Mother Nature
When man was born-The Shaking and beyond
The first of man was born from my womb. I was with them for everything. I was there when they took their first step. I was there when they said their first words. I was there when they lost their first tooth. They were my prized children. Unlike my other wonderful children, man craved knowledge and became quick learners. Mankind began to understand concepts that were too complicated for the others. This is what separated my children between animal and human. While the animals called the inner workings of the universes simply life, mankind called it science.
A chain of events began to unfold that I had never seen before. Order greater than what the animals already created, an idea entitled government, emerged and took shape with man’s quick minds. With this tool, men were able to live together in vast numbers where as the animals lived in their own small worlds. With government came technology, a way of using resources to produce objects of usefulness to make living essentially better. Men were able to make their lives easier, making more technology and having more free time; something the animals never had between hunting, foraging, and surviving. They were also able to live in the most extreme area where only a few animals ventured. With technology came transportation and communication, a way of moving around the planet more effectively as well as sharing information between civilizations around the world. Groups of animals could live for decades without knowing anything about others of their own kind, but the humans were all connected with each other. Before long, man’s population grew to monstrous proportions.
At first, I was loved and praised by all of my children. However, the humans (caught up with all of their ideas and creations) started to lose memory of me. I am always in wonder on how this happened; after all, what kind of child forgets their own mother? They began to hunt their animal siblings into extinction not once stopping to think about the consequences. They only thought of the profit. Forests were cut down, gaping holes were drilled deep into the Earth, waste was pumped into the oceans, and pollutants stained the once clean air. Most of my work in keeping the world from falling apart involved cleaning up their messes. I was denounced from mother to maid.
As I cleaned up after my prized offspring, they fought violently against one another. Two world wars raged in the span of fifty years, both costing many lives. Governments became superpowers and taunted one another, causing even more wars. Years past and still wars of every size and every kind continued to grow and grow. Weapons of unmentionable power were tested all around the Earth. My animal children grew frightened with the impenetrable sense of impending doom. I felt myself being drained; I had to keep cleaning up the humans mess, attempt to calm down my children, and endure the increasing pain that came with each test of the weapons all the while try to think of a way to stop another catastrophe.
On that fateful day, chaos erupted. Everything seemed to be happening at once. Weapons were released, land was ripped apart, and the screams of my dying children rang in my ears. Pain, terror, panic, horror echoed in the atmosphere. Earth and all its inhabitants were dying, and it only took a press of a button. Without thinking, I used all of my power to shield the remainder of my animal children from the destructive powers of the weapons. I waited and watched my precious children disappear off of the face of the planet. Even though they cried out in pain, I could not help them, for if I did the same disaster would surely happen again. Once Earth was calm and the dreadful screaming ceased, I released the animals from my arms and felt myself drift into darkness.
It was as if I was in a coma. I could see what was going on, but I couldn’t move. I watched as a five year plague swept across the planet. More and more of my children that were left died. Their suffering was constant for fifteen long years after the disaster they called The Shaking for I was too weak to even let rains fall. After a terrible long wait, I was able to help the earth grow plants to feed the animals. I have been steadily regaining my strength the years after The Shaking; flowers were growing healthy, fruits are becoming juicer, and the animals are becoming stronger. Together, no matter how slow it is, we are beginning anew.
April 12, 2100
There has been an excessive amount of rain in the continent of Eramaa. Because of the rain, Lake Cratere has risen two feet, a startling amount to the town of Lago. Although none of the flooding has reached the town, the animals are still worried if it will raise even more with more rain. In eastern Eramaa there have been recent mudslides from the mountains. The town of Forte is now covered in mud. Few have died and many are homeless, injured, and missing.
In Tansanko, Starter civilians have been noticing something strange along the north-eastern coast close to Fattoria. Beaches have been forming ever sense the Shaking, but this particular area of beach has changed. Instead of the sand being white or even tan, the sand has become rainbow. Civilians are troubled by this event and what an understanding of this phenomenon. Besides the rainbow sand, the Starters have had a very successful winter season with a surplus of winter crops. Harvesting has started today.
Plates close to Kiivas in the central ocean have moved, causing an earthquake along the continent’s western edge. The Avanzato dock has been damaged and is in need of repairs. The town of Grotta is worried about future rockslides from the mountains. Even with all of the troubling predictions, the earthquake was fairly small and hasn’t damaged much of the Reformer civilization.