The Day North America Woke Up Leo the Pirate Vampire King The New Porfiriato Emperor Ted Vojvodina vs. the World Superhuman World Superhuman World 2009
Me in the Superhuman World:
Startup Escalation 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2023 .

Superhuman World 2009 is a work of fiction. The characters herein and the commentary about them should not be considered "real".

SUPERHUMAN WORLD 2023

Beyond the End

Beyond the End

Introduction

The World Journal Monthly says, one of its psychics transcribed this account of the future. From what I've seen of the future, this story is at least as real as everything else they publish. And it has some personal significance to me.

(signed) Wyatt Ferguson, 24 February 2009.

2023

Beyond the End. Commentator: Jennifer Brock, World Journal Monthly.

WORLD JOURNAL MONTHLY
February 24, 2009     See Our Other Issues!
APES WILL RULE THE EARTH!
The Diary of Earth's Last Human
Our correspondents reported from the year 2022 about the near-extinction of humanity. The story saw print in 2002. Now thanks to our staff psychic Ms. Selena, we can present a follow-up.

I know I should start this diary with some attention-grabbing opening statement. But I don't know who will ever read it.

My name is Jennifer Brock. I used to be on camera for The Weather Network - the Canadian one. I was an intern in 2007 when the weird weather started and the U.S. Weather Channel satellite went down. Canada had started using polar-stationary "statites" as part of its advanced aeronautic programs, so we weren't affected. In 2011 our coverage of the radioactive snowstorms in England was world famous. But the weather only got worse, and humanity didn't help it. In 2022 we lost contact with the last human survivors. That's last year, I think. There's not much point to keeping track of time now.

I'm here in an ice cave with a god, an alien, and a bunch of mutant apes. Along with the swarms of radioactive locusts, we're the last survivors of Earth. The locusts eat radiation and the apes eat locusts, so they're all set. The god has some food for me and the alien. He fed the apes too; he gave them some kind of magic potion mixed with the blood of dead superheroes. Ick. But the apes liked it.

The god says he's Thor. I thought Thor's worshippers were dead a thousand years ago. But he says, secret wizards kept him and his pantheon alive. He's keeping me and the alien alive now, with god power.

The alien is one of those space lizards; we called their species the Gronites. We call him Seker. He's like a snake with arms. He got bioengineered by the saucer aliens, so he has kind of a horse face - with big sharp teeth. The apes like him, though. They like me too. Thor says we're the new trinity for the apes. He's taught them to make fire. They burn their feces to keep warm. Ick. But it's all they have.

Thor seems kind of like a nerd to me. It's like he's Dudley Do-Right, only with longer hair. He says he's the king of the Norse gods - but most of those are dead, along with the last humans. Thor's following orders from his own Higher Power before he dies too. He calls that power "Those Above Darkness"; he doesn't mean the aliens up beyond the dark clouds.

The apes have a kind of king too. They call him Gorko. Apes used to not have names other than "Me" and "Him" and "Her", but then they met humans and learned sign language. And then they met aliens and got recognized as a culture. The apes are almost as smart as some of the alien species that come to Earth. The aliens don't always think that "smart" is a survival trait, at least not the same way humans used to. The "Greens" who drive the flying saucers are supposed to be pretty smart, but they're not physical or magic at all, so they need the other species to help them.

Thor says Gorko's descendants will breed quickly and repopulate the Earth. We just have to make sure they live that long.

We went topside today. We saw tornadoes reaching all the way up into space. It looks like aliens are stealing the Earth's ice. Taking some of it will only help warm up the Earth. But we have to go into space to make them not take it all, or else the apes die.

Whether we make them stop, Thor says this is the legendary final battle of the Norse gods. The Earth has died by fire and ice, and now the gods die too. Including me and Seker.

... Well, gotta go.

2009

Response by Wyatt Ferguson.

This article seems real.

  • I can vouch for the weird weather forecasts and the Canadian aviation program. And of course, we've all met the aliens.
  • The superhuman blood cells are also known to me; I've got a bunch of them, plus a future counterpart who may well donate the whole set.
  • I've also met a Nordic god and the Ultimate Darkness. Could the blood cells themselves be talking to the gods by way of the Darkness? They've probably got the ability, due to my having multi-dimensional Unobtainium in place of iron in my blood. It would explain why "Those Above Darkness" are so interested in preserving the blood. And it completes a circle of smallest to largest.

I've enquired; the Weather Network does have a Jennifer Brock now on payroll, working in an audio lab. I'm happy for your career prospects, Ms. Brock, but somehow I feel congratulations are not in order.

  • I know of one other attempt by humanity to survive extinction, so you may not become the last human on Earth. But apparently it's a good thing that you and the last godlings will be around to run interference for the others.
  • If you get that chance and go through with it, you will be better than I. I've seen the end of humanity myself. I not only fled it, I've met my future self who fled it too.
  • Have I doomed humanity myself by giving you this message from the future, Ms. Brock? I doubt it. I've seen history change often enough, that I trust it to fix itself. But somehow history keeps pointing at this same end of the world.

I hate to segue from the end of humanity to my own life... but I've done it before, because I've been there. So this story is right on schedule. Today when I came across this new sign of the end of the world, I was making wedding plans - again.

  • I'm getting close to marrying my friend Judy - again. While we pick a church, my bachelor-party friends tell me to go watch some motivational sex films. But I'd rather plan a wrestling match with her to see who's stronger. Probably her, now that all women are stronger. But a bit of cuddling would work for me too.
  • The last time we married (2002), it was a sign of the end of the Earth. The last survivors of humanity objected enough to kill her. After a rather grim adventure she got better, but the marriage was a lost cause.
  • The last time we dated (2004), we parted due to irreconcilable differences: she wanted impromptu adventure less than I did. But when we saw each other in 2007 she said she'd changed her mind. As of last year I'd started to change my mind too.
  • This year we reconnected after that Emperor Ted stuff. That was about the right level of adventure for both of us, but now we're both ready to do some "normal" work. We're not quitting our jobs, but we have both arranged for reassignment.
  • So we're in Tennessee. She's working in a med center, and I'm writing my continuous Weird American Travelog. Maybe we can finally get married, and I can make up for all those false starts.

The last time I saw the end of the world, I thought I'd stopped it. But of course that takes more than me.

What shall I do about the end of the world this time? I think since I still have a lady in my life (for now), I'll ask her opinion (for once). Judy's bound to have a better idea than I have right now.

Me in the Superhuman World:
Startup Escalation 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2023 .

All characters in this fiction (except maybe Thor) and the phrase "Superhuman World 2009" are copyright © 2009 by Eiler Technical Enterprises. The map of the Superhuman World is based on one from Henry Bottomley's map software which is well worth a visit.