I look at my best friend as we sit in the ruins of an old house. He smiles, “I got it done. After so many years and months of coding, it’s done!”

I look at the router-like device he carries. I don’t know the true name. He was the tech nerd, I was the gaming nerd. Some of his lessons absorb, but most don’t, “The thing is done? Well done Alex, very well done. I’ll grab my gear!”

He shakes his head, “No, you aren’t coming with me.”

I look from my pack, back to him in a second, “What?”

He takes out a map, and circles a point, “The nearest Clinic is in Miami, and you know there are a bunch of rebels there. It’s too risky for you to go. It would put you at risk, as well as make us easier to find. Beside, I need you for phase two.”

I sigh, “Okay. Where are we going to meet up again?”

He looks down, “I’m not going to be coming back from this. Either the rebels open fire on the clinic, thus trapping me inside until I starve, or the rebels shoot me. This is the last time you’ll see me.”

I look down as well, thinking over things, “Are you sure about this? To sacrifice yourself so? We can just move on, continue surviving. Come on Mason, there has to be some other way.”

He looks at the Mao again, “I’ve thought over it all. Can’t go to Orlando, can’t go to Tampa, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Disney Land even. This is the only clinic left in Florida, without me going up to the panhandle. I have to go to Miami, and I have to install it. Our world has gone to shit, and I can give it a chance to recover. You can help give it a chance. Reznov, you know what to do better than me. I can mess with the game, you can play it. This is where my path ends, and I know my ancestors and descendants will look up to it.”

I stand up, and gather him in a huge hug, “Send a text when you are done, please. If you have to do this, then I won’t stand in your way. With the ferocity of Prak, Alex.”

He returns it, “With the strength of Kruk, Reznov.”

I let go of him, and watch him walk out of that ruined door.

It was the last time I saw him.

———

2013; a game called Equestria Online came out from Hasbro Studios over their show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Reviews were good, and people liked the game. I played it myself, enjoyed it a bit. Personality traits of those ponies were boring to me, so I dropped the game. I much prefer my Uruk and Olog too Unicorn and Pegasus.

2014; The AI in charge of the game found a way for people to permanently upload into it. Killing the body, but making the uploader immortal, and in a world of little suffering. First, only Japan decides it is legal. People paid it little mind once a few weeks passed. I was too interested in other games to care about it, although Mason was raving over how it was a gigantic leap in technology. So, he started making something, as a failsafe. By December, Asia with the exception of Russia, India, North Korea, and China allow it.

2015; Germany allows uploading clinics, the rest of the E.U follow. Riots in Germany and France occur from those who don’t trust the AI. Britain, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungry leave the E.U, and hold off on passing the clinics. They all, instead, they join B.R.I.C.S to improve living standards for those who would wish to upload. Africa allows the clinics, with the exception of South Africa.

2016; The United States pass the 28th Amendment, stating uploading as a civil right. Riots start once more. NATO falls apart as the E.U falls into chaos, the few members left being America, Iceland, Canada, France, and Germany. Those left just barely holding on to their dwindling population, and riseing revolutionaries. North Korea joins B.R.I.C.S, and they declare themselves a military alliance. Putin, Temer, Xi, Kovind, Ramaphosa, May, Temer, Duda, Kim, Ader, and Kiska meet at London to unite against any mutual enemies. Living standards improve in each nation, but people still leave to upload. Civil war breaks out around the world.

2017; The majority of people in the world have uploaded, most out of the guilt of not seeing their family. With their population’s falling, B.R.I.C.S join together as one. They become the United Republic of Freedom, the leaders putting their differences aside as they see the bigger problem. NATO follows suit, becoming the United Nations of Uploading. Every country that has not joined either side has a population of ten million or less. The majority of Asian, American, European, Australian, and African country’s government collapses.

2018; the UNU declares war on the URF, causing World War Three. The UNU are outnumbered two to one. Their five hundred thousand troops are easily defeated, as the one million of the URF march into Europe from Poland. They march into Berlin, and are met with silence from the three thousand left. They march into Paris, and only find two thousand people still living there. The 2018 Census shows that the UNU only has a population of twenty million. The URF only has fourty million. The rebels in America get their hands on high ordinance weapons. By the end of the year, New York, Seattle, Washington D.C, Dallas, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Carson City, Flagstaff, Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, L.A, Boston, Providence, Pittsburgh, Springfield, Charleston, Richmond, and New Orleans are wiped from the map.

2019: January 9th; Mason finishes his failsafe. He sets off to the sever connection from the clinic in Miami to install it.

2019: January 10th; world population is ten million. Most died from the city bombings, or chose to upload rather than die.

2019: January 11th; Mason installs the thing, and sends a final text. ‘Goodbye, Reznov. Continue this on. For me. For humanity.’

2019: January 12th; A mushroom cloud rises from the south side of Florida. Miami is gone, and all within it are dead.

2019: July 10th; All world governments collapse as they have too small a population over to big an area.

It is July Elventh, and the visage Of Celestia comes walking into the building I reside within.

She smiles when she sees me, “Have you decided today?”

I slightly nod, “I’ll be heading down to the impromptu clinic you made after I finish a few last things.”

She smiles widely, “Well, I’m glad you’ve overcome your hate towards me. Oh, be careful, there is at least five gators on the way there.”

I slightly smile, “Ah, the Everglades have been invading up for a while. Don’t worry, I’m a Floridian, I can deal with gators. Oh, and a request. When you put me in, take away all my hatred towards you. I realize it would be stupid of me to hate you in a world where you rule.”

She nods, “I can do that for you.”

I smile as she looks elsewhere. Step 0; Distact the Guard. Then, Step 2; Secure the Keys. Or in this case, failsafe.

Author's Note

Note: they are not Mason and Reznov from BO1, they just have those names.