January first, 2023:
The news said that we should be able to see an extraordinary display of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. Apparently the solar flare scheduled to hit was to be the biggest ever, already nicknamed Goliath. Unfortunately, nobody realized that Goliath's five big brothers were going to decide to come visit him, days later.
The experts were right about the Aurora. It was the most spectacular light show I've ever seen! Now if only we could have that without the massive damage, I would be happy.
We had been told that everything was going to be turned off until after the flare subsided. Even life support equipment would have to be modified, and manually pumped. Any operating electronics would be fried.
This all sounded like a foolproof plan, at least to me. We were advised to leave everything off for a few days, which was easy since I didn't have a generator, and the power companies were erring on the side of caution.
January third, 2023:
It sure was nice to flip that switch, and boot my computer. First thing I did was check Hive, and found that I was the first one back! I made a few comments, and a quick post - bragging rights, on having been there first, of course!
Since things were still quiet, I decided to check the news. It said that there had been very little damage, thanks to the preparation. Soon it would be business as usual.
I began to write my full length post, a prompt from one of Galenkp's Weekend Experiences initiatives. Suddenly my tower popped and sizzled, and my monitor was smoking. I flipped off the surge protector, and opened the door.
Outside, the Aurora was streaming across the sky, even brighter than the Goliath display had been. "Uh oh." I thought, remembering that the news had reported things were starting to be turned on all over the world.
January tenth, 2023:
So here I am, sitting in front of my dead computer. I'm writing out my posts the Oldschool way, with a pencil and paper. Hopefully I will be able to share them one day. This can't last forever, right?
At least I won't ever have a shortage of posts. And there's plenty of time to get outdoors! I just have to be careful with the headlamps, since batteries are worth their weight in gold. Soon it'll be back to good old oil lanterns, torches, and if I can get hold of them, solar panels.
I miss being online, but other than that everything is fine. I have plenty of books to read, and the outdoors awaits. It will be different, but definitely not boring.
Perhaps this blackout is needed, to wean the current generation from being totally dependent on technology. Children spend all day sitting, and have no interest in playing together in the yard. They rarely take the leap to create their own games, stories, forts, and clubs.
It might be that The Goliath Solar Blasts are what saves our species from a slow, painful extinction. We are creatures of comfort, and we will go to any length to develop a system that allows us to do things with as little effort as possible. Once that's in place, pretty much all we do is sit down.
This breakdown has given us a chance to evaluate where our chosen path was leading, and decide what we should change, if anything. I have no doubt that society will be rebuilt, and there will be screens. But maybe, just maybe, we can get it right this time around, and use them to become truly connected?
Cover image made by me using Apophysis and Gimp. Edited in Canva to add text.
