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A Journey of Black and Red Epilogue 4: Ash and Thin Air
🕑 Added 2023-02-21 14:37:28 +0000 UTCArticle taken from the Financial Times, June 1947, four years after the Last City’s fall.
‘Accords’ to acquire sovereignty over Cape Breton Island.
In a shocking development, the mysterious group known as ‘The Accords’ purchased the sovereign rights to Cape Breton Island from the Canadian government for a sum of eleven billion US dollars. The lease will last for a hundred years and cover the whole of the island.
The Cape Breton Island is part of the Nova Scotia province and separated from its peninsula by a short strait. The island’s size reaches almost four thousand square miles and is home to almost thirty thousand people, mostly of Scottish heritage. It represents one of the largest land concessions made since Hong Kong. The development was unexpected and seems to have taken the world off guard. The Canadian opposition has not yet formulated a rebuttal. League of Nations secretary Iorgo Papadopoulos reacted to the news yesterday.
“Canada’s decision may come as a surprise, however it is the decision of a sovereign nation and must be respected. I would like to remind my colleagues that this territory still nominally belongs to Canada and will be returned. It is not a partition.”
Defense secretary Mercer was much more critical of the decision.
“For years, the Intergrist party has warned humanity against the insidious dangers posed by subhumans, witches, and heathens. Now, a group of such people has robbed an entire nation of the sanctity of their territorial integrity. We will immediately launch a probe into the groups that participate in this blasphemy and suggest whatever sanctions we deem appropriate to the Department of Justice. We cannot let our guard down against the sinful hordes, even now that we have the Bomb.”
The mysterious group known as ‘The Accords’ gathers a vast community of various interests with no formal structure. Spokesperson Ariane Nirari defended the decision as ‘lawful and ethical in the respect of the local population’. Several projects have already been announced including a causeway over the Canso straits, a highway to Halifax, and a large development of the island’s infrastructure, including its main seaport. Local populations will retain the same right as before and enjoy a tax cut as well as a slew of other benefits.
Several groups already pledged to move part of their facilities to this new ‘cité franche’ including IGL and Skoragg Heavy Industries. Economists expect the pledged amount assigned to this project to surpass twenty billion US dollars, a frankly absurd amount according to Yale Professor Andrew Cleggan.
“There are no mineral, agricultural, cultural, or strategic resources that justify such extravagant spendings. Even the local coal mines are currently inoperable. If I must, I will provide two possible explanations. First, we simply don’t have all the information we need to understand the Accords and their rationale. it’s entirely possible there is a resource there only magically inclined people may use. The second option is ideological. It is entirely possible that, given the deteriorating geopolitical environment and the worsening conditions of abhumans everywhere, the Accords would wish to create a ‘safe state for the magical people’. Cape Breton might be it.”
No matter the reason, Cape Breton and the Accords remain an enigma wrapped in enough capital to buy a small nation.
***
January 1st, 1970.
The spy breathed a sigh of tension when the elevator’s door closed behind him. If things were going to mess up, they were going to mess up now. The glass structure around him showed nothing but rock and steel beams. It was probably too late to run. The vampires were paranoid. He had already pushed his luck to the maximum.
And no one could keep secrets from them.
The man strapped on latex gloves then reached under his shirt for the first of three necklaces. This one was a metal card with a strange, eye-like object on its surface that looked slightly like a lens. He pressed on the gray button. There was a ding. A panel opened.
The man pressed his gloved finger on a fingerprint scanner. A green beep rang and he felt an intense relief flooding his veins. Despite that, his heart still thundered against his chest. The suit chafed at the skin of his neck. That was only one hurdle.
The man those prints belonged to was currently chained in a basement. He had to hope the code he’d surrendered would work. That was the second hurdle.
One by one, the man pressed the keys. He wiped his sweaty forehead with a stained handkerchief. This had to work. He would not get another chance like that again. Daltonville was in the midst of new year celebrations, hundreds of thousands of people braving the cold to watch the parade. Security was overwhelmed and most of the vampires were asleep. He had exactly one shot at this.
