ISBN: 9781366903969
NEMESIS
Book 2 of the MechaVerse Series
Copyright © 2016 by J. B. Everhart – Jeremy Cunkle
First Edition
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This is a work of fiction. The quotes used within the work were found publicly available on the internet. The characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this book are products of the author’s wild imagination and/or are used fictitiously. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, events, places, organizations, or any other entity are purely coincidental and not intended by the author (ye damned sue happy megalomaniacs). References to any places, people, brands, societies, entities of any sort, or other works of fiction or non-fiction are also fictitious.
Published by J. B. Everhart
Jbeverhart.com
Edited by Chas Mack
Cover art designed and created by Anne Fosnaugh
Proudly printed in the United States of America
Dedication
To my children Ryann and Alex who are my entire world. I have always chosen legacy over fortune. My only hope is that someday you truly come to understand why.
Special Thanks
To Ann Fosnaugh for the original cover art. All rights belong to her for the incredible work she did and her patience for working with me. Also my alpha and beta readers: Chas Mack, Barbara and Dwight Cunkle, and Joseph White.
Lastly, special thanks to Chas Mack for final editing and working with me on how to make this the absolutely best work it could be. I continue to learn from my many teachers.
MechaVerse Trilogy
NEMESIS
J. B. Everhart
A MechaVerse Novel
Find out more about the author as well as participate in the community blog:
JBeverhart.com or [email protected]
PART ONE
“Old soldiers never die;
They just fade away”
- General Douglas MacArthur
PROLOGUE
I once attended a fascinating lecture by a pair of historians. Strauss and Howe declared that all of humanity follows a four-generation cycle that constantly repeats itself. Simply put, their theory stated that if someone wanted to understand the decisions of a country, or people, then one must only look at which generation currently holds the most influence in that society. This outside perspective allows for context when understanding why a society makes a given decision, such as electing a particularly divisive leader, and is applicable regardless of which country or culture is evaluated.
Different cultures, for instance those from different countries with little in common such as China and the United States, each follow their own cycle of generations that are independent of one another. The historians stated that a major event such as a war, endemic plague, or devastating famine, could possibly reset the cycle. Then they went on to state that those factors are often directly attributable to the generational cycle following its natural course.
Unsurprisingly, the different classes of generations are often incompatible with one another. In fact, the entire underlying objective of each of the four types of generations is to define their existence as different from that of their predecessors, often attempting to fix the problems the successor generation caused. As a natural extension of this train of thought, the ebb and flow of countries can be determined by which generation is currently exerting the most influence upon its society.
In order to understand this theory better, it is important to break down the fundamental differences between the four-generation archetypes. The historians stated that the most easily recognized of the four generation types is named the Apocalypse generation, which is the last generation to occur before the cycle renews itself. As a rule, the Apocalypse generation is always an existential threat to their neighbors, but most importantly, a greater threat to themselves. Often, the energy of this generation is directed against an outside force, such as a neighboring country. The wars of this generation are often pursued with such careless hatred that they inevitably threaten the existence of the very society that begins them.
After the Apocalypse generation falls from power, the cycle of rebirth begins anew. The survivors of that society-ending event come to be named the Survivor generation. They grow up mentally scarred from the disastrous mistakes of their parents, determined to avoid repeating those same mistakes at any cost. The Survivor generation is inwardly focused. They use diplomacy to build alliances and avoid war at any cost.
Here is where I disagreed with the historians, because in my mind, the Survivor generation is the most fundamentally important of the four. They are the re-builders of society, and the foundations they lay into place among the ashes of their previous society shape the path of future generations in the same way a riverbed shapes the flow of water coursing between its banks. The course of the following three generations following the Survivors is determined by the strength and will of the Survivor generation.
An example of the Apocalypse and Survivor generations is easily recognized when evaluating the German population during and post-World War II. Those who made up the bulk of the armies and factory workers during the war would be the Apocalypse generation. The generation that had to pick up the pieces, both East and West German, and rebuild their society, would be the Survivor generation.
