2054 Assimilation

By Herman Jasper

Where will our misuse of our planet take us? The title refers to a time in the not-too-distant future and asks questions about what our future will look like. Also, the book asks what do we truly know about our beginnings on this planet. Do the cycle of birth life and the finality of death apply to the human race, or can we avoid extinction? To what lengths might we go in such an endeavor? What we are learning through scientific advancements suggests that almost anything is possible. We are witnessing science fiction become science fact in everything from automobiles to aircraft, spaceflights, and genetic manipulation of flora and fauna. Will we end up surviving on earth or somewhere else? I hope readers find this writing entertaining and also thought-provoking because only clarity of thought will enable the survival of the human race going forward.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781647013851

Book preview

Chapter One

People Are Flying

Like the sound of rolling thunder and a feeling like standing five feet from a passing locomotive, this was the twentieth launch in nine months of a Cosmos Corporation heavy-lift rocket. Cosmos Corporation became the largest space contractor in the world when they displaced Space X in the year 2030. They were able to accomplish this because they build the most advanced spacecraft in the world solely for the United States Space Force.

The year is 2054, and two men, who are best friends from childhood, watched the liftoff from two miles away. They were aboard a catamaran they purchased together for fishing, family outings, and ocean research. Both men had earned master’s degrees in their chosen disciplines. John Carrol had a master’s degree in journalism and oceanography, and Robert Davis had a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering and heliology. Robert Davis was well-known in the world of physics. His work led to the design of the most advanced hydrogen plasma propulsion system in the world. The Davis propulsion system used a thermodynamic gas fractionalization unit to harvest hydrogen atoms from space. Hydrogen was the most abundant element in the universe, and theoretically, the Davis Drive could travel the galaxy indefinitely.

The men were wearing the latest oxygen concentrator models incorporated into full-body protective netting that makes them look like beekeepers. Supplemental oxygen devices were indispensable because the world’s rain forests had been burned down. Oxygen was the most sought-after item in the world because atmospheric oxygen levels have dropped from 21 percent to 15 percent. The proportional increase of carbon dioxide had made netting a vital accessory for protection against more voracious insects.

No matter how many times I see it, I’m still amazed, Robert, and that’s the third heavy lift in three months.

Yeah, Cosmos Corporation turns those things around very quickly, and it’s anybody’s guess what they are carrying.

I sure would like to know. Bet it would make a great story. John’s pole suddenly jerked violently toward the water.

Fish on! I got one. He started reeling the line in while both men watched the line weaving back and forth as the fish struggled to free itself.

Keep his head up, John. Don’t let him dive on you.

He’s mine now. He swallowed the hook. Get the net.

The head broke the water, and Robert expertly netted it. They looked at the fish, and their excitement faded. It was a seven-pound striped bass born with no dorsal fin and a second vestigial head protruding from a spot just behind his gills. During the short period of time that the fish was out of the water, a swarm of flying insects descended upon it, trying to feast on it before it drops back into the water.

Damn, what are all those bugs doing two miles out?

There must be some dead fish floating nearby. These bugs can have them because these fish are not fit for human consumption.

We haven’t caught a normal one this month. I doubt we catch one today.

Well, we knew bad things were coming with all that water pouring in from the poles, changing the water temperature and pH. At least there are still some live ones. That means there still is a chance for a recovery. It’s amazing that this thing is even alive considering the massive toxic algae blooms and the elevated water temperatures.

This is really bad and getting worse. We’re screwed!

The oceans can’t sustain our food fish anymore. The water is too warm. Look at all those damn jellyfish! Land is getting scarcer, and rising sea levels are pushing everybody near the shore inland. People are getting too crowded together. Border disputes and water rights disputes are just unpreventable. People are already killing each other because there isn’t enough high ground for all of us.

Let’s give it one more try. I really want to see one normal-looking fish.

The world had seen ten EF5 tornadoes this year alone. All of them had eyes over eighty miles wide. The superstorms moved inland and dumped rain at an average rate of three inches per hour for twelve hours. The Caribbean islands and the Pacific islands had all lost many acres of land to the rising sea. The low lying islands are now submerged and existed as dangers to large sea vessels.

There had been recurring cycles of two hundred miles per hour winds, torrential rains, and killer floods that left piles of rubble where communities once stood. Wastewater, fresh water, and seawater were all mixed together, and toxic algae were flourishing miles inland from the shoreline. The loss of food crops and livestock around the world had made mass starvation a very real threat.

In the eastern United States, roads were riddled with potholes or completely washed out by floodwaters, and the melting glaciers promised more biblical rains. St. Petersburg and New Orleans were underwater, as were most of the Carolinas. In the central United States, the mighty Mississippi River had grown even mightier, causing whole communities to relocate. On the west coast, earthquakes were violent and followed by hundreds of aftershocks. Volcanic eruptions were a weekly occurrence, and competition for living space had strengthened divisiveness and racism. Hate crimes were more common than ever.

I just don’t know where we’re headed. Climate change got away from us a long time ago while we twiddled our thumbs.

