Preface
- Book One -
I I am the daughter of Zzara, whom you will come to know. I was named Alexa. I beg your indulgence for having only simple words to use to unravel the mysteries, reveal the truths and testify to the legends that defined the age of Katerina. My right to write these chronicles is only that I was present with her and I came to know her well. Katerina became our only hope. She lived without fear in the void of destiny. The odes written about the gods in ancients times all fall shallow and pale before the truth of her life.
The Genisis of Katerina:
In 2032 CE planet Earth was approaching exhaustion and that exhaustion was happening at an alarming pace. So-called ‘civilization’ due to overpopulation and the unrelenting pursuit of its inherent greed had raped and pillaged the Earth stripping it naked of life-giving resources. The imminent collapse of civilization was accepted to be irreversible. In response to this impending doom, the world’s leading democratic governments created the Democratic Supreme Council (DSC). The council’s mission was to secure the ultimate survival of human DNA past the collapse calculated to be 2052 CE.
Inspired by Einstein’s theory of time and space, it was proposed that the probability of mankind’s survival was made greater by traveling through ‘time’ rather than through ‘space’ to another planet. Finally, when it was deemed to be the best option, it was decided that the scheduled inter-planetary expedition to Mars would be re-focused as an expedition to Earth itself. This project was named: Destination Earth.
Its radical strategy was to store frozen human sperm and eggs in a hidden underground bunker, where, after 150 years humans would be born using robot-controlled electronic wombs. They would remain living in the bunker for 20 years after which time they would emerge into a rejuvenated Earth.
It was believed by scientists that after 150 years, Nature might possibly return to the point that it would ‘kick-start’ an increase in life supporting resources and that Earth itself would once again provide an embrace for mankind’s re-emergence. It was believed that advanced technologies could then be used to even boost Nature’s progress towards that recovery.
By 2052 CE Earth’s atmosphere was toxic, filled with carbon dust that darkened the sky and methane gas that drove increases in super-heated air which caused each breath taken to deliver a scalding burn to the lungs. Fresh water had virtually disappeared. People were forced to wade daily through knee-deep sewer sludge among the snakes that slithered along on its rancid surface. Typhoid,
Diphtheria and Cholera were ravaging populations worldwide. Drinking water had become so contaminated that in many places getting clean water was rationed to only a few sips a day. Aggressive minerals mining activity in the Arctic permafrost had unleashed new viruses that had been buried and frozen for hundreds of thousands of years.
The militaries of the various countries had taken control of most governmental administrative functions and police actions. A global population approaching 9 billion was unsupportable.
The global economic collapse was devastating. Foraging for food became the driving force of crime, theft, chaos, and conflict.
Worldwide, drug use was out of control. More than 40% of the global population were drug addicts. Drug cartels controlled the inner cores of almost every major global city.
Lack of fuels to power electricity generation created endless recurring blackouts. Most of the world lived in constant darkness.
The use of limited nuclear weapons in regional war had further poisoned lands and water sources dashing any potential for political and ecological solution dialogues. Nuclear wars were now accepted to have the benefit of driving down populations.
And so it was, that after 150 years, one descendant of a small group of survivors of the apocalypse, someone who was not born in the secret bunker, would rise against all odds in fury and courage to lead the final fight for mankind’s last chance at survival. That person was Katerina. This is her story, and it all began in 2032 CE.
ALEXA,