Part Six – Chapter Whatever – Background to lead up to Black Day
When the First had arrived in the transport ships, they had set up the battery arrays in several locations. From there, developing towns and villages were built. The large data hard drives they had brought with them were also placed, with copies being made and stored. The information on them – their race’s history, how to grow corn, how to build an airsled, all of the knowledge they’d had until then – became the Cybernetic Information Library.
While the physical new civilization was taking place, so was the political. A set of laws were established based on the common laws that had been arranged prior to the transport ships leaving their home planet. Then, each new world would build their system from that base of laws. The edicts decided upon was called the Sustainability Systems Laws. Everything was to be either consumed whole or the by-product of that product had to be usable. That meant that the heat created from the warm water that soaked paper scraps had to be reused, the water had to be reused, even the unusable scraps had to be used. Nothing could be considered trash.
As a result of the laws, a political group was formed called the Geocentrics. They were known as ecologists, arcologists, and life scientists. They believed in the protection of all ecosystems, regardless of the effect on themselves.
As a result of the Cybernetic Library, another political group was formed called the Technocentrics. They were also known informationists. They believed that the information they brought with them would help the population to follow the law.
What happened over time is that the Geocentrics felt that the information in the data banks is what got their original home in such a mess to begin with. The Technocentrics believed that the information will keep them from doing it again. Both sides disagreed on what to do about the battery arrays. They had been there for over four hundred and fifty years. The arrays were designed to last for six hundred or more, perhaps even eight. One side said to let the batteries die and they could live on their own without it. The other side said that to let the batteries die would create chaos and the Laws could not be upheld.
The batteries should have lasted for the 600 years. But then Black Day happened.
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“You watching the concert tonight?” Harik put on his dress robe.
“No, I’ve got work to do here. You going somewhere special to see it?”
“Yep. Going to the Double Data. It is a cool rocking place. We ought to consider getting into these cyber clubs.” He next put on his cap, the kind that adults his age looked silly in. He must have realized that and took it off.
“I don’t think so, brother. We have enough to maintain as it is. You have fun. I’ll be right here.”
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Maratha sat on her stool and took notes on this new behavior she had noticed in the Gobal family she called the Basal Family. As one of the largest families, they were one of her favorite to keep track of since she had so many to watch. She still wrote her notes by hand but the paper was laid on a special cyberport that copied it and translated it into legible print. Zenith had sent it to her several months ago to try out in the field. The battery life was excellent, which is the main reason Maratha agreed to the test.
As usual, she had left her communicator at the camp although she did keep a transponder on her body at all times. That way if she were ever injured, the rescuers could find her by tracking its signal.
#
The concert was into its second half when the accident happened. Four of the five battery arrays stopped functioning. The fifth dropped out just a few minutes later. Without lighting, without communication, the populace panicked.
Zenith was in her office glancing through the daily reports. Her household power came from the grid but a backup generator on the roof that used a combination of wind and solar panels to keep batteries charged, kicked into action. Anyone else would not have noticed the slight flicker of the screens, but Zenith, after years of staring at them, noticed it immediately.
She went to the window and looked out onto the street. It was dark. Very dark. She could also hear shouting and screaming. She ran to the control panel and flipped off the generator, conserving the batteries. She then ran down the steps into the shop and gathered all the small flashlights she had in stock. The constables had a station just down the street. She pushed a cart full of the flashlights to the station and assisted in handing them out.