Challenge week 6 was about coming up with some flash fic about cryogenic freezing. I went about this one in a very top-down way. This is kind of a full on overview of all of the events that the perfection of cryogenic freezing led to. You know, in my crazy head. I hope you like.
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In the wake of the perfection of cryogenic freezing, science
came under a barrage of criticism that divided the nation and eventually, the
world. A large swath of the population
believed that freezing was morally abhorrent.
It was mocking death, the ultimate equalizer. They called themselves the Naturals.
Those that opposed them were known as the Lifers (a
shortening of the Long Lifers). The
Lifers were constantly protecting their equipment from Natural attack and even
though they had smaller numbers, they tended to have, procure, or even create
more advanced and effective technology.
One day a Natural managed to break into a cryo facility and
shut down the power to the whole building.
Twelve frozen Lifers died from inadequate life support, including a
revered scientist and former leader of the Lifer movement. The gauntlet was
considered thrown.
At first there were small skirmishes, mostly centered around
scientific facilities, but eventually the Lifers decided to go on the
offensive. On Sunday, April 5th
of that first year, there were 12 simultaneous explosions throughout the United
States, all churches. 200 people were
killed and almost 1000 injured as the blasts were timed to go off during Mass. The government tried to impose military
peacekeeping laws, but since both sides of the blossoming hostilities were
spread throughout the country, it was of almost no use at all.
Natural leadership prepared to respond to the church
bombings. They arranged for suicide
bombings in several key locations. The
first strike hit a rally that was campaigning for further education on the
virtues of cryogenic freezing and stem cell organ replacement. The rally ended in a shower of body parts
that left 12 dead and 25 more in the hospital.
A second bombing happened that same day at an abortion clinic, three
young women, two of whom were carrying unborn children, were killed along with
a doctor. A week later, a 23 year old
public relations professional was caught trying to gain entrance to the largest
cryo lab in the US with five pounds of C-4 strapped to her chest. When she was discovered at the gate outside,
she tried to detonate her payload, however, she was shot and killed by one of
the guards before she was able to.
The leader of the Lifers, a man named Salvatore Desario,
refused to back down, saying in a speech the day after the failed cryo lab
bombing, “The Church’s power comes at the cost of knowledge for its
citizens. Let others believe that
ignorance is bliss. Soon they will know
that ignorance bears its own price. Soon
they will understand the cost of civilization.”
This thinly veiled threat would manifest itself in short order.
A string of seemingly isolated beatings happened outside of
a series of churches in the Midwest in July. Eventually a pattern emerged that, when viewed on a map, seemed to
create a picture of the radiation symbol.
At first, authorities believed this to be a threat of the use of nuclear
weapons. It would later turn out that
the Lifers were simply using it as the symbol of their cause.
That realization would not sink in until after a government
raid of a warehouse, in which they believed the Lifers to be storing nuclear
material. Everyone in the warehouse,
most of whom were not involved in either side of the hostilities, was
killed. This information has not been
public until very recently due to a high level classification surrounding the raid. Even now, almost 70 years later, the
government still has not released all the details of that day.
The Lifers railed against the dangerous Church
theocracy. The Naturals (who were quick
to point out that they weren’t all Christians) spoke of the dangers of
tampering with the laws of death.
Publically, the Vatican decried the events and all but declared a new
Holy War against the unbelievers. Droves
of atheists across Europe attended rallies of various levels of violence. Those of a more Natural bent found ways to
insert themselves into several of the rallies and released anthrax into
statistically significant portion of the Lifer population. The resulting terror led many to stay home
from work for weeks, nearly crippling the Euro.
These events later led to an all out war between the two
sides. Governments were completely
inefficient at stifling the battles and often times even chose sides, leading
to a larger, and more sustainable, conflict.
Then, in the third year, a new Natural leader named Jeremiah First finally
signed a peace treaty with the Lifers. This led to a stand down between warring countries as well. In the religious community, the man was
hailed as the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The peace that he was able to broker has stood the test of time and
there have been no further hostilities to this day.
First was a great man, the world has never seen his
equal. That was never more proven than
when he decided that the best way to end the petty hatreds that were still
perpetuated at the end of the war was to sacrifice himself. He left specific instructions on how to carry
on and instill hope in our neighbors and the world around us, but was silent on
matters pertaining to his own demise.
The next day with the whole world watching, he held a press conference
with Salvatore Desario and a man few knew before then, but is a household name
now, Peter Hale. Before anyone knew what was happening, Hale, a scientist and
lifelong friend of First’s, had begun the freezing process. We now know that Hale left specific
instructions to have First unfrozen 68 years later, that being the longest frozen
period that the technology of the time would safely allow.
The day has finally arrived, and we are almost finished with
preparations to unfreeze our Savior.
Jeremiah is coming back to us.
Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the Third Coming.
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