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Unification; Part I: The World Then and Now
Topic Started: Apr 15 2013, 10:15 PM (28 Views)
NovaXeros

"It is said, in the great history books of our world and the records kept by all of our ancestors, that the society that once ruled over our world was reckless, cruel and needlessly violent. There are records of wars between, and, would you believe, within nations every few years or so, and all over things such as land space, resources, and the very energy that powers our lights, our machinery; our lives! Disease would ravage the lives of thousands, and those that didn't die of weakness and ailments were often killed in bloody wars that raged for tens, maybe even hundreds of years, and for what? So the victor could say they had a bigger country? More energy? More food? Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a world like that? I certainly can't!"

There was silence in the room as 30 eager pairs of eyes peered through the darkness towards the front at an illuminated projection screen and a tall silhouette standing in front of it. Most of the other lecture rooms had been updated to the very latest of interactive screens, with gadgets and machines galore lining the front of the room. This room, however, seemed to be the only room that had stood the test of time and somehow appeared as though it was locked to a time twenty or thirty years before the present day. The silhouette, as he walked into the light every so often seemed to be much the same. His clothes seemed "old fashioned" to the students partaking in his class, and yet each of them felt drawn to him. His charisma charmed them without fail, and his smile always seemed caring. He was their idea of the almost-perfect tutor, if a little eccentric. He nodded, mostly to himself in conformation that he had left his speech long enough to be classed as a dramatic pause, before he pushed a button and the projecter gave a loud click, inserting a slide into its projection screen and the image contained within was blasted onto the wall in all of its monochromatic glory. He looked up over his shoulder at it to ensure that he had placed the correct slide, before continuing to talk,

"There are very few visual records of the 'dark years', as it were. Plenty of written records for our librarians to siphon through, but for those of us who like a good picture to say a thousand words, we're pretty much damn out of luck! The 'dark years' saw very little in the way of luxury, and most people didn't have access to old style cameras and imaging devices. As you'd expect, technology wasn't as advanced as it is nowadays, as you can see by this photograph. The world wasn't actually black and white back then, of course, it's just the camera used was utterly shite."
A few smiles and scoffs chuckled across the room as the man motioned to the image and turned sideways to face both it and his class,
"Image quality aside, what I want to draw your attention to is the content."

The image was taken of a street. The buildings were dilapidated, the cobblestone roads poorly cared for, and the only people visible were all wearing shabby clothes and face masks. On one of the sidewalks, there was a body on the floor partially leaning on the wall. It could have been a vagabond, or perhaps it was a lifeless corpse. It didn't matter either way, as the point of the image was very clear to the students; nowhere in the modern world could a sight like this be seen. It was black and white to the world they knew now.

"They are still the same us, living on the same planet, and would you believe, that this image is taken from the very main street that the entrance to this building is situated on! A massive difference, indeed. So why? What changed the world, and in such a short space of time too, the records show that world went from this, to this," another click from the projector flicked to a more recent image of a street in the city, the shops in far better condition, and the cobblestones having been replaced with smooth stone, "in just a matter of two years or so. That's a phenomenally short space of time for the entire world to have changed, practically overnight! Does anyone here have an answer?"

It took a few seconds, but finally one hand was raised, and the tutor motioned for them to answer. The brave student spoke up,

"Unification, sir?"

The tutor smiled proudly and nodded,

"Unification! The realisation that a world seperated into multiple states and nations, each with different religions and beliefs would always result in clashes when each of those states, nations and religions came together. No-one was capable of living in world peacefully with such differing minds, and so very quickly the worlds greatest minds and leaders came together and devised a system that would ensure the safety and peace of this planet for as long as there is air to breath."

Another click from the projector and the image now displayed on the wall was the logo for the current World Government,

"With every nation now under one rule, the world could begin to move past the development of weapons and machiens to fight each other with, and instead focused on the development of vaccines and cures for the world's diseases. Consequently, when was the last time any of you were ill, hm?" he grinned, "in fact, have any of you ever even BEEN ill in your life?" There was silence, and he shook his head, "Of course not, because this world has been disease free now for quite some time! And all because of the unification that happened 317 years ago."

Another click from the projector, only this time a blank white image and the rooms lights faded up. Each pair of eyes blinked and strained to regain their focus in the light, but the tutor's eyes were so used to the darkening and lightening of this room that he payed no mind to the change in light. A voice caught his attention though,

"But Professor Demarus," the tutor interrupted, shook his head and smiled,

"No no, please, call me Gerald. I feel old enough as it is without being given a title every time someone wants my attention."

Other students smiled as they all reached for their text books, knowing that with the introduction over, the main written lesson was about to begin. The student that had vyed for the professor's attention however had a stern look about him, one which actually concerned the tutor.

"Sorry, Gerald, Sir. You speak of Unification as though it has fixed a dying world, and that without it we'd all be doomed. Do you think that? Do you think the government has the right to really limit family sizes? What about the Unification itself, was it really as peaceful as it sounds?"

The tutor adjusted his blazer slightly and nodded,

"I'm glad you've asked those questions, actually. It shows you're eager to learn. These are all things we will cover during the lesson, if you wouldn't mind getting your text book out then we can start to look at the actual process that happened-.."

The tutor was cut off by the door of his lecture hall being opened. In walked another of the school's tutors who whispered something to the tutor. Gerald's face went white, and some of the students began to talk to each other, some conjecturing about what news had just been relayed to the tutor, some about the contents of today's lesson, but most about what they would do when they finally got out at the end of the day. The new tutor spoke loudly over them all,

"Right, Professor Damarus has to take a call, so I will be finishing his lesson with you. Open your text books please, and we'll begin."

The door quietly closed behind Professor Damarus, who wasted no time to take his leave.

Nobody had even seen him go.

None of them would ever see him return, either.
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