A while back, io9, had an environmental writing contest. I started a short story, but never finished it. Currently, it feels as though I have but a few paragraphs left. This story has evolved into the opener of another story I've been working on for sometime.
So without further ado,
City of Walls: Prologue pt 1
2013
No one knew Mexico had WMDs.
At 12:25 pm, E.S.T., 15 nuclear missiles launched in the mid-day sun. They left from cities bordering the U. S. as well as the former island nation of Cuba, and Mexico's newest conquest, Brazil.
Approximately a year before, drugs were legalized in a bid to stop cartel violence. But the violence in Mexico didn't stop, causing a desperate civil war.
Hazmat teams still investigate Mexico City Nueva, searching for clues as to what went wrong. Some media pundits claim Mexico was trying to knock the governments of the world down a few pegs. Others, that the rebel movement was making a kamikaze move to eradicate the cartels for good. Many more decree a plethora of confusing plots, most of which are mere smoke dreams.
It was estimated that the U. S., Canada, Australia, Russia, Africa, China, and most of Europe were targets. In short, it was the end of the world. However, for some unknown reason, 25 min. after launch 13 missiles altered course and impacted on Mexico City Nueva and its military strong holds. The fourteenth missile impacted on its original target, Vancouver. As did the fifteenth, in Albany. The death total was in the millions.
At the time, the Metropolis of the 21st century were on their way to becoming megacities, complete with domes and independent power grids. Ottawa/Montreal was merging into a megacity as was Albany/New York. The two cities were to be the first dome border cities. Completely isolated from each other, but with a basic airlock ports for borders crossing. Though mankind had left space exploration to its robotic counter parts, much of what was learned from the early era of space travel was transferable to the dome city plan. But it didn't happen in time. Now the area is a waste land, requiring a hazmat suit for entry.
Canada is still struggling to recover, while the States do little better. Canada is rebuilding its capital in Winnipeg. The U. S. is keeping its capital in D. C. We are a defiant and stubborn nation.
Many commentaries of the time point out that politicians became less corrupt than they once were. It is thought by many that the proximity to the "Mausoleum", as it is commonly called, made public service a role one does not take lightly. For decades even in D. C. people had to go about in a Hazsuit. Needless to say the areas closest to the danger had put their domes on fast track. But, building massive domes was a painstakingly slow process. Everyone thought the domes would need to protect them from the upcoming ice-age, not radiation.
The year that would have been the start of the Third World War, was the year my parents met. My mother was attending the University of North Texas, working on a degree in biotech. My father was working for as an engineer for a construction company.
2028
My father's company was able to win the bid to dome D.C. His love of space travel, he once wanted to be an astronaut, gave him a leading edge in the creation of the modular domes. Creating smaller domes and adding adjacent domes or tunnels enabled the work to be done quickly, as well as more environmentally safe.
On the night a combination charity function, 10 year Anniversary party for my parents, the model of the D.C. domes was going to be displayed for the first time ever. I remember talking with my dad just before they left.
"Daddy, I like the new city you're gonna build."
"Well I'm glad it meets with your approval." He chuckled as he straightened his tie. "What do you like about it?"
"It looks like a pile of bubbles. You know the ones I make with a straw in my juice. Like this, pphhbbbt." I demonstrated for him.
"You know something, you're right! Now think about how hard it is to blow out all those bubbles. Takes a long time, doesn't it?" I nodded in agreement.
"Stacked up all together like that protects the inner ones better." He explained to me.
"But Daddy, what about the ones on the outside? What protects them?" I asked.
He sat down on the bed next to me, "Those ones are extra special. They will be real strong. I was also thinking of putting some extra air and water in those. Not let any people inside. That way if they pop, no one gets hurt."
Though my father's work would utilize recycled water and air, there was still an uproar about the pollution that such enclosed spaces would accumulate, and create in the surrounding area. The PR dept. worked hard to point out that the city was also going to be a pilot program, testing and using quite a variety of earth safe tech. Tonight's gala was primarily to show off all that tech.
One such tech was an innovation on the harnessing of human energy, bioelec.
