Archeofuturism

by Guillaume Faye

  ‘Any what?’

  ‘Television broadcasts. The television was an old on-screen broadcasting system whereby the whole world could view the same images at the same time. It had turned into a kind of religion or drug. But let’s move on, this is just a thing of the past...’

  After suddenly leaving the Central Kremlin Moscow station, the bullet-train took up speed. ‘Further on, towards the Urals, lies my homeland – Siberia,’ Dimitri thought to himself. He imagined the train, like a cobra, dashing towards its prey... Again they were pinned to their seats, like Tintin,[11] pressed against his bunk by the formidable acceleration of an atomic-powered rocket in his journey to the Moon. Tintin – that old comic character from the Twentieth century, whom only men of letters knew now...

  Moscow-Yekaterinburg

  ‘And what about you and your family? Did you return to Russia?’

  ‘Yes, along with all the members of the embassy. We were repatriated in a rather extraordinary way two months after the revolt had broken out. Things in Russia weren’t that great, but compared to France it was paradise! After the fall of Communism in 1991, the new regime proved incapable of converting to the free market economy. The country was collapsing. Then, in 2002, a nationalist and neo-Communist military regime seized power. Since 2014, something close to a dictatorship had been installed: Russia was autarchic, but still – despite widespread poverty and the collapse of the capitalist dream – there was enough food for everyone. So I resumed school in my own country. Russia, which in the year 2000 had been the sick man of Europe, fourteen years later, in the midst of all the chaos, was just about the only country in which civilisation hadn’t collapsed and one could find a degree of safety and order.’

  ‘There is one thing I do not understand.’

  The girl’s dark-green eyes met Dimitri’s.

  ‘How could the collapse of the countries of Western Europe, which made up only a small percentage of the world population, cause what has been called the “Great Catastrophe”?’

  ‘By an avalanche effect. According to the mathematical catastrophe or chaos theory, for a stable system to topple over, it is not necessary for most of its elements to disintegrate. All that is needed is to change a central parameter. Now, the Western portion of the European continent was a main parameter for the balance of world civilisation and its economy. Besides, as I already mentioned to you, what occurred was a convergence of various other “mini-catastrophes” that affected the planet but had already been quite foreseeable by the 1980s. Starting in 2015, the Mediterranean and central Europe, including Germany, experienced the same tragic events as France, England, Belgium and Holland, and to their full effect.’

  Dimitri searched in the girl’s eyes for the impact of his words and only found great curiosity. ‘She really has an enchanting gaze,’ Dimitri said to himself. He focused for a moment on the image of Olivia, who would be waiting for him in Dorbisk that night. He then continued his narrative, ‘The European economy as a whole collapsed like a deck of cards. Between April and December 2014, a civilisation disappeared, just like that.’

  ‘And what were the consequences for the rest of the world?’

  ‘The events taking place in Europe, which had been the greatest economic power in the world, caused a recession such as had never been seen before. In June 2015, the President of the IMF[12] uttered words that are now part of history: “This is not an economic crisis. This is not a recession. This is the end of the modern world: this is the apocalypse.”’

  The Indian girl smiled. ‘That was the gods’ will.’

  She added, ‘And what were the other three tragic events of the year 2014?’

  ‘The first was a global financial crisis, similar to the one that had occurred in 1998, only a hundred times worse. This crisis coincided with the outbreak of civil war in France. So there was a cumulative effect. The world economy, which had grown weak because of its financial and speculative foundations, popped like a balloon. The second event was a nuclear war between India, your country, and Pakistan. It is as a consequence of this that you have annexed Pakistan and recreated a unified subcontinent like the one which existed under British colonial rule.’

  ‘This I know, but Pakistan attacked us!’

