliché if I do, so I'm going to leave it for now and see. . . :D Thanks so much Remi! For reading! For commenting! For being epic! :D
WOW! This is AmAZing!! Pls continue.. :D
Yay, yay, yay!!!! I'm so happy you continued with this :D
Yay! I got a hug! :D
Oh, crap! D: He should've gone with Keenan! Darn you, Alex!
Spiffing new chapter!
You're welcome! Keep it that way! ;)
Oh dear, don't know if I would be able to manage! D:
As I said... er... That's a record. Probably an unbreakable one at that. XD
Oh, Sky. XD