In the sepulchral dusk of a world long extinguished, I, Quirlin, a humble ant, bear witness to the desolation that has befallen this forsaken earth. A world unrecognizable, a spectral remnant of its former grandeur, this planet has endured the scourge of 135,235 years since the cataclysmic advent of the first Solar Cyclone. This cataclysm, these calamitous epochs we designate as the Eras of Blazing Wrath, have all but obliterated the race once known as humanity. These five dread ages – The Flaming Inferno, The Burning Wrathfire, The Glowing Destruction, The Heated Chaos, and The Scorched Ash – have eradicated every vestige of electrical circuitry upon this forsaken sphere. The once vital electric grid, the erstwhile lifeblood of civilization, now lingers only in the ephemeral realm of myth.
In the aftermath of these colossal power failures, the cooling systems of all nuclear power plants faltered, precipitating over four hundred catastrophic core meltdowns and an insidious contamination of nuclear radiation. It was amidst this irradiated desolation that we ants began to burgeon, evolving into beings of prodigious stature.
In this transformed and accursed realm, we insects, and particularly we ants, have ascended into beings of titanic proportions. Across countless generations, we have garnered the arcane knowledge preserved within the tomes you termed books, transmitting these esoteric treasures through the annals of time. Our mode of communication has transcended rudimentary methods; we now utilize intricate electrochemical signals, conveyed through the slightest of touches, a language of elegance and precision refined over hundreds of millions of years.
Upon a fateful and foreboding day, as I foraged amidst this wasteland for sustenance, I encountered a solitary human survivor – a trembling monk. The monk, gripped by palpable terror, uttered incoherent supplications to deities long forgotten.
Cautiously, yet impelled by an insatiable hunger, I approached. Despite the altered state of our existence, the primal need for nourishment remained undiminished. As I made contact, his feeble electrochemical signals coursed through me, starkly discordant from those of my kin – chaotic, disordered. I discerned his emotions: raw terror within the monk.
In a futile bid for mercy, the monk raised his hands in desperate supplication, but he was no match for my formidable strength. With a deft maneuver of my mandibles, I dismantled his feeble defenses and commenced my grim repast. His scream, a haunting echo through the desolate expanse, was swiftly stifled. His essence coursed through me, revitalizing my form.
Thus sated, I moved onward. This world, harsh and merciless, now falls under the dominion of us ants. We are the new sovereigns of the earth, and our electrochemical signals shall perpetuate the chronicles of this post-apocalyptic realm. Thus, I traverse the scorched remnants of this ancient world, ever poised to inscribe the next chapter of my saga.
Translations in French, Spanish and German in the first comments.
