Post by tedlovesjeeps on Jul 25, 2021 21:03:57 GMT -6
First, greetings all and a special thank you to the person on survivalist boards who posted the link to here.
I’m no writer, never even thought to try. I used to be a voracious reader but it seems I’ve allowed life to replace that with more mundane endeavors like chores around the property and earning a paycheck.
That said, I used to find a lot of enjoyment in the stories of others before the aforementioned site had a bit of a shakeup and many of those talented writers became a literary John Galt. It was those writers coupled with a bit of insomnia which made me decide to see if I could piece together some facsimile of a tale. I honestly have zero idea what I am doing or even an end goal. But I figured if I put some words down, maybe I can get some of you kind folks to tell me I suck and I can return to trying to sleep.
I have no title, not even an idea of a plot. Just some roughed out characters which may or may not be entertaining and a bit of backstory on them.
Story:
Davis stood in the bed of his small pickup resting his elbows on the cab while scanning the valley below. A cinnamon flavored toothpick twitched in his mouth as he let his mind wander so he wouldn't grow complacent searching for his target. One thought that seemed to be frequently pondered was "how many other people consider things better now, after the collapse?".
The Collapse. An end of modern society. The Fall. Armageddon. Zero day. The Reset. It had many names but if anyone was still writing a history book it would be best to express that it wasn't caused by a single days event.
The practice of Lingchi, commonly known in the western world as the "death by a thousand cuts" is perhaps the best manner to describe how the evolved world as it was, came to a screaming end. Humans as a species have always been special, different from the rest of the animals in their ability to develop tools and technologies which provided them a vastly greater possibility of survival. Unfortunately, it was those same advancements which led to it's collapse. In early history, entire people's and civilizations rose and fell with little to no impact upon the rest of the species on the planet and who's existence was not even noticed until millennia later. But man moved forward quickly, developing at a steady pace with occasional huge leaps.
Fire was a game changer. The wheel. Medicine. Electricity. Gun powder. The list is perhaps beyond compiling and certainly something only possible by but one species on Earth. But for every advancement which bettered humankind, that same advancement held the possibility for wrong. The double-edged sword is a perfect descriptive for all man's efforts. Fire, so useful in so many ways, will burn, destroy, or kill. It is but a tool, subject to the will of he who wields it. It is man's application of these things which defines it's destination and effect.
Davis was of the opinion that it was all of these advancements and technologies which acted as the knife for a global Lingchi. When man struggled he often succeeded. When he failed he often learned from it and made alterations before trying again. And a single discovery would often Branch out into a miyrad of unforseen possibilities. But it was the successes which would eventually take root and become a simple fact of daily life, the struggle and pre-success days destined to fade from memory.
Two things seem to infect man as he advances. The eventual loss of knowledge as to how things were done before and an ignorant laziness as he no longer must struggle so mightily to survive. For those who were older or the few who had not been infected, the loss of technology was not as traumatic as those raised and addicted to it. From making fire to basic math, humans had allowed their creations to corrupt their abilites. Many rural or impoverished people actually fared better than most as they either retained basic knowledge in their daily work or were accustomed to struggling to survive. The wealthy and entitled fared the worst and had the greatest mortality rates from the beginning of the collapses second phase, when things truly came to a head and the "system" stopped.
Catching a tiny glint of reflected light made him brux, snapping the toothpick in half. All the training and chastising about noise and light discipline and he was able to spot his "family" in only an hour's worth of overwatch. Someone was going to be assigned additional chores. As he adjusted the zoom in his binos he was able to see it was, once again, Chantelle. The magnification of his prized Oberwerk XL series binoculars was nothing short of awe inspiring as he focused in on the screen of her (once considered archaic) IPOD. Reaching down without breaking his sight picture he pulled the small walkie talkie off of his belt. Keying the Mike he whispered "Satin 3, Satin 3. This is Jackel. Over."
He saw Chantelle stiffen and quickly slide her IPOD under her leg as she reached for her radio.
"Umm.... Jackel. This is Satin. What up?"
Pause....
"Umm.... Over?"
"Satin, this is Jackel. Is there nothing more productive to do than listening to Jay-Z, over."
He could see her whipping her head around trying to locate him but from his hide position over 1400 meters away it was not going to happen.
