The After Climate Disruption Series

The Disruption.
The problem was in the air and atmospheric pressure, caused by climate change and a failed AI-designed project aimed at altering the atmosphere.
These were the causes of asthma, heart attacks, strokes, headaches, joint pain, and fatigue. Prolonged exposure to toxins and pressure variations led to cognitive decline, increased rates of depression, anxiety, and apathy.
After three years of the main Disruption, no one lived to be older than thirty-five.
Humanity also caused irreversible environmental changes.
Vast tracts of land were flooded. Others turned into deserts due to prolonged droughts and heatwaves. Previously fertile regions were barren.
The first years after the Disruption were a period of total chaos.
Long life now meant living to around thirty-five, and by their twenties, people began to behave like those in their sixties in past times.
The consequence of the shorter life span was that people lacked a broader perspective and did not plan their actions for the long term.
The world changed; places that were suitable for living shrank significantly. Vast areas were flooded or became uninhabitable due to extreme temperatures and persistent air pollution.
The only places that were suitable were Antarctica, Greenland, and parts of Siberia. … *Additional note 1: the Disruption began around 4y BCD (Before Climate Disruption).
Year one of the Disruption marked the recognition of its impact on lifespan.
Starting from then, people began to count years in two ways: X ACD (years After Climate Disruption) and BCD + X ACD (to see how old the person was before). Newborns’ IDs used only the new counting system.