The third generation in this cycle is the Innocents. This sheltered and overly protected generation receives the elements of their society from their parents, having in no way made any meaningful contribution to the creation of that society. The Innocents will inevitably dabble in war, but only because a little war is good for the economy. They are naïve in almost every meaningful way, and it is that naivety that leads to humanities single greatest repeating problem; the Entitlement generation. The fourth generation, the Entitled, grow up in a world they never fought for, nor built. They have no direct ownership in the stakes required to obtain their status; therefore, they have no problem experimenting with what they have. Inevitably, they will push their limits; testing how far over the brink of the abyss they can reach without falling in.
It is my firm opinion that while some of the Entitlement generation will fall into, and be swallowed by their self-created abyss, the number of those who do is not large enough to serve as a warning for the rest, meaning that no real lesson is learned by this calloused and careless generation. If we as a single, united, race of people are ever going to find a way to prevent the easily avoided mistakes of the future, it will occur after we find a way to transform the Entitlement generation into something more akin to a technocratic, caretaker generation. I strongly believe that the entire purpose of s
ocietal traditions are to serve as a guiding set of principles for a culture to follow with the single transcending purpose of avoiding the common pitfalls of generation in turn. I also believe that the flouting of those traditions by the Entitlement generation leads to the decay of society, serving as the catalyst for the birth of the Apocalypse generation.
History is the story of civilization, and like all stories, possesses a moral, a lesson to be learned so that future generations will be able to see the mistakes of previous generations and avoid them. Instead of heeding those lessons though, humanity as a species often makes a point of ignoring the historians, those keepers of the collective wisdom of our race. Instead, we take pride in appointing leaders who flout past lessons learned after much pain, choosing instead to repeat past mistakes in a never-ending cycle. These leaders, these charismatic firebrands who use words like Safety, Strength, Progress, and Change, as well as other similarly lofty adjective, are in fact spouting the eventual destruction of society as a whole for their purely selfish gain.
And we, the human race, let them. Regardless of country, culture, or society, this pattern inevitably repeats itself.
For it is a fact, an undeniable and recognizable truth that stands the test of time, that no leader has any power over a single human being who does not first cede personal responsibility for their actions in return for being governed. Therefore, yes, the people who elect or allow such poor leaders to rule them are indeed directly guilty of the consequences.
* * * * *
When judging what happened to us on Mars, and the grave mistakes we made during its colonization, these lessons and our history as a people are fundamental to understanding the full context in which decisions were made. Those who we allowed to rule us made decisions that set humanity on the single greatest collision course of its existence with both itself, and our morality as a species.
Debates on the matter continue, and I assume there will always be new viewpoints given, but the widely accepted conclusion among living historians sees the beginning of the end occurring in 2027, in a small place called California, United States of America. At the time, California had a population of nearly fifty million people. If they were to have declared independence and formed their own country, they would have possessed the world’s fifth largest economy. The choices the people of California made, and the ripples those decisions caused throughout the rest of the world due to their influence on all of society should not be underestimated, especially when I remind you about what happened next.
For years, it was widely known that ‘The Big One,’ was coming. Tectonic plates that do not exist on Mars were slowly colliding with one another, creating a series of regular earthquakes in the region. Many of those earthquakes were small, and some were large; in retrospect however, they were all small. The gradual buildup of barely contained kinetic forces between those two tectonic plates colliding with one another possessed all the inertia of certain inevitability. This process continued for years past when it was believed the event should have occurred. In the meantime, the pressure between those continental sized plates continued to build, meaning that the longer it took to release, the more powerful the explosion when the time came.
Despite years of warnings, no one was prepared for the level of destruction that occurred when that enormous buildup of pressure released itself in the span of seconds. The earthquake and its series of aftershocks rocked the entire world for months afterwards, leveling the vast majority of human habitation along the American West Coast. Basic infrastructure was so completely devastated, that in the span of seconds, nearly the entire regions habitants were instantly returned to the Middle Ages without any of the will or resolve necessary to facilitate their survival.
However, that was only the beginning. For those who bought property in Arizona believing that it would be a future beachfront, they were as disappointed as the drugged up surfers that California did not physically break away from the rest of the continent. Instead, few anticipated what happened next. A great abyss opened up where the fault lines met, cracking the underground aquifers throughout one of the most agriculturally abundant locations in the world. The region was nearly entirely dependent on those aquifers for its water resources. Unnoticed until it was too late, the water drained into the abyss, forming temporary lakes that were quickly lost forever.