A second beep validated his credentials. Another scanner opened. Retina scanner this time.
The man placed the card’s lens opposite the scanner. Another beep. So far so good. A last panel opened in the shape of a handprint. Aura scanner.
That was the most likely point of failure.
With shaking hands, he picked the second pendant. It contained a vial filled with blood, the red liquid pulsing strangely under the shining runes surrounding the crystal container. Witchcraft, but sometimes one had to fight fire with fire. He rolled the vial against the aura scanner through his gloved hand.
Had to work.
At first, he thought they might have failed but enough of the living man’s essence remained in the linked blood and the final hurdle was finally undone. The spy pressed the lowest floor number the prisoner had said he could reach. Minus one hundred and twelve. That seemed too insane to be true considering it was not even the lowest point of the complex under the old fortress.
The lift slid down. The spy pulled a small camera and started to record. He had to hope the twinning enchantment would work so that his sacrifice would not be in vain since he would not get out of there alive. He had no way to know if it did or not.
At first, the window revealed nothing but rock but soon it showed a strange avenue decorated with lamps around a statue of a short-haired woman wielding an undulating sword. Shops and cafes adorned the street while above, a strange vegetation gave the illusion of a starry night. Men and women walked there. One of them turned and looked directly at him. The spy averted his eyes. He knew he was on the clock. He only prayed he would have enough time to complete his mission.
The lift went on. Under the commercial street, there were indoor gardens and habitat quarters stretching in every direction though walls prevented him from seeing for how far. He had an idea though. His idea crystallized when the lift reached the ‘hydroponics’ levels. Farms and greenhouses grew industrial amounts of greenery across a cavern as wide as the largest stadium. There were even trains! He knew then with absolute certainty where most of those uncounted billions had gone.
“They are building an underground city…” he whispered.
No, an underground nation.
The spy forgot to turn to film. He was stuck against the glass, watching machinery replace the greenhouses, then entire factories. Some of them were building those Skoragg gunships. There were barracks. Research labs. All livable, all within caverns built with unknown means. The vampires… had an army. An entire fucking army.
The lift reached the lowest level.
The spy stepped out, camera almost discarded. He was now standing over a balustrade overlooking a great chasm at the bottom of which, something red and hot bubbled. The heat was unbearable but he did not care, did not even thing to remove his vest, because on platforms hanging over that void were missiles. Large missiles, black and ominous with strange scales and twisted geometries. There was no mistaking their functions, however.
“Hastur class ICBMs. Practically undetectable,” a voice whispered in his ear.
The spy did not turn. He dropped the camera and reached for his collar where the last pendant waited. He retrieved the cyanide capsule and made to swallow, only to realize the capsule was no longer there.
His heart skipped a beat.
The capsule had simply vanished.
The camera floated back to his hand.
“Cannot have that,” the voice said again. “The entire complex is shielded so your transmission did not go through. I admit to being impressed so I let you go down while I checked on my employee. Leaving him alive was inspired. And gave you a respite.”
The spy turned to a pair of blue eyes like a summer sky. The woman leaned against the balustrade in a black cocktail dress, as if disturbed from a party. That was probably the case, he realized.
“I wonder what I was going to do and then I realized, perhaps there is hope after all. You have seen the city. You have recorded it. Your higher-ups know we have premonitions. So they should understand why we have prepared.”
She sighed.
“Of course, some of them will want those preparations for themselves so I suppose you will have to show them the end of the movie, yes? Attacking us would be… rather foolish. You must take care of your own. We have already stopped two attempts at ending the world. I am growing… wary. This is your last chance.”
“Are you… her?”
“Yes. Off you go now. Tell your masters that only they can stop the end from coming because I will not. Do not forget the film.”