  ‘In war, no one is simply the attacker or the attacked: one is both things at once. Relatively speaking, this war didn’t cause a huge number of deaths – two million at most – but it was a global shock that destabilised the system. It was China, which threatened to intervene, that brought an end to the conflict and authorised the annexation of Pakistan, following a bizarre plan and despite its historic enmity towards India. The United States could not prevent this from happening. What had been a leading world power that had dominated the Twentieth century disappeared like a comet, as quickly as it had emerged.’

  ‘The United States was the name of North America, right? Today it is almost impossible to imagine that this region dominated the planet in the late Twentieth century...’

  ‘Indeed. History is unpredictable: it is written by blind madmen and sleepwalkers. The same thing had happened to the Spanish empire, a long time before.’

  ‘And what was the third event?’

  ‘An environmental catastrophe similar to what humanity had already experienced in the 1990s, only this time on a far wider scale. In January 2014, millions of hectares of rainforest caught fire in the Amazon – from deforestation work by large agricultural companies. The Amazon, the green lungs of the planet, lost 30% of its surface in one year (which is as long as the fire lasted). The smoke and dust that filled the atmosphere blocked the rays of the sun for six months, causing major climatic disasters across the world: devastating cyclones, torrential rains and droughts which further contributed to the environmental damage that had already long since begun, in a variety of ways. The psychological impact of all this was huge. To make things even worse, the ocean level rose as a consequence of the greenhouse effect: the use of greenhouse gases since the onset of the industrial revolution ultimately led to global warming and the melting of the ice caps. In September 2015, with the equinox tide, a huge wave hit the Atlantic coast. In the centre of New York the water reached two metres in height and coastal cities in Europe were devastated... All these events added up, with consequences on both a physical and psychological level. For the whole world, the years 2014-2016 were a great upheaval. The civilisation of “modernity” disappeared in three tragic years to make way for a different world.’

  Yekaterinburg-Novosibirsk

  The train left the underground station of Yekaterinburg. After that 2,000 kilometre leap, cruising speed reached 12,000 kilometres per hour in just a few minutes – about half the speed of the orbital station Leonardo da Vinci. Dimitri pictured the taiga a few metres above their heads, crossed by packs of wolves and by the heavy wagons of lumberjacks making their way back along some path from their clearing areas.

  ‘Please continue your narrative, Mr. Councillor. I am learning a lot of history from you.’

  ‘Things took place – or rather exploded – between 2014 and 2016. It was like the collapse of the Roman Empire, only on a vaster scale and with an acceleration of history. By 2016, the area that included France, Great Britain, Belgium and Holland had plunged into complete chaos: 40% of the population had died as a consequence of the massacres of the civil war, of famines, epidemics, and the collapse of an extremely fragile technological civilisation and global economy. There were no longer any states and the cities were empty. In the rest of Europe frontiers were strengthened to avoid the incursion of armed gangs or refugees. The inevitable consequence of this was that the “global system” crumbled. These events all occurred with frightening speed, spreading like a cancer causing widespread metastasis in a living organism.’

  ‘I heard that there was a Muslim invasion of Europe? Is this a fabrication or is it true? As for us, in India we’ve completely solved the Islamic problem...’

  ‘In 2017, the Islamic republics of North Africa,
which had been established following the 2003 revolution, took advantage of the complete chaos that reigned in France. An invading army landed in Provence and occupied it militarily. It tried to set up an “Islamic Republic of France” and banded together the armed ethnic gangs that scoured the country and fought each other, but failed because of the widespread chaos. It was a new Middle Ages: a return to the Sixth century, with pockets of resistance in various areas setting themselves up as new baronies. The most powerful one was centred in Brussels, the old capital of the European Union. Here, in 2018, the “Duchy of Brussels” was established by a member of the Belgian Army, which had managed to protect the city and free it from the “ethnic gangs”, as they were called at the time.’

  The Indian girl asked in disbelief:, ‘But why didn’t the armies of these countries intervene?’

