To get you started, here is chapter one of the dystopian sci-fi web serial, Hindsight Station: Ashes Reborn. Each chapter on Wattpad and Patreon will be approximately two thousand words long.
James Fong walked past a holo advertisement of himself in the vehicle port of his company, Linnit-Fong Defence Futures. The year was 2335 and times were tense. He thought this time, nuclear war would happen, and soon. The Western Consortium was in an unending world war with the Eastern Empire.
Yet, in the past six months, war raised to another level of savagery, with no party seeking a diplomatic solution. The Western Consortium suddenly held nuclear drills, including mock simulations of nuclear strikes. Military chatter went through the roof. The Eastern Empire’s network attacks, with increasing frequency, delivered a heinous digital manipulation to the neuro-implants of Western Consortium citizens.
The signs were obvious to James. He must quietly move to Ardland with this team. This time, the old mountain range will receive them all at once. Their travel will be under the official cover of a team-retreat to New Geneva. He mused at the fallacy of feeling like a traitor when the harsh reality of current events hit him. Things will never be the same.
Just then, his hollow-lens, strapped to his arm, came to life. It was Hannah Xi, his chief linguist, chief engineer, and a talented communications specialist. The hollow-lens has a transparent digital sheet, which saw her pop-out in miniature form and rest on his arm. James kept neuro-implants to a minimum, favoring out-of-body tech augments instead. Thankfully, his audio implants kept some privacy in communications. Hannah did not waste anytime updating James as she held her worry in check.
“James, the comms silos are off the charts, even the quantum processors in the old Americas are struggling to handle the load. The military is up-to something big. This war has been great for business, but at the expense of the planet?”
“Calm yourself, Hannah. This is not like you. Have you and the team reached our safe haven in Ardland?”
“Yes, James. Abdul Mohammad, Maria Furlong, and even Padar MacArdle did not argue with this clandestine meet. They touched down in New Geneva an hour ago. They are now en-route to your mountain lair, after they slipped out of the Trionon Hotel.”
“Good–I am leaving the office and will catch a connector flight from Vegas. The extended space port is huge and those new X-4000 passenger shuttles will have me in New Geneva in fifty five minutes. When I touch down and field scramble my personal comms area, I’ll call Mary and get her to redirect to New Geneva.”
“I thought your lovely wife was with you? Where is she?” James sighed as anxiety rose in the pit of his stomach.
“She expects she can deescalate with the Eastern Empire as a private consortium representative. She went to Barosolov City for negotiations, after expressions of interest in her mediation by the Eastern Empire.”
“I hope she is alright, James. These are very dangerous times. Is Daniel with you?”
“Not yet, but I am picking him up from Mary’s parents and will try to convince them to come with us. They are fond of the desert and very resistant about traveling to Ardland.”
“Okay James, get your son, his grandparents–and get over here, understood? Chatter is spiking and war planes are in the air. Oh, did you loop in Captain Corporate, or I mean Captain Stan?”
“Yes, I asked Captain Stanley Ghetti and his team to meet me at the Trionon this evening. He has them assembled for corporate team work on a long mission basis. I’m landing in the hover-park of Mary’s parents right now–will be in touch.”
Daniel, at twelve years old, came out to greet his father with a broad smile and a big hug. James hugged him back, knowing time was short. “Daniel–grab all your things, and get to the terracraft. I need to talk to Grandma and Grandpa.”
James got a folksy welcome from Rita and Gerard, who grew concerned by the worry etched on James’s face.
Gerard said, “James, what is it, son? Where’s our Mary?”
James replied, “Gerard, Rita, Mary is okay for now–but I think nuclear war is about to breakout. You both need to come with Daniel and I to my base in Ardland. Can you pack and be ready in twenty minutes?”
“What? Nuclear War? James, why would you say something like that? Both Gerard and I are sure its another fake, thrown at us by the Empire.”
“Rita–please, it’s urgent. I would not say something like that unless I was sure. My team confirmed it as imminent this morning. Now, please pack quickly.”
Gerard looked at James with a knowing look as Rita looked at Gerard. Something had transpired between them, which made them seem content.
“James, we are old and content with our lives. Some corporate base will only be a target for the Empire, if they are going to launch a nuclear strike like you say. Son, we are staying here.” At that point, Daniel sped past James as he gritted his teeth.
“Pa, all packed. What’s next?”
“Go wait in the terracraft like I said, son. I’ll be right there.” James wheeled back to Gerard and pleaded.
“Gerard, I don’t have time to coax you and know I can’t force you. This base is off the books. It’s my contingency for when our corporate overlords finally destroy us all. Please, please–come with me. It’s what Mary would want.” Rita smiled at Gerard and turned to James.
“We are staying here, James. It’s where we belong. Our daughter belongs with you, so promise me you will keep her safe?” James reluctantly nodded.
“Then that’s settled, son. Have a safe flight and don’t worry about us. Take our daughter, our grandson, and get with your secret team in your secret base–until what you think will pass, will pass. We shall see each other soon.” James numbly nodded, then hugged Gerrard and Rita. He called out to Daniel.
“Daniel–come here, son. Say a proper goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa.” Daniel charged out of the terracraft and headlong into the arms of his grandparents.
