Righteous Reign Page 2

  The planet had seen a steady rise in ocean levels as glaciers and polar ice caps melted, due to a rise in temperature caused by emissions of greenhouses gasses into the air. The world did not seem to have the inclination to deal with this problem seriously, because of perceived negative economic reactions they believed would result from any proposed actions. In mid-2017, they crossed a temperature barrier that allowed vast offshore deposits of frozen methane gas to melt; amplifying the greenhouse effect as it rose into the atmosphere. This exaggerated rising temperatures, even more. In 2018, polar ocean temperatures rose high enough to slow; then stop the circulation from the equator to the poles. Late that year, polar ice caps began to grow at an astonishing rate. By the next year, it was apparent Earth was heading into a mini ice age triggered by manmade global warming.

  At the same time, Colony Collapse Disorder reached a catastrophic level. CCD is a syndrome affecting honey bee hives. No one ever understood the cause of it; but, whole colonies of bees would go out to work on a given morning and would not return in the evening. Beekeepers would find thousands of carcasses in the orchards and fields they had been pollinating. 2016 saw the beginnings of crop failures attributed to this problem. By 2018, our world was in the midst of a full-fledged famine. There were not enough bees to pollinate crops around the world.

  Each apocalyptic contributor added to the loss of life worldwide. But, the famine did the most damage. By 2020, only 1.8 billion of the world's more than seven billion were still alive. Most of those lived between thirty degrees north and thirty-seven degrees south of the equator. A northern glacier came south to cover most of the landmass to forty-five degrees north. A southern glacier grew from the pole to a line fifty degrees south of the equator. The one benefit was the recovery of previously submerged coastlines; and more.

  In the north, small handfuls of people waited for the glacier to arrive, before heading south. For most, that spelled was disaster. They died making valiant attempts to come south. But, one man did make it. We celebrate him, today. Seeing the confusion and potential for anarchy when he arrived in the south, he worked to found the Empire we know today. He helped establish the constitution and many of the efficient systems still in use today. Most of you do not know his full name. We have affectionately nicknamed this legendary man; and, most of us refer to him by that handle, today.

  Next week, we'll come back to the story of the constitution; but, we have to break, for today. You will each find a handout on your data pads. Study it. It pertains to a man we all think we know. But, few really possess much real detail about him - they think they know because they hear him referred to so often. The handout is titled - Old Tom - 2020. Read it a couple of times. It will help you understand why things are as they are."

  Chapter 2 Old Tom

  Monday December 7, 2020

  "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." Confucius

  Half naked, dripping wet and nearly freezing, in the bitter north wind, in the pitch black of night, the old man was in a fight for his life. He had fallen asleep in the Alpine tent with a fire blazing outside to keep away any intruding carnivores; always hunting ahead of the advancing glacial edge. But, the fire had dowsed itself; as, it melted its way into the ice sheet sending rivulets of water flowing through his bedding on the tent floor. Now, he was flailing away at the black bear with the butt of the unloaded shotgun; in an attempt to avoid being shredded by its ominous claws. Forced to retreat on each of four or five lunges during which it was clubbed on the snout; the bear finally stopped, as if to consider the situation; then turned and slowly walked off into the darkness; turning back, from time to time, to grunt its disapproval at the old man's defense.

  When he was satisfied the threat was really over and his shakes subsided, the aged camper checked out the woodpile, first. Some of it was wet; but, some could be used. Rummaging through the sled, he found a large double layered baking sheet near the bottom; and decided to use it as a base for the next fire. Old Tom hoped it would keep the temperature of the ice down; as the fire burned above it; thus, avoiding a repeat of the same situation. Surrounding a loosely bunched piece of paper with some kindling he carved from the wood with his hatchet and hunting knife, Tom lit it and slowly stacked as much wood as the pan would hold around the burning tinder. Soon it was roaring; though, not as big as the fire before. Setting up the drying line over the blaze, he hung his bedroll in the heat flow. In the truck, he found clean clothes, redressed and placed his wet ones on the line beside the bedroll. Taking down the tent, he turned it inside out to freeze dry; so, he would have it for the next night. Then, he sat; in the silence of isolation, broken by, the distant howling of the advancing glacial bow; close to the fire, to think about what had happened, and why.

  After a while, it dawned on him that, he was not properly prepared for this trek; though, he had taken half a year to do so. In the morning, he would backtrack to nearby Trenton; where he'd search for additional provisions. After brewing a pot of coffee, he sat drinking and thinking for the rest of the night; building a list of necessities, in his mind.

  The old man packed up and broke camp at first light; heading north. He was travelling on the ice sheet that had been Lake Ontario; but, was now the southern end of the massive glacier. It was not yet too thick at its southern end. On the way to Trenton, he had been able to follow paths between treetops and the tops of old electric and telephone poles to stay on route. He had often seen high rise buildings and roofs of lower ones peeking through the ice and snow. Many looked disheveled by their near crushing, at the hands of the mighty ice sheet. It had taken nearly a week to travel from his shelter west of Toronto to Trenton; a trip that would have taken an hour a few years before.