  ‘This is a good question. The reason is that the governments of these countries, which were guilt-ridden and filled with fear, gave orders too late – in the early months of 2017. By then, the economy had collapsed: there was no electricity and no fuel, and the army was paralysed. In fact, there no longer was an army. As had happened in Russia twenty years earlier, soldiers were no longer being paid and so were deserting en masse. Only certain areas were protected by officers who managed to restore some order, defeat the armed gangs and ensure supplies in their cities through the control of the surrounding countryside. By the use of force, they also managed to reopen some power and purification plants. Clearly, the regimes of these duchies, which were hardly connected to one another, were of a highly authoritarian, military sort. Still, they ensured safety and bread for the people, and that was enough. These “baronies” housed 20% of the population, exclusively comprised of native Europeans. Clearly, the standard of living in these places had returned to be that of – say – the Seventeenth century. All forms of modern medicine, for instance, had vanished, as there were no drugs available.’

  ‘Where were these “baronies”?’

  ‘There were only a dozen in Western Europe: the Duchy of Brussels, the Republic of Brittany – the largest of all, governed by officials of the old French war navy – and various other small ones, centred around Western European cities. They kept in touch with one another by radio.’

  Nafissa made sure not to miss a word of Dimitri’s description of this apocalyptic past. ‘This civilisation must have been a fragile one indeed to have collapsed in such a short time...’

  ‘Well, not exactly. This civilisation was actually born in the late Middle Ages, in the Thirteenth century. As Twentieth century political scientist Carl Schmitt noted, it bloomed in the Sixteenth century, in the age of “great discoveries”, when Europeans set off to conquer other continents. Its peak can roughly be situated between 1860 and 1980. Still, already in 1921 – about one century before its end – a German philosopher, Oswald Spengler,[13] had seen the first signs of the future collapse. This civilisation lasted seven centuries – a little less than the Roman Empire. As is the case with all civilisations destined to collapse, its end was very close to its peak... for the “viruses of decline”, after being at work invisibly for a period, tend to suddenly become deadly when a civilisation has reached its highest peak.’

  ‘You seem to be obsessed by “catastrophe theories”!’

  ‘I’m not obsessed by these theories. These are laws that explain the course of history, as well as many other phenomena. The worm may already be in the fruit, but the fruit looks attractive. The old oak might be at the height of its vigour, but it is rotting inside and will be uprooted by the first storm.’

  Dimitri suddenly added,‘Fasten your seatbelt, Nafissa. We are about to slow down – we’ve reached Novosibirsk.’

  Dimitri continued his improvised history course. ‘Between 2018 and 2020, the rest of the world also plunged into chaos.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘The global financial system and stock markets continued to fall, and environmental and climactic disasters did not abate. In two years, the depletion of fishing resources, the impoverishment of the soil and desertification caused a terrifying series of famines. It is estimated that by 2020 two billion people had died...’

  ‘Who resisted?’

  ‘Paradoxically, Russia kept going. This is very important for the rest of my narrative. Russia had been the “sick man of Europe” in the late Twentieth century, following the collapse of Communism. But the new and largely militaristic regime enabled the country to resist. Your country, India, also resisted, as did China and Japan. These areas preserved their unity, as they were ancient civilisations that hadn’t forgotten their archaic self-defence mechanism. Despite the huge crises, they preserved their political homogeneity and technological economy, which slowed down but still functioned. By contrast, multi-ethnic societies in which traditions had been destroyed or marginalised to make room for an economic cult imploded, for they no longer had any social or political thread holding them together. This is what happened in Western Europe and North America. But it is interesting to note that this global hurricane and pandemic spread from France: the country of the Revolution and philosophical birthplace of modernity was the first one to commit suicide. Poison always affects the head first...’

  After some silence, Nafissa asked, ‘When, in 2017, the Muslim army entered France, why didn’t neighbouring countries try to defend it? Weren’t they all part of this “European Union”?’

  ‘They didn’t intervene because of cowardice, although this is not the only reason. Since 2014, the European Union had been little more than a fiction. The various European armies practically no longer existed, nor were they motorised. In these conditions, how could they ever have faced a North African and Muslim army equipped with fuel, armed vehicles and resolute leaders?’

