Generator

A lone traveler wanders through the rubble, scavenging, sifting, hoping. The traveler searches day and night for a speck of his sanity. The stars guided the traveler north, so far north, he couldn't  remember the path back home. Sometimes he regrets his decision, but this is his higher purpose, higher than himself. He understands this mission will determine humanity's fate for the future.

    Two hundred years have passed since the first devastating solar flare. The x-rays and radiation fried 99% of all computer operating systems. Satellites came crashing down within the day, all motors, electricity substations, water distribution substations, vehicles and laptops, years of advanced technology defeated in minutes. The solar storm reduced the population by 14% from radiation poisoning. It took many long years for mankind to recover and rebuild from this catastrophe. One scientist during this time devised a plan to create a generator that would be powered by water and steam and can withstand any amount of radiation, x-rays, even blasts from major explosions. Years and years of blood sweat and tears went into building this huge contraption. The second solar flare hit twenty-four years later and ten times worse than the first, killing almost 87% of all living things. The earth's atmosphere was obliterated, as if forty-three nuclear bombs went off miles above the ground. Which in turn threw the climate into a frenzy, the north blazing and the south an ice box. Life on earth halted completely. After a few months the dust settled, humans who were thought to be wiped out of existence showed their courage and undying loyalty to life. The northern hemisphere remained silent while life regenerated on the side opposite. The ones left behind were few and far between, gathering and constructing small villages in a now icy tundra. This is how humans lived for decades, no one dared to cross the radiation sea to find what lies north. Except for one.

    He wanted more than the safe life the village offered. He wanted to find his true purpose. He felt as though his existence meant more than washing sheets on Thursday, collecting clean water on Sunday morning, and assisting the farmers during the weekdays. In his down time, he collected and read any books, memoires, journals, and magazines left behind from before the solar flare. His mother allowed him to take over the shed assigned to the family for his collection. Fantasy books from the past, news stories frozen in time, magazine articles with tabloids of long forgotten celebrities. The pieces he treasured most were the newspapers and articles about the world's largest generator. -One Man's Greatest Invention! Say Good-bye to Global Warming! Generator Runs Only on Water and Steam, Powers Half the World! Famous Steam Generator Withstands Nuclear Blast Test!- His goals exceeded the stars. After reading barrels worth of books on steam power and generated electricity, he dreamed of one day finding and repairing said generator. His mother barely let him go on routine scavenging missions, so his dream of repairing the generator lived and died the moment he mentioned it in casual conversation. With his mothers refusal fresh in his head, he slipped out in the night with all the supplies needed for his journey without a glimmer of guilt.

    Through the dark nights, and hot days, the young traveler trudged along with his belongings strapped to a sled behind him. Almost twenty-three days passed since he departed home. A cloud of guilt for leaving his mother started to form above him, though there was no turning back. He walked for days, resting when necessary, mumbling repair plans and what his living situation would look like. He taught himself how to read and walk at the same time, looking up once or twice to see where he was going. Thick forest flooded his path for miles and miles. On day forty-one, he saw a small building in the distance, partially gone. Getting closer, the building turned into multiple buildings, streets, abandoned cars, and grass taller than himself. He found a small, unbothered building, from which he could tell, was a hardware store. Screwdrivers buy one get one free, sawzall operation manual, tires are half priced, he read everything the store had to offer that wasn't already destroyed. The traveler was surprised that much of the store was preserved quite well. Venturing further towards the back he noticed a book on a table with no dust. He paused for a moment, assessing the room, spotting cups, papers, and other disturbed decorations. The bell from the front door rang as it opened and the traveler ran and hid behind a pile of crates leaving his belongings in the lobby. Loud voices echoed throughout the store, the travelers sled and jacket were spotted and everyone gathered around it. The young man's first instinct was to run, but he became curious and walked out from behind the crates with his hands up, cautious not to startle anyone. Everyone drew their weapons in his direction, a large man with a long beard speckled with grey and brown, approached him slowly asking where he came from. The traveler explained how he came from the south in search of the steam powered generator, it was quiet for a second and the room was filled with booming laughter. Without a second thought the burly man with the beard invited the traveler to dinner.