California’s civilization destroyed, functioning infrastructure non-existent, and a world incapable of suddenly replacing everything that was lost, paled against the tragic loss of all forms of potable water west of the Rocky Mountains. The death and disease that spread in the wake of the earthquakes claimed millions. Next came the fires. With public services annihilated along with everything else, combined with the pull back of what was left of the military forces once stationed along the West Coast, the fires rages incessantly, consuming what little was left. Fires raged in the cities as broken gas pipes served as veins through a body, becoming conduits for the flames to spread. Outside of the cities, annually occurring wildfires that until now were combated by tens of thousands of trained professionals and a massive dedication of resources, went completely untouched. They were left untended, and they raced with unfettered glee, consuming all in their path. The smoke from those fires choked out the sun’s light for months, burying the few survivors in ash and despair.
After the nearly instant destruction of the West Coast, the United States became measurably weaker, focused internally. The resources needed to deal with the near apocalypse drained the Americans of their ability to care or attempt to effect what occurred outside their borders. The sudden withdrawal of their vast influence left a vacuum.
If there is one lesson about humans and nature, it is that a vacuum of power is always filled.
The timeline of events was recorded as following:
2022 – Mass Unemployment throughout all advanced economies began due to robotic workers replacing tens of millions of unskilled humans.
2024 – Massive tax increases were instituted to provide basic income for an increasing percentage of the population.
2025 – The crime rate skyrocketed. Prisons the world over were filled beyond capacity. Sentences for time served in prison were reduced or commuted for tens of millions, returning those bitter souls to society with no promise of a better life.
2027 – The American West Coast was entirely destroyed by ‘The Big One,’ and its aftershocks.
2028 – Gangs and criminals overran what was left of the West Coast, returning it to a lawless region.
2029 – Organized criminal gangs overran Chicago.
2030 - Martial Law was declared in Chicago by a critically weakened Federal government.
2031 – Naive idealists such as the ACLU and anarchical supporters became uncomfortable bedfellows, together applying enough pressure that governance of Chicago was suspended, leaving the city to the gangs and criminal elements.
2032 – Texas voted to declare independence from the rest of the United States.
2033 – The American race wars began. What began in Chicago spread to Detroit, Cleveland, New York City, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and other major population centers.
Across the pond, America’s allies were unable to lend help. Europe was drowning amidst a sea of immigrants. Africa’s uncontrolled population explosion reached a crisis point when the great American food-exporting machine ground to a halt after the loss of the West Coast. Nearly the entire African continent devolved into civil war. Each year, tens of millions of poor, hungry immigrants headed for Europe, long humanities morale compass. The number of immigrants to Europe increased every year, far surpassing its ability to cope.
The weak European governments were heavily influenced by multi-national corporations, who initially used the immigrants to fuel their profits to every greater heights. This came at the cost of providing work for indigenous Europeans whose level of unemployment was already elevated.
The first pogroms to occur in a century began as European fought back. Both si
des were fighting for their very survival.
2028 – American food exports stop, Africa’s massive population becomes unsustainable.
2029 – Africa begins to starve. Five million immigrants head to Europe.
2031 – Africa descends into civil war. Ten million immigrants head to Europe. Europe begins fighting back.
2032 – Genocide on the African continent becomes commonplace. Thirty million immigrants head to Europe. Southern Europe becomes a police state intent on stopping the immigrants.
2034 – Fifty million African immigrants head towards Europe. Europe essentially goes to war with Africa.
2035 – With no outside force able to intervene, China attacks Russia, seeking its natural resources.
2036 – The Russians traded territory for time, managing to hold off the Chinese hordes.
2037 – The harshly repressed Islamic populations of the ex-Soviet states annexed by China revolted.
2038 – Russia restores its territorial integrity through draconian, non-nuclear measures.
2040 – An existential crisis strikes humanity as famine spreads worldwide.
2041 – Governments across the world are unable to cope with the destabilization. Corporations fill the vacuum of power. They begin rebuilding the planets infrastructure.
2043 – A mega corporate conglomerate creates sustainable fusion energy.
2044 – Earth begins running out of critical minerals such as copper, uranium, and rare earth metals.
Nemesis (The MechaVerse Trilogy Book 2) Page 1