  Stop in a Tunnel

  Nafissa didn’t answer Dimitri. Suddenly, there was a violent tremor. An artificial female voice confirmed the information flashing across the screen in front of them. ‘The train has come to a halt because of a minor accident. We shall keep you updated.’ The train shook as it braked abruptly.

  ‘This is quite normal at this speed. Accidents often occur when the train is braking. I just hope I won’t miss my connection in Komsomolsk with the airship for Bering.’ (Dimitri’s voice betrayed a certain anxiety.)

  The lights dimmed inside the car because of the loss of electric power. The computer screen on the seat in front of them switched off. Things were getting rather unsettling...

  Nafissa smiled. ‘Don’t worry, Mr. Councillor. The gods of ancient India will protect us.’

  She started laughing and shook her black hair. ‘What a sorceress,’ Dimitri thought. An almost perfect silence reigned inside the car, which was enveloped in the half-darkness. Passengers’ whispers could be heard, faintly. An ill-boding smell of burning filled the air...

  They were stuck like prisoners in a tunnel in the heart of Siberia, under the taiga... Dimitri could picture the forest of pines and birches above them: alternating black and white trunks and rippling streams in the woods. He closed his eyes. Five metres above their heads, he imagined a carefree moujik[14] dressed in fur and leather with his dog and an iron-tipped, gnarled old stick gathering dry twigs to light the evening fire in his isba.[15]

  With a very Zen attitude, Nafissa continued with her questions. ‘So how did liberation come about in the end? Why don’t there seem to be any more Muslims in Europe now? Please answer me and relax. Take some deep breaths...’

  Dimitri did so, and Nafissa rested her sweet, warm hand on his. Again she urged him, ‘Relax. My gods will protect us. Now please answer my question.’

  Dimitri spoke in a low voice, ‘In 2025, the “baronies”, or areas of European resistance, which were living as if under siege, chose to ask for help from the nationalist, populist Russian Federation. What led to this decision was the Muslim conquest of the free state of Lorraine, which included the city of Metz and its surroundings. The acts of reprisal the Islamic army carried out there were atrociou
s: the city cathedral was burnt down and the Russian ambassador was slain along with all his family in reprisal for the anti-Islamic policy that Russia and the Orthodox Slavs had long adopted.’

  ‘So Russia launched a sort of Crusade, but this time to the West?’

  ‘Yes. I see you actually know history quite well, Nafissa. So on 6 June 2025, which is now celebrated as the day of the ‘Proclamation of the Reconquista’, General Alexander Ivanovich Dukachevsky, the Lord of Russia, accepted the plea of the besieged cities of Europe. In December 2026, an army of over a million men backed by tanks and jets crossed central Europe into the “Western Europe occupation zone”, which included France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Holland, as well as portions of Germany and Scandinavia. A second army of 300,000 men from Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic, Finland, Serbia and Greece, as well as troops from the states under Russian “protection”, landed in Brest. Here they joined the Breton army – 80,000 men strong – and marched to the East in such a way as to squeeze the Islamic forces like a vice. The Russians provided fuel and ammunition. The decisive battle took place in the Brie area, east of Paris, near the ruins of a huge Twentieth century American theme park.[16] Most of the Muslim army was destroyed and the survivors were made prisoners. A second battle took place in the Maurienne valley in the Alps. The victory of the liberation troops can be explained on the basis of two factors: on the one hand, the Muslim troops were badly organised and suffered from inner divisions resulting from quarrels among their leaders; on the other hand, the Islamic republics, which had been hit by the global crisis, could not afford to provide them with ammunition and fuel. It was no longer an organised military force: it was more like a horde. The victorious army entered Paris and was cheered by the meagre population still living there (the city had been nearly abandoned). What followed was the “Reconquista of 2025-28”, which was unfortunately an extremely violent one.’