"Before you choose to play stupid and make it worse by thinking of an excuse,think about your reply Satin. Over."
I’m no writer, never even thought to try. I used to be a voracious reader but it seems I’ve allowed life to replace that with more mundane endeavors like chores around the property and earning a paycheck.
That said, I used to find a lot of enjoyment in the stories of others before the aforementioned site had a bit of a shakeup and many of those talented writers became a literary John Galt. It was those writers coupled with a bit of insomnia which made me decide to see if I could piece together some facsimile of a tale. I honestly have zero idea what I am doing or even an end goal. But I figured if I put some words down, maybe I can get some of you kind folks to tell me I suck and I can return to trying to sleep.
I have no title, not even an idea of a plot. Just some roughed out characters which may or may not be entertaining and a bit of backstory on them.
Story:
Davis stood in the bed of his small pickup resting his elbows on the cab while scanning the valley below. A cinnamon flavored toothpick twitched in his mouth as he let his mind wander so he wouldn't grow complacent searching for his target. One thought that seemed to be frequently pondered was "how many other people consider things better now, after the collapse?".
The Collapse. An end of modern society. The Fall. Armageddon. Zero day. The Reset. It had many names but if anyone was still writing a history book it would be best to express that it wasn't caused by a single days event.
The practice of Lingchi, commonly known in the western world as the "death by a thousand cuts" is perhaps the best manner to describe how the evolved world as it was, came to a screaming end. Humans as a species have always been special, different from the rest of the animals in their ability to develop tools and technologies which provided them a vastly greater possibility of survival. Unfortunately, it was those same advancements which led to it's collapse. In early history, entire people's and civilizations rose and fell with little to no impact upon the rest of the species on the planet and who's existence was not even noticed until millennia later. But man moved forward quickly, developing at a steady pace with occasional huge leaps.
Fire was a game changer. The wheel. Medicine. Electricity. Gun powder. The list is perhaps beyond compiling and certainly something only possible by but one species on Earth. But for every advancement which bettered humankind, that same advancement held the possibility for wrong. The double-edged sword is a perfect descriptive for all man's efforts. Fire, so useful in so many ways, will burn, destroy, or kill. It is but a tool, subject to the will of he who wields it. It is man's application of these things which defines it's destination and effect.
Davis was of the opinion that it was all of these advancements and technologies which acted as the knife for a global Lingchi. When man struggled he often succeeded. When he failed he often learned from it and made alterations before trying again. And a single discovery would often Branch out into a miyrad of unforseen possibilities. But it was the successes which would eventually take root and become a simple fact of daily life, the struggle and pre-success days destined to fade from memory.
Two things seem to infect man as he advances. The eventual loss of knowledge as to how things were done before and an ignorant laziness as he no longer must struggle so mightily to survive. For those who were older or the few who had not been infected, the loss of technology was not as traumatic as those raised and addicted to it. From making fire to basic math, humans had allowed their creations to corrupt their abilites. Many rural or impoverished people actually fared better than most as they either retained basic knowledge in their daily work or were accustomed to struggling to survive. The wealthy and entitled fared the worst and had the greatest mortality rates from the beginning of the collapses second phase, when things truly came to a head and the "system" stopped.
Catching a tiny glint of reflected light made him brux, snapping the toothpick in half. All the training and chastising about noise and light discipline and he was able to spot his "family" in only an hour's worth of overwatch. Someone was going to be assigned additional chores. As he adjusted the zoom in his binos he was able to see it was, once again, Chantelle. The magnification of his prized Oberwerk XL series binoculars was nothing short of awe inspiring as he focused in on the screen of her (once considered archaic) IPOD. Reaching down without breaking his sight picture he pulled the small walkie talkie off of his belt. Keying the Mike he whispered "Satin 3, Satin 3. This is Jackel. Over."
He saw Chantelle stiffen and quickly slide her IPOD under her leg as she reached for her radio.
"Umm.... Jackel. This is Satin. What up?"
Pause....
"Umm.... Over?"
"Satin, this is Jackel. Is there nothing more productive to do than listening to Jay-Z, over."
He could see her whipping her head around trying to locate him but from his hide position over 1400 meters away it was not going to happen.
"Before you choose to play stupid and make it worse by thinking of an excuse,think about your reply Satin. Over."