  He thought about the recent past as he headed back to the shore line. It could be funny if it hadn't been so devastating. This "Ice Age" had been caused by global warming. And, to make it worse, it had been preceded by several other world altering disasters. First, an influenza pandemic killed nearly one and a half billion. That was followed by a worldwide famine triggered by Colony Collapse Disorder, an insidious loss of bee colonies. Without the bees, there were none of the foods they are responsible for pollinating. All the while, temperatures continued to rise until they reached a point where frozen methane pockets in the shallows of large bodies of water melted; releasing enormous invisible clouds of the gas into the air. At that point, a runaway temperature rise began; warming polar ocean waters; resulting in the complete cessation of the equatorial to polar water currents. This was the beginning of the mini ice age that created the massive glacial sheet.

  It took half a day to find the town and locate a business district that should contain the needed supplies. The occasional sign still stood; peeking through the frozen layer.

  Old Tom dug his way into a roof vent of a large home improvement center. Tilted on an obtuse angle and mostly covered by ice and snow, he had almost missed its placard. The condition of the building made negotiation of former aisles extremely hazardous. And, he knew, the weight of snow and ice atop the roof could collapse it, at any time. He acquired porcelain tile, wood and mineral insulation. At another store, he located a large inflatable mattress for his sleeping kit to lay on. This would prevent it from getting wet, again. At the same place, he found a large roll of dense foam rubber he could place on the ground before erecting his tent on it. This would raise the floor of the tent and prevent melting of the ice below; while, acting as an insulator from the cold ice, beneath it.

  It took quite a while to locate the gun range he had visited in the past. Besides the practice range, they had also been a source of weapons. Inside the store, he found an ample supply of handguns, rifles, shotguns and ammunition; along with, substantial archery gear he had not noticed in his many sessions there. He had not drawn a bow, since childhood; so, he would choose carefully. He picked out a nine millimeter Glock automatic pistol, an AR16 assault rifle, ammunition for both and for the shotgun in the t
ruck, and a crossbow with hunting arrows and quiver. As an afterthought, he grabbed a gun maintenance kit; containing the oil, brushes and cloth he would need to keep weapons in working order and spare bow strings. He would not be defenseless again. And, from now on, he would keep his weapons loaded. By the end of the day, he returned to the campsite; raising the tent atop the foam. Placing the sheet of plywood on the ice surface, he topped it with the insulation and placed the porcelain tiles in two layers on the insulation. That night's fire was built on the tiles. If he was right, the insulation and tile would prevent heat from burning the plywood; while, the whole assemblage should prevent melting.

  Supplies were stored in the vintage Toyota Roadrunner and the home made sled he pulled behind it. He had designed the sleigh with wheels that could be lowered below the runners. It could run on snow and ice or land. Built of aluminum tubing atop a steel support structure, it was light and strong enough to hold over a ton of belongings in two shelving layers. On the top at the rear, were countless Gerry cans of gasoline, containers of naphtha and one pound canisters of propane gas. There was always a danger of spillage onto the contents below; but, placing the fuel on the top ensured adequate ventilation. Ahead of it were clothing, soaps, cleaning products and fresh linens and packed clothing. On the lower rack, prepared meals were stored in self-sealing glass containers below the fuel. Wrapped frozen meats and fish were stored ahead of that; along with pots, pans and commercially packaged frozen vegetables. Canned goods, computer, flashlights, spare batteries, a clothing change and current towel and facecloth were stored inside the vehicle; which the old man had modified with a larger alternator, a second battery and an in-car heater that kept its interior from dropping below freezing, each night. When collapsed, the tent was stored atop the front of the sled. Bedrolls, ground sheet and the new inflatable mattress went in the back of the car. An assortment of pulley systems, ropes, tools and dry medical supplies were kept in the roof top carrier atop the truck.

  While caring for his wife of over forty years, Old Tom had spent the last six months planning, foraging, stocking and building for the trip south. It had taken nearly two months to design the sled, acquire the materials and build it. Throughout the entire period, he made pilgrimages deep into the abandoned city. These excursions provided him with the four-wheel drive vehicle, food; and, a small wind generator and solar system he had assembled to keep the house warm and powered. Repacking the truck and sleigh several times over that period had led to the layout he now enjoyed. Goods were packed safely; while their locations were prioritized by need. He did not want to be unpacking and repacking throughout the trip.

  He needed two days to recover; when, Margaret finally passed away. Though it had been a long illness, it was still devastating. Once she was laid to rest, he left the house without even locking it or shutting anything down; even though it was mid-winter. What was the point?

  By his estimation, the old man felt it would take two to three additional months to reach what was once Northern Florida. He chose to travel now; because, the glacier would be more stable in winter. During late spring melts and early fall freezes, it is contracting and expanding; while moving along the ground layer below it. This causes great fissures to open without warning. They are still there and hard to spot in winter; but, safer than having one suddenly open below you, as you travel.

  There were some benefits to travelling in the winter during an ice age. The tent had a small protected opening in the back; and a flapped window in the side. He could use either to aim the five-inch auto tracking reflector telescope he carried in the truck. Most nights, there were limited clouds or falling precipitation; and, most pollutants and moisture had condensed from the atmosphere, long ago. In addition, there was no light pollution; making star gazing truly wrenching. So many smaller or more distant stars were visible that, he had trouble identifying constellations that had once been very familiar. Instead of the few hundred he knew, he could now see thousands of stars and galaxies.

