The Digital Body

World Fall

Ethan stared out at the dark red atmosphere, dirty brown clouds full of radiation and acidity brewing in the distance. A thunderstorm was brewing, but this was not your average thunderstorm with a little water and occasional flash of light up in the sky. No, the year was 2124, and the world was much scarier now.

Global warming had reached its peak, raising the temperatures unbearably hot, completely melting the ice caps, and causing sea levels to rise as whole cities were submerged underwater. Many plants and animals that were prosperous in 2018 were now extinct. As a result of the hotter temperature, it rained a lot. This normally wouldn't be a problem, but in 2124, everything was a problem.

Increased American arrogance gained us many enemies, converging into a world war no country could win: nuclear war. The Americans did win, but the nuclear fallout was a high cost to pay, as radiation infused weather was a common occurrence everywhere now, making life on earth's surface nearly nonexistent.

In addition to pollution and poor usage of resources like oil, the world, as well as civilization, began to collapse as the fight over resources over a growing population ravaged the landscape as the Earth began to become more and more Martian looking. The world had fallen, and all that was left was a shell of a planet.

A short beep alerted Ethan, notifying that all the weather data had been collected. Checking the small digital screen, the percentile for storm severity was 96%, was gonna be quite a storm tonight. Ethan hastily packed his gear and headed underground to give the data to the researcher. 1 loaf of bread a week, the job posting had said. It wasn't much, but in this world, it was a luxury. Entering the underground metropolis, Ethan passed by many strange people, their appearance uglied and disrupted the many radioactive mutations everyone had undergone. Ethan was quite frankly lucky rhat the only thing that happened to him was that he lost an eye and an arm. Nothing cybernetics couldn't fix.

After dropping the data by the researcher, Ethan headed home, a small perch he had constructed in the rafters of the great underground streets. Sure, it was noisy, but at least he didn't have to pay rent. Plopping down on a mattress, Ethan was just settling in for another night when he heard the loud boom of thunder, and then a crash as the underground street's ceiling began to collapse.

Oh, shit.

The weather report! The storm! It had struck the ground just above the street. It is also probably worth noting that the lightning in these storms, charged by nuclear power and radiation, are almost ten times more powerful, boring 30 ft deep craters into the earth. Ethan jumped up, hopping and sprinting on falling debris, trying not to get crushed by the collapsing ceiling. Jumping and flipping, Ethan landed on the ground, debris and rubble collapsing behind him, the acid rain pouring down after. However, this was not the end, as Ethan looked up, lightning bolts were striking all around the city, undoubtedly meaning city collapse and exposure to the dangerous storm. Ethan needed to get out of here, and there was only one way to do that.

By going into The Cloud.