Earth-B: The End of Man

The day they arrived was one of a very sobering nature. Noone could have forseen this, noone ever expected anything to come true. But silently, everyone was aware of how hopelessly dull our universe was. We were alone, or so we thought. Scientists and mathematicians had proven that the existence of other intelligent life in the galaxy, let alone the universe was so infinitesimal. When I looked up that day, and saw the impossible, it was that feeling. That feeling when you realise that something is very wrong. That feeling when you realise that nothing will ever be the same. That feeling when you just experienced something that is by the very definition of the universe, impossible.

It WAS impossible.

At first, you glanced up at the moon, and all you thought was that some strange cloud was positioned very strangely. Simply dismissing it at first, and going about your day as if there was nothing at all to be concerned about. Truth be told, it took all of humanity a whole 24 hours before we realised what was going on, and even then, we had no idea.

Above the moon, almost eclipsing behind it, was another planet. A green disk circled the moon, patches of blue and yellow here and there. It didn’t make any sense. How in ALL OF FUCKING CREATION did a planet just appear behind the moon. The day the Earth realised, that by some strange force of magic, a planet of similar size, and ilk to Earth had just appeared. Everybody walked out onto their streets, their patios. Everyone walked outside, and just looked up.

“What… the… fuck…”

And as with any situation like this, it was chaos. Suh terrible chaos. Riots, Religions, Wars, The fucking space race all over again. Tension between the four super-powers of the world reignited as they all fought over… over what?

The weather was the first thing people noticed, and the cause was soon discovered. The new Earths were orbiting the moon, in almost perfect balance. This created a strange effect, the weather turned into a strange ebb and flow, where we would get a heatwave, then a cold snap every four days. The tides, of course, were never the same. Such fierce gravity changes made it almost impossible to live near the sea. Most people simply packed up and moved further inland. But the displacement just added to the turmoil.

Korea was the first country to be swept under the coming dominations. In one week, China swallowed the North whole, without a single nuclear weapon fired to their credit too. Then the South in the next two.
Second was Europe and Russia. After the Union of Korea and China, Russia had to re-evaluate their position. They delegated with the European Union, negotiating for an alliance. Thus forming The Greater United States of Eurasia, or GUSE. Immediately, they began fortifications of their defense networks, and started first on the Second Great Space-Race.
Already it had been determined that there was a breathable atmosphere, as well as intelligent life on this other planet. Astonished at how similar the planet looked to ours, many believed that it was some illusion, claiming it was the work of the devil, tempting us with a false paradise. Others believed the opposite, that it was Eden. The origin of life, returned to reunite itself with earth.

Many more political movements had begun. America bolstered its presence in Japan, at request of their government. China began its marauding southward, swallowing all asian countries right down to Indonesia and Papua. Australia and New Zealand defected from GUSE, creating the Pacific Coalition. South America united under one country, becoming South America United. Africa never managed to get its shit together, Most of the southern countries united under South Africa, but thats as far as it got.

But the worst was yet to come.

India, like a cornered animal, panicked. China’s new aggression forced them into drastic measures. They would not be overwhelmed by their neighbours without a fight. The first weeks of negotiations with Pakistan were tense. They both had a common reason to unite, but their old tensions were far from resolved. As China began its march into Burma, the tension snapped. India began its invasion of the northern border into Pakistan. Their desperate campaign halted only a few miles from the original border. But it was enough. Three days of border-war was halted by mans greatest atrocity.

Everybody remembers where they were when the first bomb dropped. Out having coffee with a friend, Playing Battlefield 4, Dropping your mail off at the nearest Post-box. Everyone remembers, because everyone felt it. A sweeping rumble, rippling across the earths crust. A small tremor. Cats and Dogs all started to panic. Most people knew, somehow. They knew what was happening.

One of russias greatest “Achievements” had been bartered off to Pakistan, like worthless scrap. Tsar Warheads, AN624-B Hydrogen Bombs. 100 Mega Tonnes of pure force. Bombs designed to wipe out continents. In all the chaos and confusion, no-one saw it coming. We never wanted it to happen. Many planes were shot down. But there were many decoys, and the ones that did get through…

“Hal! ...oh my god. HAL, GET THE FUCK IN HERE!” I raced into the lounge room, my wifes screams of terror alarming me. She was watching something, her hands covering her mouth as she whimpered.
“What, what! Are you hurt, whats wro- …”
On our television, was a news report, the news ticker-banners at the bottom of the screen read “NUCLEAR WAR!!!” and front and center was someones Mobile-phone footage of a Mushroom-cloud, people ran past him in a flurry, their clothes and skin-tone confirmed my suspicions. Pakistan had done the unthinkable.

The first city hit was Mumbai. In the span of Ten seconds, 14 million people were just… gone… Next was Chennai. The third and last bomb was destined for Delhi but was shot over Jaipur. The fallout from the explosion rendered Delhi uninhabitable regardless.

And thus World War Three had begun. America demanded they retaliate against Pakistan. But GUSE insisted that any action by america would result in their explicit retaliation. China never stopped their advance. They abandoned the Burma invasion, and dumped all their resources into the taking of India and Pakistan. India was routed completely, and Pakistan fell in the first month.

The Pacific Coalition, panicked just as much as India, began the greatest record of mandatory conscription ever witnessed by humankind. 40% of the entire population of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Isles were regimented, with another 20% conscripted into arms manufacturing and defensive construction. Fortunately, they were successful, and began their race for naval supremacy. It would only take them 6 months of famine and panic to become the greatest defense force on earth. They had no interests in the space race, which had been promptly forgotten by almost everyone.