Ongoing
Scorched Earth
8
Feb 05, 2026
A3,589words
Synopsis

Earth has fallen. When the planet crosses its final climate tipping point, temperatures rise, crops fail, and billions are forced onto the move. Diplomacy gives way to ultimatums, then to war.

From dusty laboratories to streets drowning in heat and hunger, a fractured world stumbles toward its final reckoning. As famine and conflict spread, international order dissolves into violence and blame, and armies march north through ruins chasing a future that no longer exists.

Yet amid the despair, a radical plan takes shape to move a fragment of humanity to the red sands of Mars. As Earth burns and the heavens fill with refugees, one truth becomes unavoidable: the future belongs only to those willing to sacrifice everything.

In the chaos of the apocalypse, a new kind of security service is needed to enforce order where nations have failed. From the ashes of Old Earth, the Sunguard rises.

Note from author

The story you’re reading is one of many set in the Lords of the Stars universe I’ve been creating over the past 30 years, where familiar characters and places reappear, and new favorites await discovery. Check out my profile to explore more stories from this universe.

Visit the official Lords of the Stars blog for more information about this hard sci-fi universe: https://lordsofthestars.wordpress.com

The story you’re reading is one of many set in the Lords of the Stars universe I’ve been creating over the past 30 years, where familiar characters and places reappear, and new favorites await discovery. Check out my profile to explore more stories from this universe...

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