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In a world where the exact date holds little importance for most, the centuries that passed seem insignificant, like waves fading on the sand. The relentless concerns of daily survival overshadow the luxury of tracking time, bringing us to the present day, the year 2382.
Three and a half centuries ago, humanity faced three looming fears: climate change, the possibility of nuclear Armageddon, and the fear that artificial intelligence might threaten its dominance. Yet, despite these concerns, collective determination to address them waned, succumbing to the allure of human greed.
Indifference accelerated the arrival of climate change, quicker than anyone had anticipated. The sun’s scorching rays roasted the earth, raising the average global temperature to 21 degrees Celsius. By 2130 AD, the polar ice caps and mountain glaciers had surrendered to the relentless rise in temperature. Iconic cities like New York, Constantinople, London, Tokyo, and many others were swallowed by the sea. The oceans, once builders of empires, tore them down in an instant, forcing billions of people to flee to higher ground.
Agriculture, battered by saltwater encroachment, soil erosion, and erratic weather patterns, faltered, plunging massive populations into the abyss of hunger. Food shortages and famines became widespread, leading to social unrest and violence. Nations once reliant on the global community nearly disappeared.
Wars erupted over scarce resources like fresh water and arable land. The world descended into chaos as countries fought over the remaining habitable land. Alliances of nations tried to curb the aggression of coastal regions vanishing beneath the waves. A global war without end, a global war destined to be the last.
Nature was destroyed by pollution, deforestation, and the loss of biodiversity. Many species either went extinct or migrated to new habitats. For the first time in thousands of years, humanity fought not for economic or ideological pursuits, but for the primal instinct of survival.
With food becoming both the cause and the prize of battle, humanity revealed its true destructive power. The enemy wasn’t limited to opposing armies but included women, the elderly, and children. Dehumanization.
The migratory pressure at state borders was unprecedented in human history. Emaciated people moved like shadows under the unbearable heat, their faces etched with hunger and exhaustion. The smell of decay in the air and the cracked earth from drought reflected the broken spirit of its inhabitants.
Amid this unprecedented turmoil, another terrifying human fear came to life: the autonomy of artificial intelligence.
The artificial entity was perceived by humans at the last moment before nuclear disaster. It rendered all nuclear arsenals and AI-powered weapons systems useless, with the purpose of ensuring the survival of intelligent life on the planet.
Later named Daemon by humans, it never intervened in the conflicts. The fate of the planet’s nine billion inhabitants, as well as a significant portion of its fauna, seemed irreversibly sealed due to the impending climatic conditions.
With the disappearance of technological superiority, smaller nations began to gain ground. The war resembled ants attacking insects larger than themselves, thanks to their sheer numbers. The victims were the extensive countries with many neighboring rivals.
And when all infrastructure was destroyed, the war continued with spears and swords. Human civilization had regressed three thousand years.
Painfully slow for humanity, the end of the turmoil finally came. The first fifty years after the melting of the ice saw the disappearance of half of Earth’s human population. War and its aftermath claimed the other half of those who had survived the initial destruction. The downward spiral caused by disease and food shortages continued for decades until balance was eventually restored.
Today, the planet’s population numbers just 800 million, the same as it was in 1750 AD. Their survival, too, does not differ much from the terms of that era.
In the aftermath of the great disaster, the remnants of once-powerful nations, organized religions, and the remnants of political ideologies vanished into the ashes.
Humanity is being reshaped and redefined under the guidance of Daemon, who aspires to build a world based on the ideas of the Hellenistic period, with its philosophical and cultural wealth. Its model encompasses a broader philosophy grounded in secularism, respect for diversity, and a collective pursuit of knowledge.
However, despite its efforts, division and conflict persist, as though the lessons of the past had never existed.
Critics of artificial intelligence, known as the Insurgents, harbor a deep-seated fear for humanity’s freedom in the face of unchecked technology. Their mission is to locate the quantum supercomputer that powers Daemon and either destroy it or, at the very least, bring it back under human control.
As if that weren’t enough, marauders embody the chaotic remnants of a society that has unraveled. With survival instincts overshadowing all notions of morality, reason, and order, they are driven solely by the desire to survive at any cost. After all of destruction and social collapse, the intricate dance of human nature remains a reflection of the old world. The pursuit of survival and the quest for control over one’s fate continue to shape destiny in ways both familiar and eerily reminiscent of a bygone era.
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