The world as we know it
What we know so far…
The first sign of Sol’s instability was noticed on november 3rd 2024, when a massive solar flare shot out and almost engulfed Mercury. Scientists believed the planet would be entirely destroyed, but somehow it survived the ordeal.
In december three solar flares shot out and actually affected Earth for the first time. Moscow, Tokyo and Sydney were the hot spots, destroying those cities and their surrounding areas, thus creating the first of the so called ‘radiation zones’ Tokyo was hit the worst, destroying most of Japan in the process.
On January 1st 2025 US president Dwayne Johnson launched an extensive campaign to find a solution for the solar instability. 179 nations worldwide joined in on the effort.
January 2nd saw the first flare affecting the United States, destroying the Miami area and boiling the surrounding oceans. Worldwide the sea levels dropped by almost two feet after this event.
On January 11th the first reports come in from the greater Moscow area describing people ‘infected’ by the solar radiation, turning them into mindless mutations. People quickly start calling them The Walking dead, named after a very popular tv show.
In February calculations are published by an African scientific journal stating the average temperature globally will likely rise by at least 10 degrees Celsius. Subsequent research shows this more likely to be 20 degrees. Icecaps are melting at an alarming rate.
On the 25th of March a double flare vaporises Antarctica. Worldwide Tsunamis destroy most coastlines for at least 25 miles inland. The water rapidly pulls back too though due to the flares dissipating the molecules entirely.
President Johnsson declares a state of world wide emergency.
A series of eleven smaller solar flares destroys world wide communication as they destroy most if not all communication satellites in April. They touch down all over the planet, causing temperatures to rise further and destroy a lot of plantlife. Water levels decrease so much the Amazon falls dry. Mass hysteria ensues all over the planet.
May 2nd is the last known communication by President Johnsson over short wave radio. His words are simple.
‘We have lost control. God help us.’
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What we know concerning the flares:
When a flares ‘hits’ the surface a sudden surge of heat and radiation fries most living things. Temperatures can suddenly spike up to near 250/300 degrees Celsius. A small flare can affect an area as small as a few hundred square feet, while the biggest flare measured so far fried nearly 200 square miles. After a touchdown the area will be irradiated for weeks or months, causing infection in those traversing it without protection.
Luckily we have since discovered that these flares give off a sort of warning signal in the areas they are about to touch down in. AM band radios will pick up huge static starting about two to three hours before a flare touches down. A big flare might give up warning signals to six hours before.
Most survivors these days try to get and maintain an AM band radio just for this early warning system, and try to remain mobile and travel light.
The only sure way to survive a flare touchdown is to be well away from it. However, some reports state that being deep enough underground or hidden in heat-proof locations might help too.
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What we know of the infected:
Those that are not outright vaporised and killed by the radiation caused by the solar flares stand a very high chance of becoming infected with what is now called Sol-disease. This causes those that suffer the infection to become mindless creatures with a ravenous craving for sustenance in the form of blood. Infected will attack on sight, have highly acute hearing and eyesight, and seem to gain almost supernatural speed and agility. The infected are known to be able to climb, but seem to lose all but the most basic brain functions. They do not seem to use tools or weaponry, can not manipulate simple things like doors, and instead will opt to bash through or climb any barriers in their way.
At first the reports stated the infected as dead, but we have since learned that they are actually still sort of living. Their hearts beat, their brains function, but they have seemed to lost all humanity. What is worse, is that when a person is bitten or scratched by the infected, they will soon become feverish and die, only to return some twenty to thirty seconds after their ‘death’. How the radiation and infection manages to kickstart their deceased bodies is unknown at this time.
Taking out an infected can be done in several ways. Two methods will most certainly take them down immediately, namely severe trauma to the brain, or severe trauma to the heart. A knife or gunshot to either organ will put them down for good.
The infected can also be burned, but are known to keep coming until they have been burned to a crisp. It seems they need the human musculatory system mostly intact to function.
Infected that do not feed become sluggish, even being rendered motionless, but mind you, they do not die unless one of the above methods are used.
Many survivors have come upon the bodies of the infected over the past five years thinking they were destroyed, only to discover they were inanimate due to lack of sustenance in their vicinity. Somehow the scent of blood animates them.
