December 25th, 2050
I watched the morning candle flicker as I reached my hand out for warmth and it reminded me of the old movies based on the Charles Dickens’ Christmas Story. In the story, Bob Cratchit was trying to warm his hands because Mr. Scrooge was too cheap to put more fuel on the fire to keep their business shop warm. For Dickens, it was a time of scarcity and poverty due to not knowing better ways of providing energy. But, for us, now, it was solely due to politics.
~ source: https://static.pexels.com/
I made another mark on the wall, it shows the 20th year since the UN’s Agenda 2030 had been fulfilled. It also marks the same year that the great blizzard froze most of the northern hemisphere. Billions across the globe died from the winters, either due to the cold or the lack of food being grown in what used to be called spring. 20 years of stupidity, waiting for politicians to get their heads out of their asses and let us burn things for fuel. The clouds are not going to go away, the solar panels will not bring the power back to full. Rationing has just been a slow death to the survivors.
Survivors. What a pathetic word. We should have been fighters, all of us.
My tired old hands would enjoy being able to dig in the dirt outside, if it wasn’t still frozen as hard as a rock. Recycling the dirt around the green house in hopes for enough sun to grow a decent crop when the clouds break is my only joy.
~ source: https://i.pinimg.com/
Joy. That’s what it used to be all about this time of year.
Spending time with family and friends. Shopping. Going to that farm down the road to take the hayride through the Christmas lights. There’s not even enough electricity to waste on Christmas lights now, let alone finding any new bulbs to replace the ones that don’t work. Nobody makes things that aren’t needed anymore. I guess I could put out extra candles to give it a more festive mood today. Burn up my allotment for the week. What does it matter, my old eyes don’t need to see out to the cloud covered skies for the next few days.
Same old, same old.
The kids said they would stop by today. Well, at least, they can come. They don’t have enough transport passes for the grandkids. If I could get the car running, I would just drive there. I don’t care about the stupid laws at my age, what are they going to do? Take my forbidden car? Collect all of my seeds for the “Sustainability Factory”.
Sustainability. Damn word.
Never growing. Never expanding. Just sustaining. Stupid uneducated kids falling for that lie and the others, voting in the other idiots that made the laws to bring this crappy world. They couldn’t even admit they were wrong about global warming when the summers started getting shorter. When the snow wouldn’t leave the higher elevations and the animals changed their migrations. Stupid grant driven scientists faking data left and right to keep the money flowing.
~source: https://ak2.picdn.net/shutterstock/
Ugh. Well, at least writing about that makes me angry enough to warm up a little. Not that I could send this out to anyone. Can’t keep the Interwebs going when the power doesn’t work. Can’t get the ships out to replace the broken cables with icebergs floating around. Better off living like cavemen. If I had the energy I would go kill one of those elk that hangout on the highways. It would be good to eat real meat again. Probably would make me sick. I probably shouldn’t think about food, that just makes me hungrier.
What I should do is get the old rocket stove going. Dig in the snow and find some twigs. Nobody will notice I’m burning wood with that. Maybe they’ll see the heat come off, but not the smoke. Nobody will notice the twigs missing, not with all the dead trees and vines from the overgrowth.
~source: http://www.thedoityourselfworld.com
That’s what I will do. I will get the rocket stove going to warm up the house. Burn the rest of the candles when the kids get here. I think I will even find a couple of the old family pictures and find something to wrap them in and give them as presents. It was good that we printed those out back then, before the power started going out.
Nuts.
I will go collect nuts. I remember that my son liked to collect them and play with them like the rest of his toys. I know there are a few out by the big oak tree. Maybe I’ll burn some of them too, give a woodsy smell going.
That is what I will do today. Try to create a Christmas feel of when things were happier and full of hope.
Hope.
That is what we need. The next solar cycle should be more active and things will warm up again. I might not live that long, but my grandchildren, God protect them, should be around. Today, I will pass down hope to my children and have them tell their children. Maybe the hope will spread and people will get beyond the propaganda they get forced in their face on every wall and when the screens are on.
~ source: http://pediatricclinicofmesquite.com
Joy and Hope.
That is what this Christmas will be about.
Let the positive energy sing!
More Power to the Minnows!!
Good job! Although, the future does sound very bleak. I almost went that way, but decided I wanted a happy future!
Well, dystopia futures are my thing.
I'm glad you liked it.
I love this story, i love how rebellious he is when taking about burning all his candles and driving the car, i wish i knew that old man!! Best of luck to you, though i suspect you can survive on pure talent!!
The old man will be me in the future. ;)
I believe that driving a car is the last true freedom we have. Which is why I will avoid being forced into a self-driving vehicle as long as I can.
Thanks for the vote of confidence and enjoying my story.
When i was pregnant last year, i heard a man talking on the radio about how babies born this year would probably never know how to drive or at least wouldn't need to learn. I will be the first to admit i would rather have gma in a self driving taxi then driving around with legs she cant feel sometimes! Although i totally understand your point! I would not want to give up that freedom so quickly!
Most kids born 16 years ago will never know how to drive a manual transmission.
They probably will never learn how to change the oil or even a tire.
Sometimes, technology hurts instead of helping.
Fully agree! Most young people don't know the difference between a wheel and a tire and if they do, almost all of their knowledge consists of mechanics and no other self sustainability. Learning to drive a manual is fun and very intimidating as well, you just have to go for it, preferably in a large open field or parking center! One of my fondest memories growing up! I will be sad if i don't get the opportunity to teach my children to drive. To see them sweating and red knuckled on the steering wheel!
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