It came without warning the biggest solar flare ever. Astronomers were able to monitor the phenomenon as the data was off the charts.
There was little that they can do as the solar storm dislodged a million tiny specks of cosmic dust that fell on the night sky. It was an impossible situation they say because it shouldn't have been able to move those particles but they were on a course to hit Earth.
The storm washed all over the earth bathing it in radiation causing EMP-like effects. Planes dropped from the sky, trains stopped in mid-motion and ships lost navigation tools.
There was chaos in the streets as people watched in horror as planes plummeted and it was like seeing a thousand 9-11's play out right before their eyes.
Electronics were disrupted and all the lights were turned off. The world was plunged into darkness.
Then the first cosmic specks started to fall and in a lightless world, it was beautiful to behold.
The world watched in awe while waiting for things to start back up. This phenomenon would be forgotten soon they think as they turned their attention to the tragedies of hundreds of thousands of lives were snuffed out due to electronic malfunctions.
Stories of pacemakers failing, of ventilators stopping, of generators and back up systems failing to reboot and killing patients as doctors and nurses scrambled to save as many as they can.
The news would be full driverless cars crashing and causing multiple car collisions, of the names of passengers of the thousand planes that fell.
The world was grief-stricken with the loss of so many human lives. Yet it was not over.
The Loss
People started to notice there was something amiss. In the chaos that happened after the solar flare the focus was on the tragedy with other people but they did not realize that a calamity was so much nearer.
A child missing, a father not seen, a mother who was assumed to be out and siblings that were thought of just being busy. Co-workers not reporting for work, students absent from school.
People just assumed that they were somewhere else and would return soon. They never did.
Media called them "The Lost", millions of people that seemingly just vanished without a trace. No evidence of foul play, of them shirking away from their responsibilities and families. These were good people.
Conspiracies and the theories burned like wildfire trying to explain what happened to "The Lost" everything from being kidnapped by the Illuminati, to being taken by the Men in Black or being experimented on by Aliens.
The End of Days
“But in those days, following that distress, “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
-Mark 13:24-27
More than a few people thought that this was the start of The End of Days. This was the Rapture happening when God would take his chosen people.
Science and logic could not explain it so people turned to Religion and faith. Yet some of the priests were still here while some of the brethren vanished. Would people trust a religious man that was not taken in the Rapture? A crisis in faith happened as people lost their faith and hope.
God has abandoned you
Life continued albeit with less caring and goodness as people succumbed to their selfish nature. People grew to distrust each other and found it to be more and more difficult to work together unless if it was to step on someone weaker.
Lives were easily tossed as people sought out their desires and want because there was no God accounting them for their actions. If they are to be abandoned and damned then they might as well enjoy what remains of their lives.
It was every man for himself as the only thing important was me, myself and I.
This scarcity mindset made people hoard and protect their stash with extreme prejudice. Raiders became commonplace as people wanted more and felt entitled that it was theirs because of their might.
The powerful were surrounded by lackeys who are waiting for an opportunity to murder and steal.
Mankind lost their goodness and hope. Man lost everything with the Rapture and it has only begun.
The story of The Rapture was one that left an early imprint in my mind. Being raised in a religious household and been educated in schools run by monks, religion was constantly pounded into my mind.
Things did change when I was exposed to Philosophy in college as I started to reject religion's dogmatic principles.
A post-apocalyptic world is usually one that was set off by a nuclear war or a pandemic of a zombie plague.
Of dystopian settings of hunger, lack of resources and technology being lost. Knowledge lost is often portrayed as a huge calamity for mankind as it sets back progress but I wanted to explore a world that lost its goodness and hope and what remained was a self-serving attitude.
I was thinking that if humanity lost its goodness it would be a greater tragedy because all that would be left is to be evil and selfish. The world would lose hope and kindness because everything would be a What Is It For Me {WIFM) kind of world.
This story was inspired by articles that I have seen by some religious friends that I have that are posting in Facebook that the Rapture is going to happen this August 2018. If you try to engage them into a discussion though it gets ugly really quick because they denounce you as an unbeliever that will go straight to Hell. So I don't talk to such characters anymore.
This is an entry to Neoxian's Prodigious and Desolate Post-Apocalyptic Writing contest!
Thank you for your entry!
Thank it was a good writing assignment to do
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Your entry was impressive. I wanted to keep reading to the end because I was able to make images appear in my mind because of your worlds.
Great job! I am sorry that you have been hurt by religious people. Some may call me religious but I prefer to think of myself as one who has a personal relationship with God versus just following rules that men try to use to control others.
Regarding the Rapture, no one knows the time (in my opinion). But when it comes, you story my come to life.
Oh I hope that it will not happen yet because mankind still has a lot of things to do and fix itself before it happens.
We may see how bad mankind has been to each other but I also see that it has been good as well. It is just the bad gets more coverage as it is shocking and get more clicks.
I have been exposed to religion early one as I come from a family that has strong Catholic ties and I was an altar boy and even supposed to be a priest at one point.
I see how it has done the world some good as well. I focus on the good.
Just like you I have a more personal relationship with God or the higher entity we have rather than follow a more dogmatic approach.
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Hmm I was a bit distracted musing to myself about whether or not planes would actually fall out of the sky due to EMP haha. Ah well, not important.
I'm not even sure that something like the rapture would have the effects you are describing. It sounds like in this situation the disappearance is the only thing that happened. Life should have just carried on as normal. Well at least in my mind anyway. Funny enough I read part of the very first book of the Left Behind series which is exactly about the rapture. At the time I didn't even know about what that was but I couldn't finish the book. It just felt silly, and then it made sense once I found out what it was about. But that one had the other elements of the Apocalypse coming in some form though with some interesting liberties in interpreting how the Apocalypse would be carried out.
And while I'm randomly musing about the rapture thing, you might get a kick out of a movie I saw recently called "A Day without a Mexican" which muses about what happens when the illegal immigrants suddenly disappear from town in rapture style.
Thanks for the interesting story, it was fun to think about.
Thanks for the recommendation Eon I would check that "A Day without a Mexican" I think I saw a snippet of it shared on Facebook over some of the anti Trump people that I know especially after the building of the wall was said and having Mexico pay for it.
I didn't know there was a Left Befind book and this was a musing I had of a Rapture style post apocalyptic instead of your usual fare of nuclear fall out and zombie hordes.
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"A Day Without a Mexican"? I'm going to have to look that one up. I'm sure life as we know it would change radically. The illegals I have known are among the bravest, most resourceful, hardest-working people in the community (and living where I do, I am surrounded by them.) They have exactly the sort of character we need and should encourage in this country. I have a profound respect for them.
Yeah. Just ... yeah. And they seem uncommonly pleased at the prospect.
I have encountered some religious sects that have a holier than thou attitude they have with being saved and I just overblew that notice on this.
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