Children of the Dark World

by Will Townsend

  If one only gave a cursory glance to the accomplishments of humanity in the early twenty-second century they would’ve thought that the species had finally healed itself. The injustices and violence that had plagued it throughout the long march of its’ history had finally been overcome. But in reality it was a glass only half full.

  The corporations rose to power in the twentieth century replacing the robber barons of old. They were soulless, unaccountable entities consumed with but a single purpose - the acquisition of power and wealth. The corporation became the alter ego of men who in earlier ages would’ve been Caesars, Napoleons, Mussolinis and Hitlers. These men ruled their corporations with an absolute power only dreamt of in the earlier eras of history. They were shielded from rebellions and revolts (although political intrigue still existed) and the anger of the downtrodden by governments. And best of all, their kingdoms were perpetual. They saw this as a sort of immortality and took great pains to strengthen the laws that allowed them to operate. With the advances in genetic and medical technology these modern day Caesars enjoyed long years at the helm of their empires.

  The robber barons of old were men without boundaries but still somewhat controlled by their society and religion. So, as the end neared they gave vast sums back to their societies in hopes of absolution from their mortal sins. Corporations and CEO’s faced no such moral imperative.

  Throughout the history of mankind there have been only two types of people; those with boundaries and those without. As humanity banded together for safety and protection it developed laws, or boundaries, on the actions of individuals. The majority of humanity is comfortable within these boundaries. They strive to work within them whether based on a theory of morality, religion, individuality or simply right and wrong. Most people are familiar with the individuals who know no boundaries; the murderers, the serial killers, rapists or the mad revolutionaries who constantly try to overthrow society. But less is said of the Caesar’s and Napoleon’s. These too were people without boundaries who couldn’t accept that limitations of law or morality applied to them. Throughout mankind’s bloody history they’ve exceeded the boundaries set by their respective societies in the pursuit of their individual goals, usually power and wealth. But sometimes they are fueled by darker motives; sadism, racism or genocidal hatred. Mankind has always rebelled, eventually, against those who exceeded the boundaries and their falls were very often bloody and destructive.

  But the evolution of the corporation had changed humanity’s perception of those who defied the moral boundaries. It had made them more difficult to detect, more ambiguous and ethereal, too elusive to be labeled or categorized. A corporation is a soulless, sterile thing, knowing neither good nor evil, only profit and power. In and of itself it is nothing, simply a name and a logo and nothing more.

  People, on the other hand, are another matter entirely. A person is held in abeyance by the boundaries to which society holds them accountable. But a person employed by the corporation knows only the corporate boundaries, which are much more forgiving of unacceptable behavior than society, so long as the profit continues to accumulate. And so the corporations were able to form their own morality and their own laws, insidiously imprinting it on their workforce.

  People who know no boundaries to their goals of wealth and power are drawn to the corporate entity and because they need the labor and minds of those who observe boundaries they used the corporate standard of conduct to achieve cooperation. The effect was a confusion of boundary lines and ethics. While this may seem a small deviation from society’s norms it allowed modern day Caesars and Napoleons to amass power without the threat of revolt or retaliation. And it allowed them to control their workers and their place in society as no dictator ever could.

  A sort of economic servitude replaced the slavery of past years. The effect was the same but the outward trappings obscured the condition. No one in the enlightened twenty-second century would’ve considered themselves a slave for working a job but a nagging suspicion still tugged at the minds of the ever disappearing middle classes.

  A successful entrepreneur of the early twenty-first century had sounded a warning bell to all of his fellow monetary aristocrats. He told them that a system that rewarded so few for the labor of so many was doomed to encounter an inevitable end; peasants with their pitchforks in rebellion. His message was quite simple; the peasants will be coming for us. In a fairly prosaic piece he opined that the overwhelming majority of wealth in the world was in the hands of the few. The wealthy elite of his time, he maintained, had surpassed even the grandest dreams of the most malevolent despots in Earth’s history. Such a system cannot endure he argued. But his warnings fell on deaf ears.

  Politicians, bought and paid for by the corporations, showered the elite with sycophantic terms such as job creators and wealth builders. They even convinced them that the various countries of the Earth couldn’t exist without them. And so the warnings went for naught.

  As the twenty-second century dawned the Earth was still divided into petty realms and squabbling countries. Large scale wars were no longer fought because the corporations that had risen to power deemed them unprofitable. But limited killing and dying was good for business. Petty wars ranged here and there throughout the world but nothing significant. Mostly these wars were futile attempts by the third world populations trying desperately to retake puppet governments from the iron hard grasp of the corporations.

  Governments still appeared to operate independently but the corporate influence had entwined and insinuated itself into every conceivable level of the so called peoples’ governments, even in previously hard line China. Politicians were purchased and nurtured for the day they were needed; passing laws that further reduced any corporate responsibility and eliminated any personal liability.