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  The old man was born Thomas McCracken to a teacher mother and a chemical engineer father, in the little town of Wyoming Ontario, outside of Sarnia in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was such a small place that; the passenger train only stopped, when there was actually a patron at the station. As a young man, he was of average stature with dark hair and brown eyes. His father James, who had been his mentor, his teacher, his advisor and his best friend died the year he started college. When his mother moved South to Florida, eliminating all family financial support, he left school; joining the Canadian Air Force; where, he took up radar technology as a trade. He stumbled about in the business world, for several years, after the military. He met and married Margaret. They had three boys. At some point in those years, he decided to go back to school; receiving a formal education in electrical engineering. He had over thirty years’ experience in designing, building and programming industrial electrical control systems before retiring.

  As the world he knew was in decline; but, the system was still intact, his early retirement days included surgical interventions replacing both eye lenses and a right hip. By the time Margaret's health failed, Tom was more than fit to handle her care. He began a rigorous exercise program during the period of preparation for the trip. When it was time to leave, he probably could've done the trip two times over.

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  The morning after the trip into Trenton, Old Tom resumed his journey. The following days, he learned that, he had to use his compass to find landmarks in the distance to navigate towards. He discovered that; if, he just headed south-east by compass alone, he would be obstructed by impassable objects that would lead him well off the path. The distant landmarks kept him from the confusion the circuitous routes created.

  It took nearly three weeks just to cross Lake Ontario. The mono – colored scenery often hid a white mountain of snow or a bottomless crevice. Add to that the blinding snow storms, the bitter winds and the strain of the constant glare and each ten-hour travel-day had been about as exhausting as a sixty-nine-year-old could possibly take – no matter how young at heart.

  It took nearly two days for old Tom to get the truck and the sled ashore on the New York side of the lake near Youngstown New York. The problem was that the glacier edge stopped at the shoreline; and, was elevated fifty feet above the beach. Though not sheer, the drop was in nearly equal ten-foot steps.

  It was nearly a ten kilometer drive along the glacier face to find a spot where it had either formed in a slope; or collapsed, turning the edge into a steep but manageable gradient. Negotiation was nearly impossible with the sled; so, he spent time felling a midsized maple for a crane tower; then, mounted the pulleys to it. It took seven exhausting hours to lower the sleigh to the beach. Then, another hour to navigate the incline with the truck. The next morning, after disassembling the crane and repacking it on the sled, he headed south down Robert Moses Parkway.

  Planning his route carefully each night in his tent, old Tom used seventy-nine, eighty and Highway eighty-one to work his way south east to pick up I-95 at Baltimore; keeping on track with compass and GPS receiver. Several times, he had to find ways to forage rivers or to cross dry river beds where bridges were wiped out. It took nearly ten days to reach Baltimore from Youngstown.

  As he worked his way farther south on I-95, the trip became progressively easier. Many more bridges were still intact. There were less obstacles to negotiate and many of those did not fully obstruct the multilane highway. In Maryland, he had his first experience with hunting for his dinner. He had stopped for the evening in the Capital Beltway section on I-95, somewhere near Glen Arden. He was setting up camp, when he saw the first wild turkey. Making sure to work his way around so he was downwind of it, he began to track it, crossbow in hand. When he finally caught sight of it again, it was strutting and preening in a clearing with several more.
Taking care to move quietly into position, he took aim at the largest and fired.

  That night, he feasted on turkey roasted in a steel pan, over an open fire, with gravy, mashed potatoes, rice stuffing, canned asparagus and even Margaret's famous home canned cranberries. He packed the leftovers into large containers; using the carcass and browned drippings to start a stock for soup. When the broth was ready, he added, canned vegetables and dried noodles and simmered for another ten minutes. Packing that too, he stowed the soup and turkey with trimmings aboard the sleigh for future meals.

  Spotting the turkey had been an epiphany; awakening him to the fact; it was time to start living off the land as much as possible. Why use up all the supplies he might need in his first winter in northern Florida when, he could save a great deal of them for use when they were really needed.

  Old Tom reached the turn-off to Highway Ten West in northern Florida just over a month and a half after making land at Youngstown New York. Spring wasn’t too far off; and though there was some ice and snow here, he did not believe the frost line would be too deep in the ground. It took a full day to travel west on Highway ten until the turn off at highway 187-North. After camping for the night, old Tom travelled north; branching off to the right at highway two eighty-five. Ten minutes later, he found Britton Hill, his new home. Old Tom knew that, even relatively mild Northern Florida would be too cold for most, in these new winters; so, very few would choose to live there. On Tuesday February 16, 2021 he had arrived home.

  The old man perused the area with several objectives. First, he had to ensure he was alone and secure. Next, he had to find the best location for a new home. It must be hidden from view from all directions; looking up at it, from the bottom of the hill. Finally, he was seeking abandoned businesses where he could purloin the materials and machinery he would employ to construct his new fortress.