July 1st, 2082
Richard MacNaomhán sat in his dimly lit study, the glow of his computer casting long shadows across the room. His young face, an unchanging mask that hid the weight of eighty years, was furrowed in concentration as he clicked through article after article, video after video. The footage on his screen was like a punch to the gut, showing burning cities and radioactive clouds—evidence of the six nuclear strikes that had ripped through the fragile post-collapse world just the day before.
The strikes had hit Washington D.C., Moscow, Beijing, Pyongyang, Tokyo, and London, reducing these once-mighty cities to ashes. Millions were dead, and the radioactive fallout would ensure millions more would follow in the coming years. The psychological damage was as severe as the physical destruction. In a world still recovering from the First Great Collapse, where societies had barely started to re-knit the fabric of civilization, the prospect of another global war, this time sparked not by nations but by rogue anarchists, seemed unbearable.
Richard rubbed his temples as he reflected on the anarchy that had erupted following the attack. The hacker collective Das Offensichtliche Ergebnis, led by Kwärl Richter, had hijacked an old German nuclear submarine and launched the attack, demonstrating the terrifying vulnerability of a world increasingly reliant on digital infrastructure. The irony wasn’t lost on Richard: humanity had survived the First Great Collapse only to be threatened once more by its own creations, its hubris, and its reliance on fragile systems.
The group had justified their actions as a necessary reset, claiming that the old powers needed to be eradicated for true freedom to emerge. They'd promised further strikes if any world leaders tried to reassert control. Governments across the globe were paralyzed, unsure of how to respond to a threat that came not from a sovereign state but from a handful of tech-savvy anarchists with no borders and no allegiance.
One meme Richard stumbled upon showed a smirking Kwärl Richter, his image cartoonishly edited to twirl a villainous mustache, with the caption: "Anarchy... that I run." Normally, Richard would have smiled at the absurdity, but it felt too soon. The devastation was too fresh.
The days following the attack were a maelstrom of chaos. Panic, fear, and anger washed over the world as survivors demanded answers, and governments scrambled for a response. Then, in the midst of this turmoil, a flicker of hope appeared.
Elon Musk, a name still synonymous with technological innovation and audacity, stepped forward. His solution was as bold as it was unorthodox. Musk had been preparing to unveil a new Tug Drive, an advanced gravity-manipulating technology based on Landsbury's Laws of Gravity. It was designed to be a marvel of modern science, intended to revolutionize transportation by making vehicles float. But Musk repurposed the technology for an entirely different mission.
Using his Skylink satellite network, Musk located the rogue submarine. Instead of deploying military forces or attempting a risky disarming mission, Musk sent one of his Grav-X Tug Ships to lift the nuclear submarine out of the ocean and into orbit. The world watched in stunned silence as live feeds captured the leviathan being tugged skyward, its missiles now harmless in the vacuum of space.
The hackers, still trapped aboard the submarine, were rendered powerless as their supply of water dwindled. Kwärl Richter and his crew, once heralded as anarchic heroes by their followers, became helpless prisoners of their own plot. The sight of the submarine, now orbiting the Earth like a second moon, became a powerful symbol—one of defiance, not just against the hackers, but against the fear and chaos they sought to create.
Musk’s audacious maneuver united the world, if only briefly. For a moment, the horrors of the nuclear strikes were set aside as people marveled at what human ingenuity could achieve. The very technology that had almost destroyed the world had now saved it. The Tug Ship, with its massive Grav-X logo facing Earth, was a reminder that technology could be a force for good when wielded responsibly.
As Richard gazed at the images of the submarine in orbit, he reflected on the precarious balance humanity now faced. The world was at a crossroads. It could descend into further chaos, with nations seeking revenge and old wounds reopening, or it could choose a different path—a path of unity, collaboration, and peace.
The global reaction to Musk’s intervention was immediate. Governments, shaken by the scale of the nuclear strikes and the fragility of their own security, began to call for a new era of cooperation. For the first time in decades, there was serious talk of disarmament. The leaders who survived the attacks understood that the age of nuclear brinkmanship had to end. They had seen firsthand what even a single rogue group could do with access to the remnants of the old world's arsenal.
Richard leaned back in his chair, his thoughts heavy. The nuclear disaster had been a stark reminder that humanity's greatest threats often came from within. And yet, the events of the past few days also showed that humanity had the capacity for resilience, for rebuilding, and for coming together in the face of catastrophe.
The world would never be the same after June 30th, 2082. But as Richard stared at the stars and watched the faint glimmer of the orbiting submarine cross the night sky, he felt a glimmer of hope. The road ahead would be long and fraught with challenges, but perhaps—just perhaps—humanity had learned something from the ashes of its past.
For now, the threat of further nuclear attacks had been neutralized. Kwärl Richter's anarchist vision had been thwarted. The world was safe, but it remained fragile. Peace, Richard knew, would require more than the absence of war. It would require collaboration, empathy, and a new understanding of what it meant to be human in a world where both creation and destruction were always within reach.
And as Richard turned off his computer and prepared for the next chapter of his journey, he couldn’t help but think that perhaps this time, humanity might finally get it right.