“Bye Grandma, Bye Grandpa. I’m off on another corporate adventure with Pa. See you soon.”
As the rear view of the terracraft saw a waving Gerard and Rita, Daniel sat down to play with his Tron-throne classic holo game. He loved it. To James’s relief, he did not pick up on his distress, or the likelihood he would never see his beloved grandparents again.
Boroslov City
Mary Fong was a driven woman with a keen intellect and a sharp understanding of global politics. She landed under guard at Boroslov City in the Eastern Empire’s southern province of Myong. Her team’s escort to the regional government’s suite was sharp and cold.
When the war with the greedy Western Consortium started over a hundred years ago, Boroslov City was a bustling metropolis with a warm climate and a world renowned hospitality industry. Now, it was war-torn and cold. Incessant pollution by the Empire in its economic and military production added to the gloom. Renewed global warming did the rest.
Mary’s team entered the conference room, which was empty. “Randy, are we early?” Randolph Hicks was a pristine master of negotiation, politics, and fashion.
“No, Mam. We are on time. The Empire’s team is running late, I will check on them.” Mary wheeled to Susan.
“Susan, are the deescalation stats still making sense? Can we replenish their military manufacturing with economic production?”
“Yes. We need to make sure that—” With that–the doors swung open, and a team, led by the Myong Regional Governor, entered.
“Greetings, greetings, greetings. Welcome to our humble city. Please accept my apologies for our tardiness. Shall we get started, as we have much to discuss.”
“Governor, my thanks to you on behalf of the Western Consortium. I am the authorized representative of the Linnit-Fong Defence Futures clan–authorized to speak on the Western Consortium’s behalf. I was expecting, as agreed, a team from New Australia. We note their absence.”
“Representative Fong, my sincere apologies for not communicating via official channels. I thought it best we speak in private–behind closed doors and prying ears.” Mary sat down at the Governor’s behest and listened intently, knowing something was very wrong.
“Our military have gone to high alert, and our naval service has launched to sea and air. Forgive my bluntness, but New Australia thinks your diplomatic mission is a rouse to lull us into complacency.” The Governor’s fake smile made Mary wince.
“Governor, this is an outrage. My team and I have worked tirelessly in the mission of peace for both our peoples. We have an actual plan that can end this world war. This time, that plan includes a peaceful transition support plan for your economy. We will directly finance your transition onto a peaceful footing as you demilitarize.”
“I see, has your Council of Corporates approved this ambitious plan?”
“All regional governors have approved it, and the Council has sanctioned my authority for this negotiation. What I offer, the council offers. We are here to make peace, not to break promises.” The Governor paused as he stared at Mary.
“Representative Fong–while I believe you are sincere, our experience with the Western Consortium has not been so virtuous. We seek more then representative authority. We seek proof of your intent to follow through.”
“Governor, I am a high ranking member of the Western Consortium, and took an enormous risk to reach out and work for peace. Is this not all the proof you need?” The Governor’s smile darkened as he responded.
“Do you think us fools, Representative Fong? My people tell me your ambitious plan is expensive, and will dearly cost the leading clans in your consortium. I wonder, Representative Fong–if you have all the facts?”
“Governor–I assure you, we came here well prepared. I oversaw it, myself.” The Governor’s smile widened into a feral tint.
“Excellent! Then, Representative Fong. Can you explain to me, why the military of the Western Consortium has mobilized its armor, airborne, and naval fleets at the same time? Are you preparing a preemptive nuclear assault on our wonderful Empire?” Mary’s face ran cold as her lipped quivered.
“Governor, what are you talking about? The Council of Corporates know that I am on a diplomatic mission of peace. They would never sanction further escalation, nor order a nuclear strike on the Eastern Empire.” The Governor observed her for a few seconds and a flash of compassion crossed his face. The doors suddenly burst open and an Empire security detail stormed in.
“Governor. Western Consortium bomber squadrons are inbound. Command tells me its Empire wide. We need to get you to the bunker, now. Estimated time of arrival is fifteen minutes. We need to go, now, sir.” The empire captain swept the Governor to his feet, when he raised his hand.
“Stop–one minute! Representative Fong–while I believe you are in earnest, the duplicitous actions of your Western Consortium say otherwise. I will not have you arrested, and executed for this outage. However, you will not receive any protection from my forces. Leave now, and maybe you will have a chance.”
“Governor, we need to go now! T-minus fourteen minutes to strike arrival.” As the Governor raced out of the conference room with his entourage, Mary was slack jawed with shock as she looked around. Randy was the first to respond as air raid sirens wailed.
“Mary, hon-we gotta go now. Our ride will take us ten minutes to our shuttle, and we need to leave town before the bombs fall. Let’s hustle people, times’ a ticking.”
As they raced outside, their transport had already left. Had the Western Consortium betrayed Mary and her team? Mary did not dare consider this, as she joined Randy and Susan in a sprint for their lives.
If you liked chapter one, then check out the older chapters for free on Wattpad. Want to jump ahead and stay ahead of the crowd? You can do that with advance chapters on Patreon, purchasing a paid subscription for exclusive benefits.
Check out the main page for Hindsight Station: Ashes Reborn, where you can get the overview of this new sci-fi saga from its earliest days.