There may be a chance to fix things, but it’s left to the generations after us, and there is no quick fix. Things are going to get worse and worse before they get better.

Yeah, well, looks like we got skunked again. Let’s head on back. The sun is starting to burn right through my netting and my SPF 50.

On the way back to shore, the men passed two dolphin carcasses floating on the surface and realize what brought the flying insects out here. Shortly thereafter, they noticed gathering storm clouds and throttled up the cat because sudden monstrous EF5 tornadoes were the norm now. When they reach the dock, they secured the catamaran and climbed into their separate Sunflyer-brand ultralight aircraft for the short flight home. Sunflyer was the brand name of the advanced ultralight aircraft they both used for commuting. They were similar to the Black Fly, introduced around 2018, but they were powered by photovoltaic cells and lithium-ion batteries. A small, light, pedal-driven generator sent current through a charge controller to maintain battery charge and served as a backup in case of battery failure. Electric air transportation was the most common mode of commuting because of badly damaged roads and frequent flooding. Internal combustion engines ran exclusively on compressed natural gas, and petroleum had finally been phased out. On the flight home, Robert was looking down at the carbon dioxide capture plants, which resembled giant metal cacti, when something caught his eye. He turned his head in time to see several people in street clothes fly upward past his ultralight. As he watched in amazement, they vanished into an angry-looking cloud formation. To say he was startled would be an understatement, and he called John on his radio headset.

John, did you see what I saw?

Yeah, I did, and I’m relieved to know that if I’m going nuts, I’m not alone. Robert, what the hell was that?

People flying without an aircraft in street clothes?

Robert and John built adjacent concrete dome homes that share a three-acre lot on Orekhovaya Hill in Duderhof Heights just above St. Petersburg, Florida. The compound was safe from flooding because of its elevation, and the domes sat on six-foot-high foundations. They were fully equipped with NBC air filtration, and the compound was surrounded by eight-foot-high security fences topped by razor wire. After arriving at the compound, John waited for Robert to land.

John, I have never seen anything like that in my life!

That makes two of us.

John went inside and turned on the news and noticed the message light on his answering machine. He listened to the message from Shane while watching breaking news reports of flying people vanishing into cloud formations. When John speed-dialed Shane. The phone was answered immediately.

Boss, I’ve got something very interesting to show you.

Yeah, well, so have I. Stop whatever you’re doing and turn on the news. I want you to start gathering as much information as you can about these vanishing people. Something big is happening.

Vanishing people?

Oh, you haven’t heard then?

No, I was busy working on this report.

Well, turn on the news and pay attention. I’m going to need you bright and early Monday morning.

Okay, boss, will do.

John hung up the phone and watched in stunned silence the reports of the biblical rapture taking place. The sound of the reporting was overshadowed by the sound of his four-year-old daughter running toward him, calling him. His four-year-old daughter ran into the room, wearing her own child-sized version of an oxygen concentrator. The child’s voice was a little muffled because of the oxygen cup covering her mouth, and John focused on her to hear what she was saying.

Hi, Daddy! Daddy, Jojo is broke. Can you fix Jojo?

Jojo was the name of her stuffed toy monkey, and she extended her arms to show Jojo to her daddy. John looked at the toy and saw that a leg was hanging off. This was serious because little Diane was totally inseparable from Jojo. John remembered the last time Diane couldn’t find Jojo. She cried herself to sleep.

Don’t cry, baby. You’ll get your air tube all fouled up. Daddy is going to fix Jojo, okay?

Thank you, Daddy!

Little Diane glanced at the television. She laughed as she said, Daddy, those people are flying!

The breaking news was underlined with a rolling script describing a scene outside an open-air mall where the latest lightweight model of the high flow O2 oxygen concentrator was just being released to the public. A riot had broken out, and people were killed when a gang of people decided to rob the supplier of the new equipment. Carolyn came into the room and put her arm around her husband as they watched the newsfeed.

This first incident of levitating people became widely accepted as the biblical rapture almost immediately. It began in southern Florida on a slightly overcast day, and people were out and about on the streets. A low hanging unnatural-looking cloud formed overhead very quickly, and it grabbed the attention of the people on the street. While the people stood there gazing up at this boiling cloud formation, their oxygen concentrators started to heat up gradually at first. The more the cloud formation boiled, the hotter the oxygen concentrators got until they got so hot that the wearers had to hastily remove them.

Everyone who removed their concentrator was instantly levitated toward that boiling cloud. The area from which these people were levitated covered about one hundred square yards. When all those people had entered that boiling cloud formation, the boiling stopped, and the cloud dissipated completely—leaving no trace of itself or the people. Many of the eyewitnesses recorded that first event. Then there was a mad rush to gather up the abandoned, very valuable concentrators. Global warming had not only led to the erosion of shorelines around the world. It had also led to the erosion of the moral fiber and integrity of people from all walks of life. A consequence of that erosion was a removal of restrictions on gun ownership, and several people exchanged gunfire during the fight over the oxygen concentrators left behind. The altercations only ceased when an oxygen tank worn by one of the less affluent was hit by a stray bullet.

The people did