***
Archived National TV recording, November 9th, 1989
Grainy texture. An anchorman faces the camera with a background showing the Los Angeles Skyline. Today, he has picked a serious, concerned expression.
“Goodday, ladies and gentlemen. Breaking News. After a month of turmoil and massive protests over all oblasts, the unthinkable has happened. The State Duma announced the dissolution of the Soviet Union today after an intense session during which several members engaged in physical confrontations. Central power militaries have reached maximum readiness in what they describe as a ‘challenging and fast-moving environment’. The German Empire, in particular, voiced concerns about Communist hardliners who might grow desperate in the face of imminent dismantlement. The League of Nations have gathered for an emergency meeting to address the risk of escalation that would come with a fractured army and —”
The man places a hand against his ear. He listens in on a message. His expression melts. Off screen, a woman screams.
“I am getting reports of… Nuclear explosions. Nuclear explosions over the Eastern seaboard. At least three confirmed hits. Silos all over the country have…”
The last of his composure breaks.
“Oh my God. It’s happening. It’s happening.”
Belated air sirens cover the silence. A woman climbs to the podium and takes the anchorman’s hand as he stands. He still watches the camera. There is a tension there he’s not willing to break yet, even as a sound technician and the cameraman join the pair in a huddling mass. He is the last one who has not broken yet.
“The… There will be a security announcement. listen to it, Listen to it and follow the instructions. Seek shelter. Do not give up. Seek shelter and live. And may God be with all of y—”
NO SIGNAL.
Comments
Benjamin Mages
I personally believe it's referring to nuclear war, that the vampires had already stopped two potential incidents that could have set everything off but they were done holding humanity's hand for them.
Emily Gurnavage
I didn't catch it the first read, but Ariane says "We have already stopped two attempts at ending the world." But hasn't she stopped 3 legitimate extinction events now? The void things, the Blood Court, and Nirari. I'm guessing you chose to discard the Blood Court, since it was ended so fast? I'd argue it was only dealt with so quickly *because* it was an extinction threat. So 3 times in my opinion.
RonGAR
Humans would always prove how stupid they were by trying to protect a mantle, they never really had. I don't understand how billions of people let the idiocy of a few thousand people in politics and media control them so thoroughly. Those few thousands only have one wish. To maintain their 'imagined' power structure. The power where they get to point and make other ppl do things on their behalf. That is all they want to protect. And in order to do that, they will happily tell the billions, that there are monsters everywhere, and if you don't do something about them, they are going to start taking things from you. SMH. Works everytime. --------- Back to Amaretta: (Gave it some more thought) Seems Amaretta would've gladly 'sacrificed' Vampire, Mage, Werewolf lives to get the outcome she wanted against the threat she saw in Nirari. The tyrant. And it seems she would've done so again by letting many of her supernatural brethren die to appease some unknown agenda of her own. Ariane must've figured that out. That Amaretta's vision are self-serving and she doesn't care who is lost in them as long as she and her's prevail. Hence the smile that didn't reach the eyes upon her reception. She knew these women were snakes. But where Amaretta really went wrong was telling Ari to stand down and let all her allies she just fought to save the world with, DIE! To 'BETRAY ALL OF THEM' so she and Amaretta could come away safely with Amaretta's guidance. AND THATS WhY that B**** had to die!!!! She had no HONOR and Tried to make a devourer do something against her personal code! SMGDH. --------------------- Seems Ari held off for as long as she could. But again, humans would always prove their stupidity. SMH.
Anonymous
Ari in a cocktail dress! How scandalous!
Cormac
Holy shit
Aapjuh
*googled* What happened in 1970 in the Cold War? The 1970s saw an easing of Cold War tensions as evinced in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) that led to the SALT I and II agreements of 1972 and 1979, respectively, in which the two superpowers set limits on their antiballistic missiles and on their strategic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. seeing as its 1970, tensions clearly broke.
