The age of indifference

An excerpt from: An Honest History of the Modern World
by Dr. Gaspard “Wise Man” Gondophares

Published December 2098

It’s a funny thing, the future. One meets lots of people traveling the world. Every culture, every great civilization has an origin and an ending story. Everyone from the poorest man to the wealthiest on the hill has a theory about how it’s all going to end. They speak of how some New World Order will change the world. They worry about the day when it will all come crashing down. In that moment, some pray their savior will come from the heavens; others cling tight to the very earth they tread.

It’s a pity, really. Most folks I met worried so much about the end of the world they did little to enjoy their time before it inevitably came.

It started in September of 2031. A coordinated nuclear strike against the Heartland of the United States killed unnumbered millions of people. From North Dakota to just over the Texas border, the attack left a 100-mile wide scar down the middle of America.

The aftermath didn’t play out the way everyone had worried it would. The world didn’t come to an end, just a big area of the United States that won’t be habitable for the next 500 years. The United States didn’t retaliate; first and foremost because they had no idea who to retaliate against and second, because if they had, in their weakened state the world would have come down on them like a sledgehammer. So they turned inward and licked their wounds. America was one of the last great empires and while some had taken a poke at them in the past, no one had really hit them in the gut.

Who dropped those bombs is still one of the biggest mysteries on the planet and everybody has their own personal theory. Wild accusations began to fly in every direction you can imagine. Someone out there knows who really did it, but they sure as hell aren’t sharing, and for good reason.

In the wake of the attack, people fled from the heartland areas and retreated to the cities. Refugees started to pour into shelters and find any housing they could.

The local and state governments weren’t able to keep up with the vast influx of people into its city centers. Work, shelter, and food was in short supply. They were at a loss at how to best provide for and protect its citizens. The people, in turn, were in no less hurry to trust the government that just allowed millions of its people to be wiped out.

The corporations were the answer. At first it was a humanitarian mission. Corporate conglomerates were doing their best to take care of their own workers and their families, and then extended aid to the mass of incoming refugees.

Refugee camps were set up on the outskirts of the cities. They were fed a steady supply of food rations from crates with corporate logos. Their blankets were from corporation gift shops. Corporations were assisting with branded, well, anything that could be supplied. Whether it was a conscious decision by the Corps, or just merely using goods available to them at the time, it won over the loyalty of the people.

The governments, still struggling with a proper response, looked more foolish every day. There were city council meetings, local township gatherings, press briefings; nothing seemed to quell the increasing anger beginning to spread.

It was only a matter of time before their suffering would lead to anger, then to hate. Meetings and briefings would devolve into loud protests and shouting matches between the people and government representatives. The people demanded answers. Private Corporations had given them shelter, food, water, and some security, but where was the government during all of this? The same groups of people saw giant skyscrapers being built, the cranes carrying corporate logos; some of the same logos that were on the bins and blankets they had now. The answer was becoming obvious.

On May 1, 2033, the protests and the demands of the people erupted. No one really knows who fired the first shot, but the 12-Days War officially began. Local law enforcement and the National Guard, drained from fighting other conflicts abroad, were unable to keep the fighting contained. It spilled out from all areas and engulfed entire regions in flame.

The Government, unable to control the infighting and destruction, eventually reached out or help. The Corporations, for their merit, tried to keep the peace. They did their best to reason with the mobs that had sprung up. They continued to provide food and shelter for those who weren’t rioting in the streets. The Corps offered security support, armor, and weapons to the Government.

Fearing a much longer and even more violent escalation to the war would come, the Corporations tried to bring local and national governments and the mobs to negotiate a ceasefire.

Peace came, but at a price. And everything comes at a price, right? The governments, both national and local, didn’t have much power left against the people it governed. The people needed a way to restart their life after the single-greatest terrorist attack in history. The Corporations, despite deep pockets and large pseudo-militaries, had yet to flex their muscles but needed the people. Everyone needed something out of the negotiations.

After days of tense conversation, at the brink of when war was about to break out again, there was a declaration of peace out of Chicago—the local government and the Corporations had reached an agreement.

The Corporations hold the power now, the bigger the corp, the more power they have, simple as that. As part of the agreement between the people and the governments, they surrendered control of critical infrastructure and other day-to-day needs to the Corps—essentially privatizing everything from security, water, farms, and public transportation.

The people were more than happy to sign away their freedom to the Corporations. They offered everything they could possibly want. Shortly after Chicago announced their new terms, cities around America started to follow. It was only a matter of time before the Corporations had taken control of 80-percent of America.

The national government, quick to get back on its feet, would act as an overseer of the Corporations. They no longer tax the people; their funding comes directly from the Corps. No one should really expect them to have oversight. It’s like saying you’re keeping track of your boss. But, still, it looks nice on paper. I guess that helps people sleep at night.

The Corporations unveiled grand plans to rebuild the cities in their image. City Councils were created to give a semblance of organized government. The top seven corporations in any city were given a seat on the council. The only votes came from inside each company, and the only way a corporation would lose a seat would be to go out of business. People would now have to vote with their wallets.

Capitalism had won. The world learned that anything from your identity to elections could be bought and sold. People spent most of the 20th and early 21st century simultaneously denying and fighting against that fact. They’ve since given up. Even before the troubles that brought the world to where it is today, many Corporations had more cash than most third-world countries. Now they’ve just dropped all pretense.

Should it bug us? Possibly. But most people are fed, secure, have a job or other purpose in the city, and are entertained. Both in America and worldwide, sickness, crime, unemployment, and death rates are down. So in the most primordial way they are happy.

Now, the remaining cities are towering statues to man surviving despite its own hubris. What’s next?

Well, that is another story for another time.