The Apocalypse in Brief

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April 26th in the yearus of 2061


A Solar Flare strikes Planet Earth. It knocks out each and every computer chip. All but the best shielded of equipment survives.

Aeroplanes fall from the sky, hospital equipment fails and industrial processes cease.

The event causes chaos, communication systems fail, vehicles which rely on microchips break and any system which relied on a computer to function stops. People stop talking to each other across long distances and vehicular travel is totally disrupted.

Fires and explosions occur but with no coordinated emergency service response they spread unchecked. Chemical fires release bilges of toxic smoke into the atmosphere and some of the more poorly designed nuclear power stations go critical. Whole areas and cities are laid to waste by fire. Thousands die within days of the event.

With the economy destroyed, chaos abounds. Resources become all important and communities become isolated from each other.  Without a transport system food supplies dwindle and farmers are forced to fiercely protect their crops. Neighbour fights neighbour for food. Hundreds of thousands die of starvation within weeks of the event.

Civil War breaks out in Britain. Escalation is swift and millions die either from fighting in the war, or just sheer starvation within months of the solar flare.

In Europe the situation is no better.  

In Asia they try and organise a system of communication between countries. Communication is slow but slowly the world starts to talk to each other again. Billions start to survive again. A cease fire is sought in Britain. In America people are starting to try and farm large areas again. People are hopeful.

That is until R1581. At least that is what the scientists called it. We just called it Ebola. A new strain. Virulent. Airborne. Deadly. No one knows where it started, it just spread. With an incubation period of nearly three weeks it spread from city to city, town to town and village to village before we knew it. Sufferers could expect a quick but painful death. People tried to quarantine themselves but it was too late in many circumstances. The virus must have carried on the wind. By the time all travel stopped, we had heard it was in America, Russia and China. Billions died.

I watched people die around me, then I watched everyone die around me. It was strange at first and then normal. I ran around like a lunatic for a few weeks. Then I got sick, real sick. I thought the virus had come for me. I recovered. I was fine. I started foraging for food again, I started walking and ventured further afield. I found a horse and starting riding. A few months later I even smiled. That was when I saw them. We had survived.