The Hardware Store Crew had a feast in honor of the foreigner's pit stop, for they do not get guests from the south often. They discussed the generator and the crew told him it was a myth and never existed. He refuted and showed them the newspapers and articles. No one believed him, they deemed the stories fake and just some stories they used to make money back in the day. But the traveler persisted, declaring that he alone will find the generator, fix it, and run it himself, powering half the world with steam. But everyone brushed him off with jokes and laughter. The large man with the beard, now known as the groups leader, pulled him aside after dinner and told him to give up on finding this generator, that it was a suicide mission, and only death and destruction will greet him in the north. The traveler insisted on going, he had his mind set and no one could change it. He departed from the Hardware Store Crew early the next morning, they provided him with extra food and clothes for his long, so-called impossible journey. Whoops and hollers echoed as he walked up the road to his self presumed destiny.

    Three months passed, the farther north he traveled the higher the temperatures, and fewer resources of food. Many animals crossed his path, providing the traveler with food and resources as needed. For each animal the boy sacrificed for his meal, he gave a prayer and a thanks for its service. He remembered each time he ate meat in the village, during special occasions, the families gathered around their feast and thanked the animals for their help in the village's survival. Plodding along, he started to long for his mother and the village gatherings, recalling all the scavenging missions and his share of the chores. He missed it so much that he contemplated a return, giving up everything he achieved so far and going back to his safe home. But he knew what needed to be done, to push everyday life into a new direction, to repopulate the earth with humans, animals, plants, and trees. The answer is the generator that runs on steam, it powers half the earth, it withstands nuclear blast, it's the worlds greatest invention and it needed to be repaired. There was only one person who could do it, he thought to himself, I am that person.

He felt the air around him getting heavy, making it hard to breathe. Traveling through the night, he could feel himself getting closer and closer. The stars started to disappear on the horizon, scared of losing the remainder, he rested until morning. What the morning sun brought to light, was something the traveler could never have prepared himself for. Piles of bones, mounds of burned rubbish, not one tree for miles, and in the middle of it all stood a massive concrete building, the culprit of the disappearing stars. The traveler, overwhelmed with what his eyes were showing him, fell to his knees and cried. He finally found what he was searching for, but it did not fulfill his fantasy one bit. He walked past the remains of those before him who failed to reach the generator. So many people with complex lives and dreams, so many bodies, some fresh, some fully decomposed. He almost felt a sense of pride that he and no one else made it this far. The traveler became wary as he got closer to the concrete giant. The wind grew stronger as he drew nearer, pushing him with all its might. Pushing him so much that he tumbled to the ground, he looked up only to be met with the truth. The angle of the structer played tricks with his mind and what was left of the generator was one wall and mounds of rubble beneath it. Nowhere to turn, no one to turn to, he was frozen for hours at the base of a lie that he told himself.

    "What was thought to be a beautiful artifact, turned into a devastating tragedy for myself and my brethren who sought out its magnificence. The Generator is nothing but dust and debris now. This journey was time well wasted.

I am so small to think I was going to be the one to find and fix this Generator... I am so small to think a singular Generator would make life easier like in the olden days, the golden days. I gambled with my life without considering the consequences, and now I am paying for it.

I write this last testament to my mother. The one who raised me so well. Giving me breath and a life I did not appreciate enough. Apologies, mother. Apologies to the Hardware Store Crew, for they warned me well, but I refused to listen. If they were to become aware of my demise, I hope they would shed a tear or two for my idiocy. Apologies, apologies, apologies, apologies, apologies, apologies, apolog-"

Radiation took over the young boy's body from the inside, leaving no room for recovery. He slowly slumped over his pen and letter. A letter written to his mother and the Hardware Store Crew, a letter that no one would read. All that work, all that time, all that distance seemed to be for nothing. He learned, he grew, but he was not pardoned.

The End