At the brink of disaster, humanity made a discovery.
The discovery was that some people were less affected, living more easily until thirty-five and dying around forty.
This group started assembling and asking questions about why it was like that for them. As it was not like thousands or hundreds of years ago, science was not forgotten; this group of people not only asked questions but looked for answers in science.
The discovery was confirmed: these people were gifted with internal energy, a natural skill that, when cultivated with concentration, could improve health and state of mind.
That was not all.
These people noticed that they were not only healthier themselves but also made those around them more energetic and feel better. As if this energy were transferred to those around them.
In 11 ACD, this gift was recognized as natural energy and was officially called Ability.
In 13 ACD, the group of people with Ability formalized their organization, calling themselves the Sect.
The Sect was helping others—those without Ability. Humanity started to rebuild themselves.
The majority still lived short, up to thirty-five, but with time and the work of the Sect it started improving.
The quality of life improved, and people became more willing to rebuild the world.
Moreover, the Sect Members injected energy into others, spread optimism, and healed the sick. Even though life was short, humanity was gaining momentum. … *Additional note 2: the discovery of energy was not new. It was strictly classified that in around 20 BCD, natural energy was uncovered by one tech lab owned by a pharma corporation. The knowledge about it was hidden due to a lack of possible profit.
*Additional note 3: the discovery of natural energy was made in a strictly controlled laboratory, where the top students from universities from before the Disruption were kept. There was an accident in these labs; in 4 ACD, it was reported that AGI was achieved. The team involved in this accident was kept in a locked space, strictly controlled. … Migration happened during the first period of the ACD era.
Two spots became extremely attractive: Antarctica and Greenland. … The Sect chose Greenland and inland plateaus, areas at higher elevations, to avoid flooding from melting ice and rising sea levels, ensuring long-term habitability.
Surrounded by mountains and a large water reservoir, it was suitable for living and farming.
Later, it proved to be practical as the mountains helped manage borders. … The rest of humanity slowly migrated, mostly to Greater Antarctica.
Here, around 7 ACD, the city was built, safe from rising sea levels due to its elevation. People adapted a location near McMurdo Station, built the first parts of the city, and started to farm nearby land.
Scientists also used research infrastructure and worked on the general problem with climate and energy-lacking, short-lived humanity.
The city slowly transformed into a structure close to a country; the name started to be capitalized (the City). … There were generally two languages used, the common language from the City, and the language of the Sect. All other languages were considered unnecessary.
There were also few people alive who could remember the times before the Disruption. Even if all documents and data sets were available, the heritage was not considered as useful.
The old times were treated as a different reality, a different world, not fitting present times. … Artificial intelligence was limited to experiments only; this decision was widely known, as one of the reasons why the Disruption happened, was the failed AI startup.
The net was available and free in the City, but the Sect censored it.
Data centers were also separated.
A common messenger protocol and program were used.
Devices were standardized to avoid production, maintenance, and waste issues. … After the Disruption old weapons were strictly managed.
Later, they were not produced as they were not efficient. Energy users could protect themselves easily. … *Additional note 4:
The classified laboratory where scientists connected to AGI were kept was destroyed, and scientists went missing. It happened in 10 ACD. The AGI (called “Andrew”) was also reported missing. In 14 ACD, the Deserts were under observation, as there started to form separate laboratories, and camps. Later, they started to be called cartels, and changed their direction, focusing on crime. At the beginnings, however, the main focus was the science of energy. … At one point, scientists in the City revealed that Ability had been researched before the Disruption. The data from BCD times had helped, and the City’s scientists managed to create a substitute for natural energy—artificial energy, in the form of Crystals.
The invention had been announced in late 15 ACD.
Crystal companies started emerging, mostly around 16 ACD.
One company, run by the main Crystals inventor, Hannen Clar, developed Crystals’ parameters to be very efficient, and reached a situation where Crystals were enough to prolong a normal person’s life and health until around forty-five years.
The first successful operation of inserting a working Crystal into the human body was performed in 16 ACD.
The first Crystaler survived the operation and lived healthy. Crystal he had embedded mimicked natural energy efficiently.
The operation was done by the team controlled by Hannen Clar.
Hannen Clar established his own company named Tunc in 18 ACD. He hid the parameters of his invention.
Natural energy was considered the best energy source.
Crystals caused problems for people that cultivated Ability, they were corrupting the cultivation. Conversely, people using Crystals couldn’t start cultivation.
What was more, Crystals were painful to wear; they had side effects and caused infections as well. Not all could use them or use them fully.
People who didn’t have Ability or couldn’t use Crystals had to rely on the Healers—those who were trained to heal using natural energy.
Only natural energy gave the possibility to pass it on to others. Artificial energy had constraints in this matter. … Having two sources of clean and easy energy, natural and artificial, scientists and companies started developing innovative technology, especially regarding transport and farming, as food was still one of the main issues. … The Sect started to have difficulties; they were hunted by the Deserts’ labs and the City’s labs for their research.
Around 18 ACD, the Sect went into seclusion mode. Working hard on cultivation and their own internal science, they reached a moment when they could live around fifty without any regress. … *Additional note 5: the discovery of the best artificial energy’s parameters is assigned to Hannen Clar; however, the Crystals’ invention was created by his wife, Julie Panasewicz-Clar. She died of radiation, as the first Crystals were radioactive.
The invention wouldn’t be complete without the embedding; here the information about the inventor was also hidden by the Tunc company. It is unofficially known that a scientist named Joost Meeran invented the ‘parasite-acting’ embeddings’ design.
These facts were uncovered many years later.

The Sect was in seclusion and was facing many internal problems. The board of the Sect wanted to create weapons, and there was a fight between the board and the main inventor, Elder Liu Lan, the sixth most powerful Elder and Abilitier in the Sect. She left the Sect in 20 ACD, and her inventions were lost.
The news about the death of Elder Er An also shocked the board and the Sect Members. The witness, Elder Wu Amber, reported that one cartel was involved. It made the Sect tie all relations with any cartels’ workers.
The Sect then completely closed borders and focused on defense. … *Additional note 6: the death of Elder Er An, the reasons, and who was responsible, were discovered only in 70 ACD, by Elder Jiu Song. The murderer, William Amber de Bruin (ex-Elder Wu), was executed.

