Erosion of an Empire: Part 2
It all began with the Rice Riot of 2020.
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The Chinese middle class had recently grown with the latest economic upswing.
With the increased prosperity came an increase desire for improvement in everything.
However, there was a global push for countries to provide free public heath care. These cost skyrocketed as the Chinese government began offering this free care to over 2.4 billion impoverished migrant farmers.
The vast rolling plains of the Chinese countryside were no longer arable after seven years of unexplainable drought.
Some farmers spent their days desperately begging for water and cursing the increasing global temperatures.
Their hands blistered and their backs were broken as they tried digging wells.
Other farming family’s bewilderedly starved slowly as they despairingly watched each day pass from their sunken in eyes.
There was no hope.
No ideas or solutions.
It was a hot August day when the last drop of oil burned in the diesel shipping trucks.
The transportation sector came to an indefinite halt.
Hsiao Hsi (Shyau Shee) stepped down the porch step of his modest apartment in the Shandong province and looked for his bicycle where he had left it chained to the handrail of the steps leading to the basement.
This morning he was greeted with a broken chain and a now inevitable long walk to work to which he would already be tardy.
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Hsiao never minded his office finance job, but he loathed the lack of mental effort and the lack of creativity the job’s task required of him.
“Watch your step,” Hsi snapped at passerby who hastily pushed into him on the growingly crowded sidewalk.
Then again another man shoved Hsi.
“Hey!” he shouted as he futilely tried to shove the man back.
Before he could make contact, the stranger quickly moved out of reach.
Hsiao’s troubled stomach let out an audible rumble reminding him that he had forgotten to bring his lunch.
“Quick,” a woman called back to her two young children. “We must hurry!”
Suddenly Hsiao noticed a swarm of people all rushing to local corner stores.
As they ran out, they had their arms filled with as much food as they could carry.
Watching, Hsi noticed a man run by him frantically.
He grabbed the man by the wrist and shook him demanding, “What the hell is going on?”
“The oil is all gone! The drought is on and soon the food will be all gone!” cried the man as he shook free of Hsi's grasp and ran away.
So it finally happened, Hsi mused.
This must be the end of the world or at least globalization.
Quietly he turned around and sauntered back towards his home thinking that it had been a long time since he had a day off.
Once the first cell phone video of the rice riots hit the internet it quickly went viral.
People around the globe shared it across their preferred social media platform.
The implications were not lost on people and triggered a chain reaction of their own internal catastrophic thinking sending their minds reeling in fear.
By 11:00 UTC, the premier news station in Hong Kong had broken the story about the oil depletion and resulting riots which was subsequently aired around the globe.
At 11:07 UTC, there were reports of over 70 incidences of rioting within Hong Kong city limits alone, not counting unreported riots across the countryside.
Constant footage of burning buildings and shouting crowds shoving and pushing played across all major television networks.
“This is 14 of August year 2020. The time is now 13:00 UTC and I’m your host Herbert McNair!” the news anchor boomed!
“This is the World Today on BBC. As many around the world continue to report, the total known oil supply of the entire planet has been consumed.
Beginning in the Shandong province in northeastern China, riots have broken out throughout the globe. People fearing an end to motorized transportation as we know it have made a mad rush to collect as much food as they can carry.
Some more peacefully than others but all with looks of panic in their eyes.
All authorities are demanding a cease to any theft, looting, and vandalism.
A state of emergency has been declared by the EU and the President of the United States has declared Martial Law.
It is imperative to remain rational at these very unnerving moments and to not let ourselves be swept away in emotional discharge.
I plead everyone to remain calm and may God have mercy on us all.”
McNair straightened his tie and looked out at where the cameraman had been standing.
His post was abandoned.
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