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PrinceCaspian
Star
- Joined
- May 10, 2011
- Location
- Canada
The story had been passed down from generation to generation. In many ways there was no way of knowing it was the truth, but for all the disbelief there was so much evidence of what life was like before the meteor that there was no way to refute it.
The meteor fell to earth 900 years ago. People were worried about what was going to happen when it hit. Most of those people never had to worry about a thing when it did. Most of the life on the planet was incinerated. Most of the land south of the 55th parallel, in fact, was cleaned right down to the soil. Small pockets of civilization were suddenly the only pockets of civilization. The only population bases that were still strong enough to survive were in Alaska, Northern Russia, Finland, Norway and the remotest parts of Canada. At first the communities could talk, preserve some of their knowledge in books and journals. After the last satellite fell 30 years after the meteor, communication between the communities fell. Now no-one knew if the other communities existed. All they had were memories and legends.
Fairbanks Alaska was one of the largest remaining communities. When the meteor struck they were far enough in-land to be protected from the tsunamis that rocked the remaining coastal cities. During the dust storms that wracked the earth after they were protected by the cold weather, the dust being trapped to water particles and coming down to the earth in the form of snow. This made the land fertile, good for growing all forms of vegetation. The Chena river provided fresh water year-round and the land was bountiful enough with Caribou, Musk Ox and various other game.
Even though Fairbanks was one of the more successful communities, it had also underwent it's own catastrophe. It's population was hovered around 3000 after the meteor. Those who were lucky and were in concrete buildings or in basements and out of the direct blast were luckiest. Those lucky 600-700 people were the founders of the community that was formed just outside Fairbanks. As years went by, Fairbanks became the graveyard in which "the collectors" would scavenge.
As the society grew, more people began salvaging in the surrounding communities. They would salvage things like turbine motors that could be rewound for electricity and run off of coal. The occasional motor or generator that could be run from biodiesel, and books. The collectors grew of increasing importance. They became responsible for linking the technologies and information of the past to the present. As the need developed, the scavenging collectors would go farther abroad. In the summers they would travel down streams and lakes to camps based in various towns. The latest gold rush was to Anchorage. A major city that had been untapped for centuries.
Sean had been a collector for 8 years. He trained in his youth with his father and became an official collector when he turned 18. After 8 years he had seen plenty of scores. Solar panels, a seed-washing facility full of barley and wheat. He even found a couple stills for brewing moonshine. But his favorite find was a music player. It was something called a cassette player. Part of the reason he loved scavenging was finding the elusive D-cell batteries needed to play the cassette called "Rubber Soul." He hoped to find more. He could listen to music and read books about the past, music and books were his escape.
Sean was part of a crew of 8 other collectors under the command of Terrence, the son of one of the Township Committee. They called themselves "The Timberwolves". When they got news that they were being sent to Anchorage there was a buzz among his and every other collector crew. Anchorage was a 3 week travel away, and salvages could take months to transport. Sometimes they had to wait for winter and use the ice. Sean was second in command and second oldest on the crew. He hated being under Terrence's command, but knew that they would not get the prime jobs if it weren't for Terrence's father.
There was another group assigned to their scavenging territory. Terrence was livid, but he was not the only one that had connections in the Township Committee. Preparations were underway for the Timberwolves. New leathers, gloves, body armour, and new full-faced helmets. Three members were given high-powered rifles in case of bears or mountain lions, the rest were given a pistol and a hunting knife. In his entire 8 years no member of any collector team had to fire a shot, but having the extra protection while in the forests never seemed like a bad idea.
Sean was tall, just over 6 feet and had an athletic frame. His long hair hung down to his shoulders in brown waves. His green eyes were the only feature he inherited from his mother. His high cheekbones, deep-set eyes and heavy brow were all features inherited from his father. A scar from his childhood ran over his right eyebrow. He was excited to be going to Anchorage. He had never seen the ocean and had only heard of the city through whispered rumors or read in the odd book about Anchorage.
The meteor fell to earth 900 years ago. People were worried about what was going to happen when it hit. Most of those people never had to worry about a thing when it did. Most of the life on the planet was incinerated. Most of the land south of the 55th parallel, in fact, was cleaned right down to the soil. Small pockets of civilization were suddenly the only pockets of civilization. The only population bases that were still strong enough to survive were in Alaska, Northern Russia, Finland, Norway and the remotest parts of Canada. At first the communities could talk, preserve some of their knowledge in books and journals. After the last satellite fell 30 years after the meteor, communication between the communities fell. Now no-one knew if the other communities existed. All they had were memories and legends.
Fairbanks Alaska was one of the largest remaining communities. When the meteor struck they were far enough in-land to be protected from the tsunamis that rocked the remaining coastal cities. During the dust storms that wracked the earth after they were protected by the cold weather, the dust being trapped to water particles and coming down to the earth in the form of snow. This made the land fertile, good for growing all forms of vegetation. The Chena river provided fresh water year-round and the land was bountiful enough with Caribou, Musk Ox and various other game.
Even though Fairbanks was one of the more successful communities, it had also underwent it's own catastrophe. It's population was hovered around 3000 after the meteor. Those who were lucky and were in concrete buildings or in basements and out of the direct blast were luckiest. Those lucky 600-700 people were the founders of the community that was formed just outside Fairbanks. As years went by, Fairbanks became the graveyard in which "the collectors" would scavenge.
As the society grew, more people began salvaging in the surrounding communities. They would salvage things like turbine motors that could be rewound for electricity and run off of coal. The occasional motor or generator that could be run from biodiesel, and books. The collectors grew of increasing importance. They became responsible for linking the technologies and information of the past to the present. As the need developed, the scavenging collectors would go farther abroad. In the summers they would travel down streams and lakes to camps based in various towns. The latest gold rush was to Anchorage. A major city that had been untapped for centuries.
Sean had been a collector for 8 years. He trained in his youth with his father and became an official collector when he turned 18. After 8 years he had seen plenty of scores. Solar panels, a seed-washing facility full of barley and wheat. He even found a couple stills for brewing moonshine. But his favorite find was a music player. It was something called a cassette player. Part of the reason he loved scavenging was finding the elusive D-cell batteries needed to play the cassette called "Rubber Soul." He hoped to find more. He could listen to music and read books about the past, music and books were his escape.
Sean was part of a crew of 8 other collectors under the command of Terrence, the son of one of the Township Committee. They called themselves "The Timberwolves". When they got news that they were being sent to Anchorage there was a buzz among his and every other collector crew. Anchorage was a 3 week travel away, and salvages could take months to transport. Sometimes they had to wait for winter and use the ice. Sean was second in command and second oldest on the crew. He hated being under Terrence's command, but knew that they would not get the prime jobs if it weren't for Terrence's father.
There was another group assigned to their scavenging territory. Terrence was livid, but he was not the only one that had connections in the Township Committee. Preparations were underway for the Timberwolves. New leathers, gloves, body armour, and new full-faced helmets. Three members were given high-powered rifles in case of bears or mountain lions, the rest were given a pistol and a hunting knife. In his entire 8 years no member of any collector team had to fire a shot, but having the extra protection while in the forests never seemed like a bad idea.
Sean was tall, just over 6 feet and had an athletic frame. His long hair hung down to his shoulders in brown waves. His green eyes were the only feature he inherited from his mother. His high cheekbones, deep-set eyes and heavy brow were all features inherited from his father. A scar from his childhood ran over his right eyebrow. He was excited to be going to Anchorage. He had never seen the ocean and had only heard of the city through whispered rumors or read in the odd book about Anchorage.