  Even after the world economy came crashing down several times in the twenty-first century due to the corporate and financial skullduggery of the times, no individuals were held accountable. The population had to accept that some ephemeral force had caused the downfall when the clear fact was, people without boundaries, working for corporations without accountability had very nearly leveled the world economy several times.

  And so, rather than being reined in by the near catastrophes, the corporations had been emboldened to take even more risks in their quest for wealth and power. Citizens throughout the world began to despise the corporate monster and recognize it for what it was; nothing more than a parasite. But what could they do?

  From the late twentieth century onward the standard of living had fallen for most of the industrialized human race. Every year they made less and less and the affluent made more and more. The affluent began to believe the false praise heaped upon them by politicians and sycophants and, in turn, believed that they were entitled to the incredible luxuries they flaunted in front of the masses who could barely subsist. And the corruption continued unabated.

  Almost every facet of the government’s responsibility had been outsourced to private industry including the Near Earth Object Detection and Protection System (NEOPDS). Despite continual scandals and unabated embezzlement on nearly every project outsourced to private industry the governments continued on solely as cashiers, writing corporate checks and ignoring indiscretions.

  And so mankind stood on the verge of greatness but also on the edge of the precipice of revolution. Perhaps public sentiment and public spirited individuals could’ve turned the tide in favor of the many instead of the few had not the Calamity hastened its arrival. Almost assuredly it would’ve been a far less bloody affair if they had. But we will never know because on June 4, 2119, the world under corporate dominion came to a disastrous and ignominious end.

  THE CALAMITY

  The NEOPDS had its roots in the early twenty-first century when humanity finally realized how close it came to cosmic extinction on a regular basis. It had taken a sustained and dedicated pressure by the scientific community to convince the governments to invest in a detection progra
m. The paltry billions that were eventually set aside for the program were lamented by politicians as money that could’ve been used as corporate subsidies to spur job creation by the businessmen of society. But the results of the detection program alarmed the public and the demand for more detection and possible asteroid deflection systems became a public clamor that politicians could not ignore.

  So contracts were handed out to the nefarious corporate behemoths and by 2119 the people of Earth truly believed they were living under a protective umbrella supplied by the corporations. While it was enormously expensive under the corporate hand the citizens believed that it was money well spent. If they’d known the truth then the revolution would’ve occurred sooner. But by this time in their evolution the corporations were adept at hiding corruption and funneling money through to their other concerns, political or commercial. What the citizens considered to be an impenetrable umbrella was actually a hollow, impotent shell. The misspent money would’ve been disclosed and blamed on deceased or discredited individuals in the next economic crash. The governments of Earth would’ve then flung money at them to find a solution and the next cycle of corruption would’ve started up.

  At least that was the system that had evolved and the way things worked under corporate dominion. And it was the way the demagogues of the corporate world expected things to continue in their artificial reality. This short sightedness would cost them dearly in the days and years to come. But the die had been cast long ago. There was no amount of spin control or public relations that would alleviate or mask the inevitable fate that bore relentlessly toward Earth like the wrath of some ancient, terrible God.

  Whether the NEOPDS would’ve located the incoming armada or not, is an issue open to debate. Given its’ trajectory and overtaking orientation to the Earth’s orbit many think it would’ve had limited efficacy at best. Covered in the dark carbonaceous material of Death’s last throes the armada reflected very little of the light of the yellow sun that fell upon it. So its approach was as silent as a thief in the night.

  Faint glints were first observed in the asteroid belt and duly reported to the corporate headquarters of the various competing syndicates. At first it seemed an event of no moment. Then one of the new long-range radar sites that sat in a twenty two thousand kilometer stationary geosynchronous Earth orbit received numerous “ghostly” reflections indicating multiple contacts approaching Earth orbit. At first it was considered a system glitch. It was probably caused by a faulty relay or malfunctioning part the technicians theorized. Other sources couldn’t confirm contacts inside of the radar’s maximum range. But then the technicians realized that they were receiving wave reflections from contacts in multiples of the radar’s maximum range. Other sources were quickly brought on line and confirmed multiple targets inbound for Earth orbit. Still the data was not believed because of the sheer number of the contacts. Several more hours were then spent recalibrating and bringing additional sources to bear. Finally, it could not be denied. The dark God’s wrath had arrived.

  At first the corporations refused to believe the situation that confronted them. Multiple requests were sent out for verification and all returned with the same data. Then as the reality set in and, because they knew no responsibility but profit, and were institutionally inclined to corruption, they attempted to hide the data and place incriminating blame elsewhere. When this failed, they panicked, and thought not of the people of Earth, but of their own assets and how to save them.

  All spacecraft in the corporate fleets were immediately ordered back to Earth. Doubtless this was done with the objective of evacuating corporate members from the impending catastrophe. And so they dallied and hedged and precious hours and weeks were lost. The first public warning came from an unexpected source, a corporate colony on the far side of the Moon.

