by Phil Stern
It was within this simmering sociological morass that the Cyber Terrorists conceived, and then executed, their master plan.
As every schoolchild knows, the first Cyber attacks occurred on May 17th, 2022, targeting a highly vulnerable electronic infrastructure. Within hours, much of the world’s data had been destroyed or compromised, crippling the banking, energy, healthcare, and many other fields. A communications grid dependent on digital transmission and retention was virtually wiped out. By the time President Hanson and other world leaders declared a State of Emergency on May 20th, basic services had broken down. Society itself was beginning to unravel.
It is not the purpose of this Note to recount the well-known facts surrounding the subsequent civil upheaval and ultimate defeat of the Cyber Terrorists. However, it does explain our frustrating lack of insight into the quarter century period antecedent to 2022. With some 90% of electronic data lost and a wave of religious zealotry responsible for the burning of many books, magazines, and what few paper records existed, the “Great Blind Spot” of history has proved frustratingly opaque. In many ways, The Bull Years fills in the gaps.
Obviously, it was also during this period that The Great Global Catastrophe was taking shape. Absurd terms like “global warming” or “climate change” masked the grave import of the crisis. The few people actually recognizing the coming calamity were derided or ignored.
How does one explain such monstrous ignorance, the downright criminal indifference, of an entire age? Much has been written about an industrial base and transportation network predicated on the large-scale consumption of fossil fuels, the processing of which pumped destructive hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. In the case of the world powers of the time, and the United States in particular, domination and affluence had been achieved largely through the exploitation of this technology.
But still, why didn’t the United States lead the way in shifting over to a solar, wind, and hydro-based energy economy? Why the dependence on oil, gas, and coal long past the point where cleaner technologies not only existed, but would be cheaper and easier for the individual citizen? Why fight wars and raise international tensions over “resources” that had become obsolete long before?
Because, of course, world leaders, and the industrialists who kept them in power, were financially dependent on fossil fuels. To shift over to cleaner technologies would have meant an instant leveling of the economic playing field, working to their own economic disadvantage.
Even a more benign interpretation would concede they weren’t leaders in the modern sense, but rather helpless victims of their own mental limitations. In reality, the rather simple notion that environmental realities and emerging technologies were shifting faster than the outdated American economy may well have been beyond their comprehension. Much of this has already been elucidated through the modern-day “trials” of these politicians, commonly conducted in history and political science classes across the solar system.
Often, though, this type of analysis misses the point. Why didn’t the people themselves object? Why didn’t they scream, and yell, and force change? That’s where The Bull Years comes in.
In a world as obviously alienated as that inhabited by Steve, Sophia, Dave, and Hayley, interpersonal conflict, intellectual isolation, and self-directed anger reigned supreme. As the climate collapsed, and the Cyber Terrorists planed their new Dark Age of totalitarian authority and religious fundamentalism, they became lost in their own existential angst. Trifling issues, such as global survival, were deemed irrelevant. For this, history has rightly judged the Blind Generation most harshly.
Since many have expressed curiosity as to the ultimate disposition of the Bull Personalities referenced within the preceding text, a brief summation of their post-Bull lives is in order:
Steve Levine fulfilled his dream of becoming an established author, publishing A Devastation Within in 2016. Fraught With Longing followed in 2019. Because of the Great Blind Spot little else is known of this period, other than Levine at some point moved to Colorado. It is believed he was working on his third novel at the time of the Cyber attacks.
Having achieved some minor renown, Levine became a potent cultural force in the post-2022 world. Publishing several short, vehement columns on local printing presses, Levine decried the current wave of cultural destruction, urging renewed obedience to a weakened central government discredited by the massive Cyber assaults. Levine was also instrumental in helping restore basic services in the Denver area, giving his voice great weight in resisting those wishing to establish a separate nation. Elected to Congress in 2028, Levine voted in favor of the resolution urging President Michaels to decimate the last remaining Terrorist stronghold.
Returning to his writing roots, Levine settled back in his native New York, marrying for the first time in 2033. He published several more novels revolving around self-reliance and self-awareness, themes particularly well suited to post-2022 America. Levine also wrote a regular column on the heavily regulated New Internet. Contracting cancer in 2058, Levine passed away with his wife Julie at his side. He was believed to have been 88.
Curiously, Sophia Danton also wound up in Colorado sometime prior to 2022. At the time of the Cyber attacks she had two children, Martin, 8, and Tiffany, 6.
Of course, the rather provocative theory has been promulgated in many quarters that one, if not both, of Danton’s children were fathered by Levine. And indeed, genetic testing on Martin Danton’s modern-day descendants gives some credence to this idea. However, since Levine himself has no other living descendants, there is no acknowledged genetic template with which to determine definitive paternity.
