Author's note.
Hello reader,
Welcome to an early preview of 60 Seconds to Midnight, the sequel to Chrysanthemum Dreams. Ordinarily, I wouldn't be uploading until I was finished writing, but I've decided to change things up a bit. Therefore, bear in mind that everything you see here will not be reflective of the final product and that it is all likely to change.
Like before, this fic has been heavily inspired by other works, namely the Blade Runner films and Cyberpunk 2077. As a disclaimer, given the setting of Arcadia - a primarily eastern European and eastern Asian amalgamation - this fic will contain more influence from those cultures. In no way is it meant to be offensive, and it is simply included because it is a central feature of the cyberpunk genre in general.
In any case, I hope you enjoy a taste of what's to come.
This chapter contains no story and simply serves as an introduction to the alternate history of the world while also recapping the events of Chrysanthemum Dreams. You may skip this chapter if you wish, for the story begins with the prologue.
On July 20, 1969, humans first stepped foot on the moon with the Apollo 11 mission, thus concluding the first space race between the Cold War powers – the United States and the Soviet Union. From there on, with the world having discovered the potential beyond its earthly limits, the second space race began, now joined by the Chinese taikonaut program. Over the next twenty years, all three nations would focus their efforts and resources on the sole mission of achieving extraterrestrial colonization.
The US stepped out of the Vietnam War in 1970, putting a premature end to the pointless and bloody conflict much to the support of the American populace. In 1974, following the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon was successfully impeached, convicted, and incarcerated. Faith in government was shaken and in that power vacuum, senator Lambert Ambrose rose to power by forming an independent political party which quickly gained traction and crowded out the Democratic and Republican parties. He became president that same year and in a stunning move, abolished the four-year term limit, allowing him to remain as president ever since.
Conversely, over in Europe, the USSR and the eastern bloc consolidated power and maintained the division between them and the rest of the continent. The Berlin Wall remained standing, and in response, West Germany successfully spearheaded negotiations with the rest of the western bloc, thus forming a single unified entity known as the European Republic as a response to communist aggression. In turn, the USSR sought peaceful relations with China, which itself had formed a coalition among southeastern Asian countries.
At that point, Cold War tensions between the US and the USSR mostly fell off, focused as they both were on their own domestic politics and their commitments to extraterrestrial colonization. In 1989, after two decades of dedicated research and technological advancement, the US successfully established the first colony on the moon. Following this achievement, the USSR – now rebranded as the New Soviet Union – along with the Chinese Coalition, successfully established a colony on Mars six years later in 1995.
These were incredible achievements for mankind and in the years that followed, technological and human evolution was thrust forward by leaps and bounds. In 2003, the first artificial intelligence construct was created, known as Uncle SAM, which stood for Smart Autonomous Machine. Uncle SAM was created to oversee and manage the American Lunar colony of Port Armstrong. In 2011, VanirCorp was founded by Mathias Rosenthal who created the first android. They were ideal slave labor and their usage skyrocketed across the world. In 2013, Weseltech Dynamics was founded by Wesley Townsend, who began production on advanced, life-extending medical technology and cybernetic bodily modifications. These types of modifications ranged from the mundane to the exotic, allowing humans to achieve feats never before possible through the union of flesh and metal.
However, by the early 2020s, it became clear that these wondrous advancements had incurred a heavy and irreversible cost on the world. Climate change melted the ice caps, drowning coastal regions of the globe while desertification turned all of the arable farmland into massive dust bowls. Millions of people were displaced and with nowhere to go, they crowded into the remaining megacities, straining already depleted natural resources even further. Life on earth became a living hell, and many of its wealthiest and powerful citizens had long departed for the off-world colonies.
At that point, war was all but inevitable. The collapse began when vicious fighting broke out across the world as nations made desperate land grabs in an attempt to secure vital resources like oil, wood, freshwater, and precious minerals. Cold War tensions between the US and the New Soviet Union flared up once more, and with the help of the Chinese, the Russians decimated America with a series of nuclear strikes. Washington DC was destroyed, the remains of the federal government were obliterated, and the states fell apart to infighting.
With the heartlands of America transformed into toxic wastelands or sweeping deserts, people fled for the coastal megacities. California had declared itself as a free state in 2035, followed by New York in 2037. After that, megacorporations filled in the gap left by the government and reigned over the ruined country. Unchecked capitalism, mass consumerism, surveillance societies, pervasive inequality, and rampant violence became the new world order. The dichotomy between high-tech and low-life was the most distinguishing feature of this dystopia.
This was the dark future. This was when Anna and Elsa's story took place.
… … ...
Anna and her sister, Nora, were born in Los Angeles in the year 2074 as fraternal twins. Their mother had died in childbirth and their father died when they were eight years old. Forced to scrape a living off the streets, Anna and Nora worked until they could move to New York in the hopes of starting a better life, which they did when they turned twelve. However, during an altercation with some security androids, Nora was shot dead and Anna was turned over to the care of the state, residing in an orphanage.
Unbeknownst to Anna, VanirCorp seized Nora's body and used her unique genetic blueprint to create a hybrid being known as Elsa, Enhanced Learning Systems Android. Matilda Rosenthal, suffering from Early-Onset Alzheimer's, desired to use Elsa as a way to study and hopefully cure her progressive disease. However, to do so, she had to repeatedly torture Elsa to wipe her memories and start anew. Even so, Elsa still retained the original memories of Nora, despite the attempts by Matilda to suppress them. Elsa's mental imbalance meant that she suffered from a dissociative condition that would eventually lead to death. When she learned of her true origins, Elsa strove to discover her real identity, thus leading her to Anna.
In the meantime, Anna befriended K, and she later on became a private detective while he became a tech-doctor. In the years following Nora's death, Anna became an alcoholic who drank to forget her pain and suffering. She made ends meet by uncovering dirty secrets for her clients, and she in turn covered herself by operating under several different aliases. The work kept her busy, but she had suicidal tendencies due to her severe depression. At least, until she met Elsa.
In 2099, the pair finally crossed paths. Anna had been contracted by Matilda to find her missing daughter, Elsa. From there on, the two met up and upon learning that she was an android, Anna was initially cold and spiteful towards Elsa. Still, over their journey and upon learning more about each other, the pair grew closer until they eventually fell in love.
Upon discovering Elsa's true identity and her memories which belonged to Nora, the pair remained committed to each other despite the odds. Elsa was apprehended by VanirCorp, so, Anna mounted a desperate rescue, tackling a megacorporation headquarters as a one-woman army. They managed to escape and together, the fled New York and made it to Arcadia, the colony on Mars where they would start their new life.
In 2101, two years later, their story continued.