  Much as the governments of Earth would’ve liked to distribute this information on their own time table, the news media of the twenty-second century was just as efficient at collecting and disseminating information as it ever had been. The matter was soon taken out of their hands. Humanity was faced with the reality that their very existence was in peril. Still, they looked toward the corporations and the NEOPDS for hope, not realizing that they’d already been betrayed.

  It was, as always, the media that broke the story of the failed detection by NEOPDS. As the people of the world learned of the failure, doubts began to form among the populace of Earth, and the governments belatedly swept in to take swift action.

  Contingency plans had long ago been formed by governmental agencies in every country on Earth for global catastrophes. The governments belatedly put these plans into action without hesitation in every space faring nation. Naturally, China and the United States had the most sweeping plans. As the armada inched ever closer to Earth, the American government seized control of the NEOPDS system from the corporations. Only then did the world learn that of the forty three orbiting missile sites only twenty two were operable and capable of any kind of response. Working in conjunction with China and Europe, the U.S. hurriedly prepared ground launch systems for planetary defense operations, but time was not on their side.

  By the time the world community was fully operational only three days remained before the expected impacts would begin. All over the earth leaders stared mutely at the numbers that confronted them and knew there was no way to avert the destruction. Many governments disintegrated at that point. Officials, seeing the futility of any action on their part, deserted their posts to be with their families or seek refuge in underground bunkers. But the United States, Japan, China and Europe stood firm while also putting contingency plans in effect. In the United States six massive underground bunkers were immediately made operational and massive amounts of supplies and personnel were moved into them in preparation for the aftermath of the catastrophe. The knowledge of all mankind was duplicated in the computer systems of each sanctuary. Similar actions occurred simultaneously in China, England, Japan, France and many other first world countries. For the first time in history huge data transfers occurred between the secret locations of every country so that mankind’s knowledge wouldn’t perish and that any survivors would have a fighting chance at continuing the species.

  Missile launches from every space faring country erupted when the leading edge of the first wave of the dark armada was two days from Earth. All carried nuclear weapons. The sheer numbers of the approaching wave assured that each missile would find a target or several. On Earth the leaders of the nations that still had functioning governments tallied the targets still approaching and doggedly prepared their next and final round.

  Every launch vehicle of the corporations had been seized upon discovering the NEOPDS true status. Together with the few launch vehicles that governments still retained, all were readied for the final volley before the defense of Earth would be turned over to NEOPDS. The second wave was just as successful as the first. But the display holographs viewed by the world’s leaders were still a massive swarm of contacts spread across a two thousand kilometer front. All knew that their actions wouldn’t be enough. At this point most leaders left their posts, doubting that the diminished NEOPDS could do anything with the incoming threat even if it operated as advertised.

  Only in the U.S. and China did serious efforts continue. As the spacecraft ordered back by the corporations entered orbit, the American and Chinese military ships, already placed in orbit for planetary defense, commandeered the vessels and loaded military lasers and missiles on board to combat the oncoming waves of debris.

  For although the two waves of nuclear launches hadn’t stopped the advance they were fragmenting the larger bodies and there were still hopes that total disaster could be avoided. The fleet of earth ships left orbit 24 hours before the expected impact and launched everything in their arsenal. It was a brave and valiant attempt but it withered under the onslaught from the outer regions.

  The armada continued on, ignoring the valiant efforts of the denizens of the third pl
anet, slowly bearing down on the jewel of the inner system. The commanders of the American and Chinese space fleets requested the trajectories of the most lethal threats approaching humanity. The information was dutifully transmitted to them by their respective command centers, but just what they could do was questionable because their weapons were depleted. Ground control finally understood when the first flashes appeared on their tracking screens. There is much written in the histories of humanity of the bravery of the crews of the U.S. and Chinese military vessels who deliberately crashed their ships into the oncoming wave of death. And their memories are still honored and they’ve passed into the legends of that time. All twenty-four military vessels, Chinese and American, targeted the most significant threats to the population of Earth and fired their plasma engines in a final valiant act of defiance at the invaders. Many have speculated about the number of lives that were saved by the sacrifice of those brave men and women, but most agree that a conservative estimate was in the range of hundreds of millions.

  While the memories of the military pilots are enshrined in mankind’s history for all time so too is the panicked retreat of the corporate ships as they fled the battleground and sought to reach a point of safety. To be fair, they were not trained military personnel, and their behavior was probably typical of the average person’s reaction to an impossible situation. But the world is not fair and the world was watching as they fled their posts seeking safety. But on that day any appearance of safety was but an illusion. Of the thirty two corporate ships that attempted to flee, twenty seven were destroyed by clusters of meteorites created by the nuclear blasts and the kamikaze military vessels. The five that escaped obliteration entered orbit twenty two thousand kilometers above the arctic where their crews would have a guaranteed bird’s eye view of the coming apocalypse and a very slow death.