REAP 23
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As the ice caps were retreating in March AP 6898, astronomers identified an approaching asteroid. Regardless of the spacecraft and advanced powerful weapons, mankind was not able to divert a 128-kilometer rock away from Earth. It was diverted slightly to the Kamchatka Peninsula, which was completely covered by glacier. The material kicked into the atmosphere, and the tsunamis that resulted were catastrophic. This was followed by a lethal five-year-long global winter. Hundreds of thousands of species became extinct. With fossil fuel almost depleted from the planet, the toll on human life was unprecedented. By 6904, Earth held less than one billion humans, almost all of them living between the tropics. Political boundaries changed. Years following the longest winter in history, world governments again reset the calendar to the day the asteroid hit.
In AA 984, after asteroid, less than eight thousand years had passed since REAP 23 left orbit around Earth. A young scholar, Kririk Gwolono, was delving into ancient religious texts in the deteriorating library of the University of Borigine when he found references to the small sect known as the Reapers. Additional research yielded history about “the Bunker” and the REAP missions. To his disappointment, he could find no scientific or governmental agencies or individuals with knowledge of the REAP missions. He put together an expedition of fifteen people and went to the state of Italia, in the expansive Empire of Mediterrania. They found a cave that had been a Reaper way station used during the pilgrimage during the early ice age. Inside were writings and scripture of the Reapers, preserved and legible. The translation from ancient Italian was easy. It was a book of inspiration. It told of saints that had gone in search of habitable planets for the salvation of mankind, of service and sacrifice, dedication, and devotion. Moreover, it gave the location of the Bunker in a region north of the cave that lay in disputed territory between Mediterrania and Atlanticus. As a citizen of Saharia, Gwolono had almost no chance of being allowed into any territory, disputed or not, that belonged to Atlanticus. Satellite images indicated the region was still spotted with ice.
Kririk returned to Borigine and received his doctoral degree after publication of his work. His wife, Gwain, published the Book of Reapers. His interest in the book was secular, but Gwain had a spiritual fascination with the teachings and theology. To his dismay, she began speaking on a theology that she gleaned from the book. Within ten years, she established a church known as the Reapers located in the ancient coastal city of Alexandria, where Kririk was a professor in the University of Saharia.
Church members traveled to the site where the book was found. Travel to the Bunker region was not permitted. Dr. Gwolono communicated with professors at universities throughout Atlanticus and Mediterrania for several years in an effort to research the site. Because of the religious fervor around the book, they invariably declined and eventually became hostile. The book ruined his career and then their marriage. He died young and poor. Following the death of wealthy Gwain Gwolono many years later, the Reapers continued to slowly accrete converts in many countries. Eventually, the disagreement between Mediterrania and Atlanticus about ancient Switzerland was resolved in favor of Atlanticus. Travel restrictions were loosened, enabling the mission of Maroche and others.