The Scavenger's Library (Some History)

Hey everyone! I've been writing up a storm lately, but it's mainly been with the books. Speaking of which, book number 1 has gone out to beta-readers. I hope to have it through the publication process sometime this year. I've also started book number 2 (a Bible project of mine).

This is yet another project. Unsure if it will turn into a "short" story that fits in with other items or whether it will be a standalone novel. But we will see where it ends up (everything is subject to change).

Future installments include: Alliance, All Against All, Expedition, and Irradiated Data.

It's hardly a new idea to do a post-apocalyptic Earth, but I have a few ideas that I think will be interesting.

To start, this vision may seem more boring than you may suspect. Sure, there's danger, but it isn't anything "cool." There aren't any zombies to run from or meteors to blow up. Danger only takes its most basic forms. People suck, but they only do so out of self-interest (and a bit of malice at times, but that's for a different chapter).

Truth is, the world doesn't need anything more than that to fall apart. Welcome to the apocalypse!

***

Blame falls everywhere. On its face, there were not enough people working to support the existing infrastructure. No one actually knows where to draw the line of when "it" started. To some, society's death was completely avoidable while others argue the collapse was inevitable. But everyone (well, mostly everyone) agrees on the cause: overproduction.

Fueled by a drive to stay globally competitive, the powers that were prioritized productivity. The extra production directly led to higher standards of living; all while boosting the world's economic metrics. On paper, the world was more prosperous than it had ever been. Almost every able bodied person was gainfully employed and advanced technology promised to solve every problem humanity faced.

Disagreement exists as to which sector fell first, but most experts point to agriculture. Labor in this field tended to be cheap and unskilled. As a side effect, almost no one wanted to work in agriculture. As the world became more and more educated, there were fewer people taking these grueling, low-paying jobs. Developed countries tried to solve this by loosening immigration policies and subsidizing emerging technologies, but there were just too many fields with too few people. Grocery stores started to struggle keeping shelves stocked while bountiful harvests simply rotted in their fields, pristine and unpicked.

Rising food prices led to immediate cutbacks from households in all discretionary areas. Companies in other sectors watched helplessly as their revenues shrunk to a fraction of what they were used to. Commercial debt payments loomed over all but the most cash-rich of establishments. Mass foreclosures, bankruptcies, and layoffs came pretty soon after. Entire streets of stores closed seemingly overnight. (Ironically, this would not fix any of the food problems due to location and skill mismatches.)

At this point, looting and rioting began to break out. The more authoritarian governments of the world declared martial law. The remainder of the world followed suit shortly thereafter. Some governments used this as an opportunity to consolidate power. Others pledged that these measures were temporary. Rationale hardly mattered. Whether by lottery or scapegoating, millions were conscripted to rebuild or recreate the food supply by any possible means. The unplanned moves ignited whatever dormant social powder kegs existed. But this kind of resistance was planned for and dealt with quick, surgical precision. But then the French Government moved "The Wrong Person."

No one knows The Wrong Person's name. No one knows if The Wrong Person knew what would happen. All that is known is that they were a technician at a nuclear power plant. The resulting reactor meltdown showed the world that what is left undone could prove far more destructive than martial law.

Records become less reliable after The Wrong Person was moved; that became the event everyone collectively chose to use as "The Sign" to rebel. Everything fell apart quickly after that for as many reasons as there are people.