Jeanean
Nah. I'm pretty sure Ari was simply sick of Amaretta. Amaretta was the "mastermind" hiding behind her future sight and too cowardly to come forward herself. Ari said it herself, Amaretta made the mistake of trying to control her and make her sacrifice herself to keep humans from killing each other. You need to realize, Ariane isn't the Sovereign of Humanity, or Vampirekind. She is the Sovereign of her own sphere and all that lives in it. Humans will bounce back on their own, while more magically inclined races need some help. But overal, I don't think Ari takes sides as long as the world doesn't get destroyed completely.
Jeanean
I'm pretty sure she had them just in case. She basically built the ultimate bunker, to allow the more magically inclined population of the world to survive a nuclear apocalypse. So, she prepared for any and all eventualities, including those where nukes of her own could come in handy.
Chivatha
Read the final part and the Fallout theme started going in my head :D
Maël Benallou
Well, looking forward to the Fallout-inspired spinoff. just the right time for many of the songs as well, no? Ariane can be 'the stranger among them with a big-iron on her hip'.
fennek
Yea, your right. But I guess some typos are better than others? :)
Pierre Steiner
Yes a very interesting concept, which only holds true if we consider perfectly reasonable humans...which we're not. Unfortunately sometimes ego, sheer incompetence and other hard to discern factors muddle our judgment and push us to highly unreasonable decisions. The study of international relations often does not account for that
Burned Ice
I imagine it wasn’t one nation firing off the but some disillusioned faction after the Soviet Union split that fired off first. Something like going out in a blaze of glory for an ultra nationalist group.
RageBone
i am wondering why the all so prevelant concept of "mutually assured descrution" wasn't mentioned in any way. Would expect that be more or less established the moment multiple factions get nukes.
RageBone
As deterrent maybe? You have nukes, i have nukes, lets not start shit and its gona be fine?
Hayden Leech
I totally forgot about that thing.
Hayden Leech
I don’t think so, she had nukes of her own in that bunker… why would she have those if not to use them?
Adrian Gorgey
I bet she used the seed of that god tree in order to rejuvenate one of the worlds
Adrian Gorgey
I don't think it was her. She already stopped it twice. This isn't her kicking humans back an Era, it's her not stopping us from destroying ourselves.
Jonathan
The island is a great focal point but since there is portal magic as we saw with the cabinet entrance to the library of alexandria, then they can have shelters all over the world that connect and thus save a non-trivial portion of the population. Could even fix some of the warrens or have personal TP extraction devices for spies. Plus you know all those dvor and other vampires will want their own land, so having a small shelter & door to evac to the island works for most and then each faction can have underground cities. Umbrella corp forever!!
I think this is why Ari kill the old oracle so she couldn’t stop it. So humanity could destroy its self putting them selves at her mercy to conquer as they’re stuck with stick and stones,starving and looking for a god to save them
Bunny Waffles
I believe you meant HEROINE. While I will admit that this story is as addicting as any drug, I'm not sure Ari would appreciate being called dope.
fennek
Ha. Out heroin saves the world ( from monsters). Just to see it burned (by humans) in the epilogue.
Olof Karlsson
Thanks for the chapter!
Hayden Leech
I wonder what her pitch was when she convinced Loth to go along with it. Said there were Skoragg ships in her bunker city…
Hayden Leech
It’s interesting to note that Ariane had nukes of her own… she was the one who kicks humanity back an era. By destroying their centers of population, removing their ability to feed their population and eventually bringing human technology back to a more controlled level she pretty much guarantees that humanity won’t be a credible threat to the vampires for a very long time. We humans view nuclear apocalypse as the end of everything because the current status quo is all we have known… but these creatures were around long before electric lights and cars, they are more than happy to go back to simpler times and they take the looong view. They are immortal and intend to stay that way. It’s an apocalypse to us, not them. It’s a brilliant move, I don’t think the vamps would last long if humanity had space station cities, perfect records of everybody, crazy weapons/security and other sci-fi tech.
