2064: a Day of Reckoning

By S.F. Khan

It is the year 2064, and everything we know of the world has changed. More than half of all Americans live in poverty, and global political and military powers have shifted, leaving the United States in a weakened position and ripe for conquering.

The battle for control of the United States is underway. The Hind Empire, formerly known as India, seeks to annex the country as a way of sending a strong message that it is meant to rule the earth. Then there’s the Democratic Provinces of China (DPC), having evolved from the former China, holds the United States in thrall economically, keeping it paralyzed. While the DPC has no interest in invading the Americas, it must protect its financial interests. Meanwhile, within the country, radical new political ideologies emerge that shun any correlation to the old world. Now, with war imminent, only time will tell where the American people will find hope for the future.

This speculative novel presents one possible future for military and economic powers around the world, considering new systems and ideas that may emerge from the present.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781532092992

S.F. Khan

S.F. Khan is a resident of Maryland, USA. S.F. possesses an MBA and is currently a graduate student at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. S.F. has authored several academic works in his professional and collegiate life. S.F.’s career in writing comprises of the popular dystopian novel, 2064 and numerous children’s books.

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Copyright © 2020 S.F. Khan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-9240-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-9299-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020900572

iUniverse rev. date: 07/24/2020

CONTENTS

Preface

Prologue

Part I

Geopolitics

Chapter 1: Allies & Adversaries

Chapter 2: Flames in Utopia

Part II

War

Chapter 3: Roozh

Chapter 4: Dread

Chapter 5: Burg

Chapter 6: Resist

FOR MY FATHER AND

THE REST OF THE KHAN FAMILY.

I AM TIME GROWN OLD TO DESTROY THE WORLD,

EMBARKED ON THE COURSE OF WORLD ANNIHILATION.

—BHAGAVAD GITA

PREFACE

When I think about ranking humankind’s biggest hypothetical accomplishments, I’d have to put mastering time travel at the top of the list. Most people might rank figuring out how to outsmart death and live forever much higher, but I would still stand by my assertion that time travel should take first prize, assuming we would even be able to achieve immortality and master the ability to travel through time. While time travel is impossible in a pragmatic sense, it is certainly something we can do as individuals on an imaginative level. Our cerebral abilities let us vividly remember days that have passed and create fantasies of times yet to come. 2064 is a product of my mind’s architecture on the future. A few months prior to the birth of my son Alex, I battled anxieties about what the world would look like once Alex is all grown-up. In these moments of envisioning the forthcoming era, I started to document these thoughts.

In recent years, America has plunged into disarray due to the fears of what’s in store for us in the years and decades to come. While there are strong opinions from various sides, we can ascertain that all parties involved in the dialogue desire what they perceive as a perfect society. The gap in perception from different sides has delivered hatred not seen prior to the beginning of the century. While our existing woes are mainly domestic, the exceeding divide in American society leaves us vulnerable to external factors that very well may capitalize on our dark days.

In 2064, I discuss my interpretation of the future, given that things remain as they are in 2019. Topics such as limiting immigration and division of peoples based on ethnicity, religion, and gender rapidly become normalized. Additionally, degradation of groups based on race worsens in the form of gun violence. While I may not be predicting the future in 2064, I hope to inspire the reader to foresee the potential ramifications of being idle today.

The novel is broken into two parts. The first part explores how the world changes in the years leading to 2064 and what caused those changes to occur. The view of events is from thirty thousand feet, a bird’s-eye view, so to speak, to put the changes into the broad context needed to understand the events that unfold in part II. The second part of the novel focuses on the story of Roozh, a formidable young lady who ends up changing the world as global politics plunge the key nations on the geopolitical stage into military and political conflict. Taken together, the novel is meant to provoke thoughts about the world we live in today and about the world we want our children to live in tomorrow. Thoughts aren’t enough though. Only collective action on all our parts will bring about positive change, change that must come if humanity is to survive. Here, then, is a glimpse into a potential future that we should strive to avoid at all costs.

PROLOGUE

Vice President Alexander Hughes stood in the Situation Room in the bowels of the White House, his hands clasped behind him as he surveyed the digital map of the United States—or what was left of the nation. He sighed as he saw the symbols representing units of the Hind, the invaders who had launched a surprise attack and who were now making progress in their attempt to take over the entire country. The units descending on Manhattan were of particular concern, though they all were a threat.

He felt the buildup of sweat on his forehead and ran his hand through his short salt-and-pepper hair. He was a tall man with an identifiable military stature. His light green eyes and dark skin gave him a distinctly biracial look. He knew that the ladies liked his looks, and he took advantage of that whenever he could.

He considered the fact that his father and grandfather had endured the consequences of past presidents, and now it was his turn. The current president had recently been assassinated, but his legacy of complacency and incompetence was coming home to roost with the utter destruction of the United States and all it stood for. Despite his dislike of the now deceased president, his loyalty to the American cause was unwavering.

Although the present situation was sad, it didn’t surprise Hughes. Years of political and economic chaos had exhausted America and her people, enough for her to let her guard down and become vulnerable. Once she withered, they came for her one by one. First it was the Hind Empire’s army, and soon thereafter the Democratic Provinces of China (DPC) military. As Hind armies poured in and flooded the Manhattan streets, the resistance was sluggish due to being unprepared. Hughes glanced at one of the large video monitors and saw a live feed from Manhattan. The streets were being turned into slaughterhouses. The rebels collected pieces of wreckage to hurl at Hind troops navigating the streets.

People stampeded, trampling one another to avoid being slaughtered. First, rockets from the sky, then troops on the ground; it was too much to comprehend all at once. The small, unorganized, and untrained rebels were comprised of disenfranchised youth and middle-aged men and women who had long ago lost faith in the American dream.

The dream had diminished into