The Sect and the City were in a state of tense relations.
The Deserts’ cartels grew unbothered and started to be perceived as crime syndicates. … In the Sect, the board and Elders managed the politics and the way they operated.
There were still few powerful Abilitiers-Elders. Most of the Sect Members were at an energy level around 3, not many reached the level 4.
In 41 ACD, one Elders was crossed out from the list due to discovered misconducts. This event shook the board, causing even greater reluctance to seek changes or to be open to new people from the outside. … In the City, the Clar family oversaw the biggest Crystal’s corporation, Tunc. They were the only source of the best quality artificial energy, thanks to parameters developed by the owner, Hannen Clar, and his (dead) wife, Julie.
Hannen Clar held the power over the City’s politics unofficially.
The City was described as an energy feudal structure. However, it was poorly organized. There was no official and unanimity ruling. … The Deserts started causing additional problems. So-called cartels, numbered one to five, were gaining power. Working under the legal cover of a foundation or a clinic, cartels were experimenting and training Crystals-powered armies.

In 49 ACD, the Sect appointed a new Leader, Elder Qi Wei.
Soon after, a new board was also elected, bringing changes within the Sect.
The seclusion ended. The Sect’s new Leader opened borders and allowed more people to join or work, regardless of Ability level.
The Sect’s Army developed new weapons (details were strictly classified). The Army raided cartels in 52 ACD successfully.
The Sect inventors started to experiment with Crystals and successfully performed the first Crystal extraction and Ability restoration (52 ACD), which were important, as they uncovered how Crystals worked in the body in detail.
Those findings highlighted that the incompatibility of Ability and Crystals energy was a deeper problem.
There were few people wanting to extract Crystals as it was proven that a high level of Ability was needed to survive the operation. Despite this, the general discoveries around extraction helped accelerate further development of Crystals.
In 57 ACD, the Sect’s Academy was established, with Member Anders (later Elder Shi Yi) as its President.
The Sect’s Army, after destroying cartels, started to build camps in the Deserts, and projects connected to terraforming again were discussed.
Later, the Sect faced issues with the low childbirth rate.
The Leader decided to dissolve their barrier and open the Sect even more, to attract more people to join.

… In the City, the Clar family collapsed after the death of Riley Clar, the grandson, and the last official descendant of the owner of Tunc and the inventor of Crystals.
In 60 ACD, the Tunc company was transformed into the JUL Foundation, opening Crystals’ parameters to science.
The foundation was managed by a board that had connections to the Sect. The Clar data sets were officially taken over by the newly revealed descendant, Wan Clar-Yue, daughter of the Sect’s Leader. This event sparked riots; however, the issue was calmed down by politicians. … Scientists from both locations cooperated.
The process of Crystals miniaturization began. The City’s TU University cooperated strongly with the Sect’s Academia. … The Sect put effort into creating the first prototype of a transmitter device, later called ‘the Gate.’ The idea was to recreate the technique of transportation used by two of the Sect’s Elders (Qi Wei and Jiu Song).
It was the first step to finally abandoning old transportation devices and machines. The first tests were conducted in 64 ACD. … The technology of Crystals and Ability cultivation allowed people to live healthily until around a hundred years old.
Regulating the body and healing sicknesses with natural or artificial energy became standard practice. … In the City, changes started to happen. The first mayor was appointed, signaling a new direction in the political structure. … In the middle of 70 ACD, tension between the City’s research centers and the Sect’s Academia started to grow.
TU University tried to stay neutral, though because research centers were funded mostly by the City, it was not avoidable to be implicated.
Cooperation slowed down.
Research centers were trying to merge energies in a search for the power that the Sect’s Elders possessed. For Crystalers it was still not achievable.
One laboratory triggered a military response from the Sect. Details were classified.
Soon after these events, the Sect’s Academia restarted a research project regarding energy splits; details were classified, but it was said, it was connected to the sudden deaths of two Elders, Elder Jiu Song, the Army Commander, and Elder Shi An, a terraforming scientist.
TU University sought contact with the Sect’s Academia, and at the end of 70 ACD they again joined forces.