HS2023 Rapture (staff, just for fun)

We are all very close to starving; those that aren’t close are already gone. May God keep and preserve them. Surely His son will soon come.
It wasn’t always this way, no, my son, why when I was your age, there were fruits and meats and grains aplenty and those that could work, worked and they prospered and raised family and lived the dream. We had cattle which we milked, and crops that we tended and harvested, and we hunted for our food and ate. We had businesses, oh yes, and some specialized in housing and real estate, and we traded with other countries and territories, and life was good. There were occasional wars that flared, but once settled, they always seemed to foster a subsequent prosperity, both before and after the wars. Before, as we ramped up our weapons and supplies to the troops, and after, as we basked in the glow of peace and patriotism and the hope and promise of growth.

I was a professional musician in a band, did you know that my son? It’s true. We even once played for the Queen. Oh, the whole court was enthralled, and all the royalty turned out for the event. We weren’t the only entertainers there, but I felt that we touched them with our renditions of homespun classic folk songs. Perhaps nobody saw it but me, but at one point the Queen looked directly at me and nodded and smiled. I think she enjoyed herself that night. We ate in the servant’s hall with everyone else, but I was happy to see that we ate the same food which was laid out on short tables before the Queen and the royalty.

Then came the Third World War. WWIII. The number three has great historical significance, as you know. The original three Gods. The Three Muses. The Tripartide nature of Heavens, Earth and Waters. All the threes in our cultural stories. The profound significance of three mathematically, and how it plays into the very nature of our structures and homes and lives. The very nature of space-time and gravitational forces.

I don’t know what God was thinking – I can’t know – but our doom came without warning. Perhaps those in upper level government had warnings, but we did not. We were all tending fields, milking the cows, bartering, selling properties, tending museums, harvesting crops, attending to the libraries of our species, governing our troops, researching the nature of advanced elemental compounds, engaged in research and upper level learning, even sweeping the pathways, picking up debris, recycling everything, always. And then it happened: There was a great flash, brighter than the sun overhead. Many of those who were facing the direction of the flash were blinded.

You have to understand……….. I know it is hard to relate……….. but in those times, we were carefree. We all had a job, except for those who were disabled, and we enjoyed our jobs and our lives and our family. We would often gather for worship, and on holiday occasions, the Queen would preside over events, and that brought us all together. Sometimes I cried. Don’t tell your mother. She expects me to be the strong one, but in truth, son, it is her that keeps me strong. There is nothing wrong with crying, you understand, but your mother believes that I must be stolid with a stiff upper lip to keep family strong. Oh Dear God, son, sometimes I forget she is gone. Forgive me.

After the flash, came the fires and the smoke and the death. So many died, and not gently. Not at all. Very few enjoyed a peaceful death. The fires are still burning, and we are at an end. Maybe not The End, but certainly one of them.

And now, son, we come to the most important part, for as you know, I won’t last very much longer. Your mother is dead, as you know, as is your sister. Much of family is gone. We need to unite with other countries and territories. You must follow through with my instructions, for the good of Family.

Voice of All has deemed that we will all pray at 23 hundred hours. We will pray collectively. Hopefully that will involve the complete compliance of all nations under the UKP. That is 62% of the world. We will have to hope that is enough.

I am going to initiate the sequence three cycles from now. I want you at my side, my Son. You now know everything that I do. That which we are initiating is historic. We will pray with the language of God in His own symbols. May God have mercy upon our souls. May He hear our prayers.
______________________

“It’s the weirdest thing!! I mean, have you heard anything like it, ever??” Sonja said.
“No, I haven’t, “ Bing replied, “and I’m not even sure I believe it, I mean, realllly……….
They can’t speak, so who would think they could spell???”

They watched in rapt attention to the news story about the ant colony in Wattanobbi. Australia. They weren’t sure what to believe. Can the media be trusted? If the news can be believed, a Soldier Ant colony in Wattanobbi has used sticks and clay to spell out the words, “HELP US GOD”.

“I think it’s wack,” Stephanie said, “some people will believe ANYthing.”

a reply to: argentus


That so reminds me of stories, style wise, that I read in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazines in the late 60s.

a reply to: FullHeathen

You don't know it, but that is one of the highest compliments you could have paid me; that is where I cut my teeth and grew a fondness for short stories and particularly sci-fi stories that had a hook ending. They were the masters, and I hungrily looked for their works.

