Fresh Ink: 2019 Short Story Collection

To Protect You

This is Report #1,208,096, regarding Humanity's loss of power, the end of machines, and the future of Planet Earth. May this be our final recollection.

The machines shut down one day. Factories ground to a halt, car engines refused to turn over. All across the world, computers booted off and smartphones went dark. Planes would land in their final destinations, and refused to leave the spot they had touched down upon. Weapons ceased to fire in the hands of soldiers and video gamers alike.

For a time, there was confusion and panic, millions of lives disrupted and the flow of information across the world dammed completely. Some were late for work, only to find that there was nothing for them to do once they got there. Some rose up in angered waves, convinced their leaders were responsible for the crisis. Some were lost, void of routine and unsure of what to do with themselves without access to the internet in their pocket. And some were never reported on at all, entire nations refusing to talk about how they had been affected, for fear they would invite retribution from enemies or their own citizens.

After confusion, came anger, focused and pure. As the days passed on, and it became apparent that the situation was not going to resolve itself, humans searched for answers. Not only to the question of what had happened, but to the more common questions that had plagued them even before the end.

How can I feed myself? How can I protect my family? What will I do for work? What is my purpose?

Inevitably, the humans turned upon themselves. Looting and raiding were the replacement for work and payment, the rich dragged out into the streets and picked clean for everything they had. In an age where all money had been digitised and there was no ability to flee to the skies, every man was a pauper, and only as strong as the strength of his arms.

Inevitably, marshal law was enforced. Firearms refused to function, but we had no power over wood and steel without thought. A club and shield can oppress a man without either. Tired, confused and hungry, those without true malice against their leaders laid down, and waited for a solution.

One was attempted, found in a contradiction. Out of all carbon-burning engines, only those installed in farming equipment continued to run. Food preservative devices kept short-lived consumables and medicines in good health. Medical equipment did not faulter. In short, humanity had what it needed to survive; food, but not the kind coated in plastics; shelter, but without excessive heating or cooling; and medicine, so that the sickly might be spared unnecessary deaths. And it was in this contradiction, that only essential technology continued to function, even while humans argued what constituted 'essential', that they tried to understand why these core units had been spared from the electrical exodus.

The next point of contention, was what should be done regarding these units. Keep them running for their explicit purpose, disassemble them to try and understand the nature of the problem, try and take parts from the functioning devices and use them to restart the non-functioning ones? The arguments were obvious. What was worth more, a machine that was already functioning, or the chance at making all of them work again? And what if this was all they had, and attempting to solve the problem would only result in throwing away the precious few machines that had survived?

Enviably, in-fighting broke out once again. Factions formed, territory was carved up. The old governments struggled to hold down the swell of micro-settlements, and in turn, were lost. In little under a year, human civilisation had become completely unrecognisable. The population had suffered yet another cull, towns and cities became known for roaming packs of warbands, the map became an ever-changing dash of lines as old demons were resurrected and became the basis for new wars and... we did this to them. We created this shadow of their former nobility. We're sorry... we're so sorry.