A World on Fire

It was a cloudy day, the day the world ended—a painfully dull day, where you couldn't catch a single glimpse of the sky. Calming winds blew past, attempting to soothe the souls of those about to be condemned. Yet it was deafened by the sirens; such loud, horrific sirens. They screeched through skin and bone and directly into the mind, producing an incomprehensible fear. Panic rippled through the streets. People shouting over the din, attempting to seek solace in each other's company, but finding only the chaotic sound of impending doom.

Some may come to terms with their death, find contentment with their place in the world. Though nothing prepares them for the end of humanity itself. Any purpose they may have had, anything they might have achieved, erased with the press of a button.

Still, humanity is not easily defeated; they find the urge to grasp onto those small straws of hope. While some may crumble, many stand strong and push on, toward what little hope remains. This small vestige of hope lay deep underground.

So underground they went.

There was one bunker that offered more hope than any other. It contained many of the greatest scientists the world had ever produced, hand-picked for their brilliance. They had one goal: to facilitate humanity’s prosperity, no matter the cost. For this, they had to go deeper.

It began with ideas of genius. They gathered together, hunched over blueprints and geological maps, sharing their dreams of an underground utopia, one that could drive humanity forward. They envisioned oxygen in the deep undergrowth. A city strewn together with earth and metal. An endless supply of power, one that could change reality forever.

To sustain humanity, they needed a plan that went beyond mere survival. They dreamed of an interconnected system, where knowledge could be passed down, where the lessons learned from the surface world could inform their new way of life. They theorised an advanced network of education, a way to instill knowledge and innovation into each new generation.

These idealistic dreams propelled them and acted as a catalyst for progress. Designs worked! Even materials could be found in surplus—their digging rewarded more resources than they had ever hoped for. But deep down, there sparked a longing, a longing for the sky, for the sun, for nature's warmth.

§

At first, the people in the bunker regarded the scientists with unease. They were a mysterious, distant group, sifting in and out of tunnels, always contemplating. They whispered amongst themselves. Questioning the sanity of those who had chosen to devote themselves to the very thing that nearly killed them. Sentencing them to an existence buried beneath the earth. They couldn't help but wonder: the scientists seemed to be inching closer to something, something incomprehensible, something dangerous.

Weeks passed.

Deeper and deeper underground, and deeper yet. The walls of the bunker reverberated with the relentless sound of drills and the clatter of machinery, a mind-numbing discordance that bore into each of their minds. With it, tensions rose. Their food would only last so long, and their equipment would break eventually—materials were a necessity. So they dug deeper still, their sweat sticking to the endless dust and grime. The more they discovered—metals and resources, life-sustaining water—enough for some temporary progress, but not enough, never enough.

One deep excavation provided the hope they needed. An underground cavern, unlike anything they had ever seen. It was vast—ceilings soaring high above them, adorned with natural rock formations that gleamed even in the dark. Precious water dripped wastefully from stalactites, and beckoned them towards it. Taunting them.

Work began immediately. They needn't create a city, merely a skeleton that could be improved upon and interminably cultivated. Though such a large cavern is not without risk, safety had long since been forgotten. The suffocating odour of rotting corpses never ceased, the air continuously thickening as time went by.

Yet even in death, hope persevered. They envisioned a reactor, an endless power source. The core of their civilisation, harnessing energy from the core of the Earth. It was a beautiful concept. More beautiful than anything else.

§

The people saw their work as strange, unnatural. Their thoughts, laced with fear. Who were they to play God? These scientists had promised survival, but at what cost? For every new discovery, strange rumours seemed to emerge. These scientists, they no longer cared about the people; they were obsessed with forces beyond comprehension, eyes perpetually alight with madness. The people turned away. They were wary of what those minds were capable of.

Months passed.

But dreams, no matter how bright, cannot hold back the slow onslaught of madness. Moonless caverns began to eat away at their minds. Pale faces—sapped of their determination—slowly grew gaunt and strained, shadows etched beneath their eyes. The sunless world they had buried themselves in began to close in on them. They craved a sun.

Claustrophobia set in. The once spacious cavern now felt like a tomb. The walls encroached, suffocating them, as though the Earth itself was conspiring against them. Some of the scientists would press their hands against the cold stone, praying for warmth to no avail. 

It was so, bitterly cold.

They longed for sunlight. For the gust of a gentle breeze, for the sight of a blue sky. Artificial lights buzzed above them, sadistically flickering at their despair, a pale imitation of their holy sun. The hunger for warmth gnawed at them, not just in their bodies; but in their minds.

Still, they survived. The reactor, it meant everything to them. This was no longer a desperate attempt to keep humanity alive, it was a quest for warmth. They began to see things in the shadows. Whispers, faint at first, they echoed in the recesses of their minds. The dead mocked them, they were free, laughing at them from beyond.

§

For a long while, there was no comfort to be found. The world above had been shattered by nuclear fire, yet the cavern was cold and unforgiving. Water was scarce, food even more so. Families huddled together in cold, dimly lit rooms, trying to make sense of their new existence. Even if the cavern provided protection. Even if it provided hope for the future. It offered no comfort. 

Years passed.

It was complete!

The reactor had become a monument to their ambition. A divine creation. It could create the glorious city they'd always hoped for, a haven for humanity. It could be paradise, oh, but it could be so much more than paradise.

Why stop there, the reactor gazed at them, its graceful fire guiding them towards success. The flames danced; delicately inspiring them. It wasn't just an energy source, it was a gateway to transcendence, a beacon. They could feel its pulse. The warmth radiating through the walls, blessing them.

The cavern was alive with a frenetic energy, plans were sketched, revised, and discarded. Inspiration struck, models tested, torn apart. In a frenzy of sleepless nights and raw determination. Their ideas were no longer about sustaining a mere generation they were thinking centuries ahead, or even further beyond.

As the days wore on, the collective began to dissolve into something darker. The relentless pursuit of survival blurred the lines of reason. They were no longer scientists, no longer individuals, no longer bound by inferior concepts. Ethics be damned. They had the opportunity to free themselves from such shackles forever. Why concern yourselves the the mortality of death, embrace it, and burn your bodies to the ground in pursuit of science.

The reactor overlooked their progress, burning a bright blue. Shining down upon them with such a comforting glow. An enchantress of their own design.

§

This reactor, it was a sight like nothing the people had ever seen before. The machine hummed with a soft purr, emanating energy, casting a warm ethereal light over the chamber where it stood. It was unlike any of the rigid, cruel machinery scattered throughout the cavern. It was vibrant, alive, in a way that the people couldn’t quite describe. For the first time, the cavern offered them something comforting, warmth.

Decades passed.

They discovered a marvel, the workings of a concept. A concept not even thought possible, but the reactor had gifted it to them. Their god. It had blessed them with glory, the opportunity to not only grow civilisation, but become one with their god. The flames whipped at their arms, marking them, linked for eternity.

§

The people praised the scientists, but even more-so their creation. This reactor was everything, their bodies, their minds, their souls.

"Oh yes. Oh glorious fire, spur on our existence. Birth us upon this new dawn, this new world. We feel our hands, they burn in beauty, you have graced us with your flames, with life!"

"Great fire consume us, eat at our lives, eat at our souls."

"Great fire consume us, eat at our lives, eat at our souls!"

"Great fire consume us, eat at our lives, eat at our souls!"

Centuries passed.