The Reverter

A Story of The Future

"I am going to try to keep it short, so here we go," I said, adjusting my posture to sit straight. Rohit and Akriti were watching me like a hawk.

"It all begins in Wuhan, China in November of this year. A 'viral pneumonia' is discovered which later becomes a pandemic."

"A pandemic!" Rohit screams.

"Dude! don't shout! keep your voices low both of you."

"Sorry," Rohit said softly.

"Anyways can you tell us more about the pandemic?" Akriti asked in a whispery voice.

I started speaking in a lower voice too, "The virus causing it will be called SARS-COV-2 which is related to the SARS-COV-1 virus that happened from 2002 to 2004. They belong to the same family or coronaviruses. The disease will be named COVID-19 and it is an upper respiratory disease. The first wave that starts spreading around the world in march 2022, is not that bad. The disease causes a lot of deaths-The mortality being 3%-but at the same time, a lot of people recover as well. The scary thing about it is its infection rate. It is more infectious than a common cold. Too infectious. The US suspected that COVID-19 was a laboratory leak, similar to the SARS outbreak. China denied it and we could never prove it. The worse thing though, will be the economic breakdown. Hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs as companies lay off employees to compensate for the lost profit as governments all around the globe impose lockdowns. Many small businesses will have to shut down as well."

"That doesn't sound good..." Rohit said.

"It's the least horrifying thing though. In 2021, US troops withdraw from Afghanistan, but then the terrorist organisation 'Taliban' takes over the country completely through force. This happens after Joe Bidden gets elected as President after Trump loses the elections. Then there is the whole Israel-Palestine conflict, an Iranian major general is killed by the USA, adding to Iran's hate of the west. And a lot of bad things happen in the US as well, but it does not have any direct effect on the war so I am gonna skip that part."

"The war?" Akriti asks.

"Yes, world war 3."

I expected them to show an expression of fear, but I noticed exactly the opposite. Rohit was smiling now.

"Really, Anirudh? World war 3? Then what will happen? Alien invasion?"

Akriti also laughed covering her face with her hand.

"Yeah, you continue Anirudh," she said with a pseudo serious expression.

"Before the war, there will be a skirmish between India and China in 2021 in the disputed Galwan valley. This would become the inevitable catalyst for India to put the 'quad'-an alliance between the USA, India, Australia and Japan-into action, as they conduct various summits and military practice exercises. This Would anger China. But it does nothing for now. In September of 2021, The president of Ukraine approves a new national security strategy which includes a partnership with NATO. Russia doesn't like it at all. And in Feb of 2022, right after the Beijing winter Olympics, Russia invades Ukraine."

"So that begins the world war?" Akriti asks.

"No, it merely acts as a catalyst."

"And what about the pandemic?" Rohit asks.

"The second wave of the pandemic comes In May 2021 and is very deadly. Oxygen cylinders and hospital beds become scarce as the medical system is overwhelmed. Vaccines are developed though and a huge amount of people get vaccinated and the pandemic gets very weak due to a mild strain of the virus by 2022. China, however, faces a huge problem. China had gone COVID free for a very long time but as it opens its gates back, the infections start increasing. And Xi Jin Ping wants to push his 'zero COVID policy'. So he imposes severe lockdowns in Shanghai and other parts of China. Which makes it a living hell. There is widespread civil unrest. Meanwhile, a lot of people have died in Ukraine. Other countries do not offer military force to help Ukraine, as they fear starting world war 3. They only offer weapons and accept refugees from Ukraine. The USA imposes severe economic sanctions on Russia. Countries all around the world, but mainly European countries seize all properties and yachts of Russian oligarchs. India however is a very good ally of Russia, so it abstains from voting against Russia in the United Nations. The USA keeps pressuring us. But we don't give in. In the end, they realise why we are abstaining: China. Russia gives us weapons at a fairly lower cost than the USA. These weapons are crucial in defending against China. Following the Ukraine war, there is a huge economic recession around the world. People were already struggling because of the pandemic, and now it gets worse. Even my dad loses his job."