- Chapter 8 -
The other Side of the Universe
©1999 Quizzard
The fall and the rise of Mankind has been the subject of many fine historical works, none of which caught the main
thrust of the changes that Y2K brought about. Everyone laughed about it, thought they were safe, until the truth
came crashing home. No, it wasn't the planned-for disasters, it was the views and attitudes which changed when
nothing happened.
You see, the scramble for personal security, as people everywhere stockpiled their generators and their food,
forever destroyed any sense of community that humanity had managed to hold on to. Even after the crisis was
passed, people refused to return their money to the banks, content only when they had their grubby hands on their
material wealth. The banks, with no money to invest, had to close their doors, and the stock markets crashed. The
resulting mass hysteria and food shortages caused crisis after crisis, and the military had to take over.
All in all, the battles were scattered and of short duration, and the casualties low. The end result was world
domination by a council of the previously democratic nations. The democratic model was once again resumed, only
this time, on a global scale. special interest groups found power and wealth as never before, and the rot settled back
in to the new leadership. On a positive note, with the armies only remainig as a peacekeeping police force, more
effort was turned to the conquering of space travel. Mankind swiftly overran it's small solar system with colonies.
Still, the ever growing population outpaced the new resources, and Man had to find a way to bridge the voids
between solar systems.
Then in the year 3199, according to the official sources, faster than light travel was found to be possible, and the
first prototypes built. A rousing success, the ships made travel to the neighboring galaxies a matter of months,
rather than eons. Mankind was ready for the next giant leap.
The astronomers of this time managed to apply the new subspace technology to their telescopes, and new
information poured into their computers. Suitable sites for colonization were explored, and to their surprise and
consternation, alien life was detected. And that's when the debates began. They lasted for decades.
Finally, the Consortium for the Development of Mineral Sources, or CONDOMS, managed to gain approval for an
exploratory mission to the alien planet. Presumably, to ask for permission to trade technology for the incredible
mineral wealth the astronomers were sure the planet possessed. A ship was outfitted for the journey, and a hand-
picked crew of hardy negotiators was sent on it's way. However, two months after the arrival of the team on the
distant world, communications ceased. The silence was almost unbearable...