Tuesday, September 24, 2019

A Thematic Introduction to my '5 Klicks From the Zone' Campaign


In the early days - yes, I am afraid that I am old enough to remember them - we thought the Zones would kill us. Maybe some would think me lucky to last long enough to become as infirm as I am, maybe I do too sometimes… Anyway, child that I was then, that prospect of struggling in a desperate future seemed an exciting one, something to wish for, even. I had a habit of waiting until my parents’ snores became loud enough to conceal the creak of hinge and floorboard. I would then creep to our television to fill my eyes with the apocalyptic vistas of Hollywood and other faraway filmlands that my parents kept stashed away, unaware that I knew of them and where to find them, along with romances I scorned in the way children do. This future seemed a playground to me. No rules, no parents, no police. 

This future did come - has come - though not quite for the reasons we thought. The Zones were a rumour first, then an open secret, then they were all but impossible to hide, no matter how those in charge tried. The heat, the light, the sparks in the air and the electric in our limbs meant secrets were impossible. Besides, we knew secrets, we lived them, we read them - sometimes we kept them. Ah, but I must get to the point I suppose. As much as this may be for myself, I should also consider any poor soul who reads this and expects to be entertained and informed. To you I say, bear with me! In time, these embellishments will move my narrative forward, like our wanderings will seek to bring hope to our Home. Some things I do not wish to repeat, and will not, but what I will tell you will be a truth.

We thought the Zones would kill us, but, of course, it was us. After all, what were the Zones other than a resource? And what else did the machinery of our civilization endeavour to do other than devour resources to feed the bloated rich at the expense of the land and people? The blame was put on the stalkers of course, but what were they compared to those with contracts? My parents were stalkers so you will forgive me for defending them. The coal was mined, the oil drilled, reactors burned, trees cleared, the Zones scoured. Gold cost lives, as did silver, crystal, and gems. The secrets of the Zones demanded a similar blood price. The people paid it out of necessity; the contractors in search of profit. The world began to burn, and the Zones began to grow

We ran from the fires. We ran from the creeping dangers of the Zones. Worst of all, we ran from the soldiers’ bullets. All those above us could do was tighten their fists, so we turned to one another. Some dug down, some built bulwarks up, all sought to weather the siege of desperate oligarchs and an angry planet that afflicted us. We knew we needed every bit of will and strength and ingenuity and kindness if we were to last. We tried to keep contact with one another, to continue to assist and encourage as much as we could, but, slowly, the lights went out and the night drew in. I won’t revisit that long night except to say that we were all, without a doubt, heroic. It was a quiet heroism, it was what we needed. But what went on then is done. Not all of us would wake to see the sunrise, but enough of us did. That alone is proof enough that we put our faith in the right things. 

We need to keep that faith. Our home is failing and cannot last as a closed system. It was never closed, truth be told. The ghosts are evidence enough of that. We have taken our first steps out, into the wastes, into the Zones. We aim to find our lost kin. We aim to preserve life and environment. I will go with them. I’m old as I say but the years have chipped away at any cowardice. I have lived. So what if I am to die? So what if my death brings word of our kin, or food to make the children smile

Anyway, this is a world without rules, without parents, without police. I am - I must admit - excited.

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