This first chapter is very descriptive because it's the prologue, but I promise you a LOT of action in the future.
Prologue: The fall of an empire
Nobody knew where, exactly, this disease had started. Some said it came from the amazon forest where the humidity was so intense it could have created such a virus, others opted for the Arabic countries where war was raging since such a long time that the bacteria could have developed in between the numerous bodies pilling up. By the time it had reached the European countries, however, people had stopped caring about the question.
The infection acted so fast, the best scientists had trouble keeping up with it. You got infected, you suffered for a while, and in a week you were dead. There was no exception to this, and nobody, human, animal, or vegetation, was safe. Due to a severe lack of resources and help from their richer neighbors, the poorest countries quickly ended up empty of all life. In a blink of an eye everyone had forgotten all about international cooperation as each country started searching a solution by itself. America*, lucky to be separated by the rest of the world by the sea, quickly closed its borders to any departures or arrivals to try to prevent the devastating virus from reaching them, and it worked for some time, but nothing can stop the wind from blowing, and with the wind came the virus.
When even Japan became afraid dying from a lack of population, a meeting with all the survivors was called in emergency. TIA 1, as it was called, had killed half of earth's population, when the world finally decided to share its scientists and discoveries until a solution was found. But the virus wasn't the only problem. Religious groups had seen in it the punishment of god, and were urging the population to embrace a faith to save their soul and bodies. This of course brought conflicts between the religious groups themselves, and even between the members of a same group. Major religions such as Christians and Judaism disappeared as they got divided in smaller sects as everyone had his own interpretation of the phenomenon. The most extremist ones even attempted to assassinate the research crew, which was thankfully stopped. The only good news in this chaos.
The population started blaming the government for the lack of solutions, and riots broke all over the planet as angry mobs screamed they wanted an answer or anything that would finally allow them to live safely like before. Parents preferred to keep their children at home, rather than sending them to school, and even preferred to stay home themselves, relying on stealing and lying to feed their families. Very soon another kind of virus took over: distrust. Friends, neighbors, even families broke apart as everyone became a threat to survival. If one was surprised coughing, sneezing, complaining of a headache or any other kind of symptom, he or she was promptly isolated from society along with everyone who had close relations with the person. Even the corpses were left where they were, unburied, and their stench invaded the air as a constant reminder of the fate that seemed inevitable to everyone.
In the end, TIA 1 was easy to detect once it had taken a host, but it seemed indestructible. It was discovered that the virus lived for about two weeks in the soon to be sick, before the first of the symptoms showed up. But by then it was already too late. The best that could be done was a vaccine. A very special vaccine. It had two effects: if the organism was clean of TIA 1, it would immune it for about a year, if it was already infected… the symptoms would show up immediately, and the person's suffering was promptly put to an end. The vaccine was mandatory for everyone, and a certificate was given to everyone that was "clean".
The "clean" were only 1.5 billion. Africa, South America, India, the Arabic countries, as well as many other countries, were dead or had merged with bigger ones to survive. The 24 survivors, had lost in average half of their population, and were constantly threatened by famine because the vaccine only worked for human beings. Plants, and animals kept dying faster, and faster, and even if earth's population was greatly reduced, there wasn't enough for everyone.
Nobody hesitated when the plan of abandoning the planet was presented. The space technology had thankfully made enough to progress to create star cruisers capable of supporting life in outer space for a very long period. Once up there, out of reach of TIA 1, they would have the time to start working on developing a constant life support. Samples of plants and animals were collected in hope to recreate what was lost, and the survivors were asked to only bring the things that had a sentimental value to avoid the virus from following. A year after the disease had put the planet on red alert, 24 star cruisers, one per country, were leaving earth.
The nations were fleeing, leaving behind everything they once considered worth fighting their neighbor for, and for once, feeling vulnerable to whatever was waiting for them up there. Their instinct immediately made them start looking for another planet, and space was roughly divided in search sectors. Contact wasn't easy to establish, however, as the transmission between Star ships couldn't go too far, so a date was decided where it was mandatory for everyone to report their progress. The rest of the year was used to save power for this critical moment.
A sort of cure began for humans as they had to relearn entirely the meaning of living in society. To survive, differences had to be put aside, and for once, they were the ones who had to adapt to their environment, not the opposite. As the star cruisers kept sailing further and further away from the dead planet, the nations themselves began accepting their new life, their dreams of conquest turning into dreams of a second chance, while their nightmares where haunted by the mistakes that lead them there, and that they swore never to repeat on the new planet.
If new planet there was.
Generation passed, the guilt and sorrow slowly fading away, not forgotten but accepted, and progress was made in all kind of sectors. Life was better, better than it had been in years. Until that one day…
I honestly don't know if this is good. The idea is all maped out in my head, but when I start writing it many new details come up...
Oh well, constructive critism is gladly taken, and I hope you enjoyed/will enjoy!