Children of Sun - The Gift

Chapter 5- Escape from New Tokyo, 2042 AD

Almost two decades passed after the Great Reset - an event that affected every human being on Earth.

Most people perceive an alien artifact that landed quietly in Europe's mountain range as a scientific curiosity. After a few weeks of inactivity, it started expanding the force field. It looked like a giant soap bubble with altered law of physics inside it.

Had been perceived as a danger - the military attempted to solve this problem by detonating a nuclear charge. It didn't go according to plan. The artifact contained the explosion with a superstrong EMP to follow, burning power lines and transformers, causing long-lasting power outages worldwide.

It was the final straw to break a world economy. Like most Europe and Japan, some nations survive the impact better than others.
North America took the heaviest hit, returning to early settlers style economy in rural areas. The first five years were the most challenging. Governments fell, and dark forces with food and energy in short supply took over.

Most people were absolutely unprepared for this. It took less than a year and a cold winter for a population to shrink below ten percent of what it used to be—those who survived adopted an unhealthy mix of dystopian chaos and cyberpunk lifestyle.

Except for several largest cities, the urban regions became deserted. A few surviving megacorporations, military, and police morphed into gated communities, cutting downtowns into areas of influence. Like miniature authoritarian states, each established its own rules for the majority and privileges for a few.

Some had escaped that sad land America had become. Max was one of the lucky ones.

After surviving the post "Great Reset" chaos, he was still alive and relatively well. It took him over three years to slowly drift to the west coast near the port of Los Angeles.

One of the rules of survival was "do not move too much around unless it is necessary." Soon, Max found a gig job and found shelter in a giant warehouse nearby. Every day he rented the same sleeping corner, spending nights quietly among other unassuming people.

After two more years, using his security and asset protection expertise for hire, Max accumulated a few ounces of silver - just enough to cross the ocean. He managed to get on board FTV - "The Fortified Transport Vehicle." It was the re-purposed cruiser-a mean-looking type warship. The whole purpose was to intimidate and scare away any potential adversary. She was sailing to Japan through the pirate-infested waters of the Pacific Ocean. Although the ship cargo bay was full of merchandise, the trip was quiet - nobody dared to get close to an unsympathetic freighter.

Japan was entirely different from the rest of the world. Due to its unique location, the EMP waves from different directions canceled each other. Also, a powerful electromagnetic pulse lost its strength traveling more than eight thousand kilometers around the globe and didn't cause considerable damage.

Following a "Great Reset," Japan had become a leading industrial force and country of opportunity for everybody with means and opportunity.
It contained half of the world economy concentrated inside this island nation. Its population exploded to five hundred million within the next few years, as many remaining corporations moved in, forming a new megapolis.

Spreading across all of Honshu island, New Tokyo became a country within the country.

As it appears, Max's expertise in security and advanced protection gear was very much in demand. He started serving high-profile clients, suddenly adding a few more zeroes to his net worth. The pay was good - more than he needed.