[FICTION CONTEST] One Day in 2040 - A Diary Entry

October 5th, 2040

 

[A middle-aged man sits in front of a high-definition camera, struggling to get it to focus. With a bit of practiced patience, the image of him eventually becomes crystal clear. A log date appears on the top left corner of the screen, capturing exact time and date, and beneath this set of data, his full name: Xander Scott Lee. He coughs into immaculate hands. His eyes are the color of dying grass, red as if he had very little sleep. With a clearing of his throat, he begins...]

 

"Hello. [another cough] It's been quite some time since I've updated this journal. A great deal has happened since last I recorded which was... [his eyes move away from the screen to check entries] last November. Oh boy... Where... where do I begin..."

 

[Tears well up in his eyes, but he blinks them back, clears his throat and continues]

 

"At around the start of this year, relations between the United States and North Korea had escalated to a magnitude beyond diplomatic repair. Instead of nuclear war like everyone had anticipated, computers were at the center of the conflict. Entire cities experienced blackouts for long periods of time. Money was siphoned from banks. The economy nearly collapsed. When we were at our most defenseless, North Korea executed a ground and aerial assault on Florida and parts of Texas. A large section of the South became a large warzone. Assaults leveled smaller towns to the ground while the bigger cities suffered catastrophic damage. Dallas was wiped off the map. Atlanta had a few uprisings but those were quickly snuffed out..."

 

[He sighs, coughs again, and continues, though now his voice is shaky]

 

"I, uh, lost my job as a journalist. I'm now working part time clerical work for Apple. Essentially a secretary for the board members. [coughs, tears begin to form] Wasn't uh... wasn't paying enough... lost the house. War caused tax levies so... buying groceries was close to impossible. It came to a point where we were starving half the time, and the other half we were scrounging up the most we could from Social Security benefits. That shut down a couple months later..."

 

[He finally breaks, like a dam breaking against a raging river. As he speaks, the sadness increases his pitch and jumbles his words, barely coherent]

 

"I'm divorced now... K-kids are both in secondary school, didn't affect them much but they distanced themselves from me... Suppose I don't blame them given the rut I was in... [he grabs a tissue, blows his nose hard, rubs it with the clean end] And now we're here, basically. In a damn good shit storm. Half the country is now blacked out and robbed blind. Much of the population moved north as the war came further inland. Canada saw a huge influx of refugees. Became a safe haven. But... doesn't seem like it'll end... Paper's virtually nonexistent. Wasn't seen as fiscally responsible so everything was converted and uploaded electronically. The world... [he coughs] the world has gone to hell...

 

I just did this 'cause I needed someone to talk to.... If anyone's out there listening... we caused this. And it'll doom us all. But uh... that'll be it for me, I suppose. If I make it to next year, hopefully I can update if the Internet hasn't been systematically dismantled. This is Lee, signing off."

 

[He looks down, a few tears drop. Slowly he rubs his eyes and mutters something unintelligible. He stands, wincing while he does. After a minute or so of nothing, he notices the camera is still recording. Shuts it off--]