Thank you. ;o)

a reply to: argentus

This is one of the best Sci-Fi’s! Very nice!!!

a reply to: argentus

Very well done, in my humble opinion.

Love your writing style.

a reply to: Lumenari

We should take him to LA so he can start writing screenplays. argentus, we are coming to your island to capture you for a while. You can show Hollyweird what is up!

a reply to: argentus

I think it's great! Enjoyed that, thank you!

a reply to: argentus

Excellent Argentus!

As the atory progressed I was getting goosebumps as my imagination pictured your prose.

Then, the twist at the end... you hid any clue to the ending very well. My state of apprehension throughout the story couldn't help turn into a smile, notwithstanding the catalytic nature of the story.




The story particularly hit home for me because of something I witnessed just a few weeks ago.

At a bus stop there was an ant colony under the pavement/sidewalk.

I saw red ants carrying tufts of something, dragging them into the nest and then other ants bringing out other similar tufts.

What was amazing was the organisation; the tufts, which I assume had been separated from their seeds Inside the nest, were then neatly deposited to the side of the nest's entrance.

Here are two photos I took.

The first you can see an ant with a tuft heading towards the entrance (dark banding).


The second, zoomed out, you can see the mound of discarded tufts approximately where the pole's shadow crosses.


I think they, and bees, will outlive mankind by some margin.

a reply to: Encia22

Everything you wrote is 100000%

Love the ant story!

a reply to: JJproductions

Thanks much! I enjoyed wandering into it.

a reply to: Lumenari

Thank you Luminari; I try to keep you all guessing. ;o)

a reply to: BukkaWukka

Much appreciated!

a reply to: Encia22

I felt I left adequate clues:

They milked their cows (aphids), but didn't eat them.
The hive was always referred to as "family", not my family, or our family or even the family
The Queen was revered above all
They were fastidious in their constant recycling

I am glad it wasn't obvious. ;o) I try to balance that line between disclosure and overt clues. If you weren't able to sus it out immediately, then I did it right. In many ways Encia, you are the measure of my balance.

I am fascinated by the ants you photographed! I have always been in awe of the hivemind, and the extreme efficiency of their community. I believe they are far more intelligent than we give them credit for. When ants are killed in battle, they save the bodies and recycle them as protein for the hive. Everything for Her, the Queen, for from Her all evolution is delivered.

Biting ants show themselves by moving much more slowly than their cousins. They are attracted to magnetic fields. They frequently get between the contacts of switches of water pumps and a/c units, and when they are be tween those contacts, they get fried and are welded in situ. When they die, they emit a pheromone pulse which signifies " Come quick! I am hurt!" and the ants line up to respond, an get zapped as they cross between the contacts. This goes on for a long enough time, often, that the contacts are separated, and the a/c or water pump ceases to function. But it doesn't stay that way, because the ants eventually sus out what is going on, and they use tools -- sticks and such -- to move their electrocuted brethren from between the spring-loaded contacts of the switch, and they haul their burned bodies away and recycle them. Perfect. So perfect. We could learn a lot from ants. We could learn pragmatic patience.

a reply to: argentus

No, you masked the subject extremely well, my mind had wandered in a different direction... off-world, in fact. I thought large, when I should have looked under my very feet.

I didn't know all those facts about biting fire ants. And yes, I believe they have intelligence above our understanding. Just the fact that they can communicate via chemical processes, and God knows what else, puts them on a different level to our rudimentary and ambiguous form of speech. I'm sure our brains have hidden abilities that we don't tap into, and probably never will as our minds our obfuscated by the daily commotion and the artifical foods and chemicals we ingest.

I do remember that ants can survive floods by hooking onto each other and forming rafts. I don't think any shtf event would disturb their daily grind. Their domain is underground and the safest place in any life-ending event.

The red ants I saw were quite lethargic, compared to other smaller, frenetic species. However, they were organised and methodical. It's amazing what they do without heavy machinery and computers; they are master engineers.

Thanks very much for your kind words, Argentus. Your feedback has helped me grow in my creative writing. I don't think I would have had continued if it hadn't been for your stories and mentorship.

a reply to: argentus

WOAH!!!


Yes, it is very hard to be strong in this world.
Thanks for the story....

a reply to: argentus

Love the twist ending!