What is known is this: Sophia Danton perished of pneumonia in the winter of 2022-2023 in a hopelessly overcrowded, Cyber-crippled hospital. Both Martin and Tiffany were taken in by Levine, probably saving their lives. The children lived with Levine until adulthood.
Having become a somewhat polarizing figure, some have suggested Levine wished to protect the children by refusing to acknowledge paternity. Others say Danton and Levine renewed personal contact only after the children were born. And indeed, there is nothing to prove Danton and Levine ever spoke again, Levine perhaps learning of Danton’s children only after her death. Oddly enough, neither Martin nor Tiffany ever spoke on the subject. The true state of affairs may never be satisfactorily resolved.
Little of Sophia Danton’s pre-2022 life can be ascertained for certain, other than she continued to write for several national publications, becoming a powerful voice on environmental issues. Her work is considered particularly insightful, and indeed, the Sophia Danton Award is regularly bestowed for excellence in environmental reporting.
Dave Miller appears to have lived a quiet life in his native Troy, New York. A death certificate in his name was filed in 2049. Contemporaneous newspaper accounts reference a surviving wife and child, in addition to his daughter, Mandy Miller Erickson, from his first marriage.
Of all the Bull Principals, Hayley Sykes remains a mystery. A Dr. Hayley Sykes became the dean of Harvard University in 2035. Following a long and distinguished tenure at Harvard, Dr. Sykes published works on the educational needs of mentally disadvantage youth, along with a series of articles on the healthy cogitative effects of pornography. While the esteemed Dr. Sykes bears a passing physical resemblance to the young woman described in the narrative, her connection to the foregoing work remains, at best, circumstantial.
Mandy Miller moved to London, becoming a noted surgeon. Miller and her husband, Anton Erickson, had five children, 23 grandchildren, and 48 great-grandchildren before her death in 2102. Today, the descendants of Mandy and Anton Erickson, “whoops baby” of David Miller and Jen Canton, number in the hundreds.
Jennifer Canton’s third marriage certificate has been recovered in the Hawaiian islands, dated 2020. In all, Canton is believed to have been married a total of six times, her final, wealthy husband dying in 2042. Becoming a virtual recluse, Canton died soon thereafter. It a
ppears that Mandy was her only child.
The fate of Elizabeth Danton remains a mystery. It is believed she died sometime prior to 2022. Little is known of Sophia’s parents or other siblings, though her brother Michael was believed to have been living in San Francisco until his death in 2037.
But these facts are actually beside the point. For us, the people of today, these people are all frozen in time, their Bull Lives of far more interest, and import, than any dry historical summary. This is where they live and breath, vibrant, rich voices reaching out to us from across the centuries, inviting us to share, however briefly, in their lost world. Their frustrations and ultimate achievements will continue to fascinate billions long after our own passing, a permanent testament to the resilience, compassion, and basic humanity of this most quixotic of generations, sitting as they do on the brink of worldwide disaster and ultimate redemption.
And how amazing is it that Steve Levine, in particular, thought he would be forgotten by history, that his life would have no greater meaning? Could he somehow witness our solar-wide society of today, and the vast enjoyment his work has brought to billions, he would know the utter folly of his own fears.
So the next time you attend a Bull Party dressed as your favorite Bull Character, wear a shirt with your favorite Bull Quote, yell out “goobenyak” in the back of class, purchase a Bull-inspired item (while recognizing the High Court’s decision to ban the sale of “Genuine 21st Century Space Lesbo Vibrators” as a copyright infringement), attend yet another theatrical rendition of the people and events contained within The Bull Years, or even blend an expression from its pages within your own social discourse, remember this:
Steve, Dave, Sophia, Hayley, and all the rest were real people, leading real lives.In fact, it’s their very humanity that gives them life and breath today. They remind us that the very essence of existence is constant, daily imperfection, yet still striving for self-improvement and a better life.
Though they considered themselves common, even somewhat failed people, each of these Bull Personalities has become a shining beacon of hope for all of us. In that sense, they’ve come to symbolize the very cream of humanity throughout every century, no matter the level of technical sophistication or historical awareness.
So never think it’s too late, or that your own life ultimately doesn’t matter. Because who knows? You, all of you reading this Note now, could become the next Bull Personalities for some future generation, just as Steve, Dave, Sophia, and Dave have for us today.
Dr. Poraru Asomundtora
Professor of Pre-Interstellar Earth History
Venus University
March 2nd, 2231
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Phil Stern is an author and former radio talk show host now living in Florida. The Bull Years is his first novel.
For more information on Stern’s other works, please go to www.philstern.com or on @philstern100 on Twitter.