Riordan

Northspeak is not an easy language to learn, more effort than most people want to put in. After all, it's not like there are many opportunities to use it, since travel between the Two Worlds is forbidden. Unlike most Southworlders, I want to travel to Northworld.

It's the only place left to go.

Northspeak is an elective and not exactly a popular one, which is why I'm surprised to see Nick Westerman join the class.

I mean he's such a Southworlder, stereo-typical in every way, from his blond hair and jock build to the slightly vacant expression in his blue eyes. He's one of these people who can afford to be oblivious, who make their way through life without ever actually having to do anything. Southworlders stick to themselves, not just because there's nowhere else to go, but because they believe Southworld is the best place to be. There's no way Nick Westerman is interested in Northworld, so why is he here?

He looks around the small classroom and rubs his hand through a head of cropped hair, like he's unsure why he's here himself. Nobody ever joins Northspeak half-way through term, and I'm curious.

"You can sit here," I tell him, indicating the free seat beside me.

He hesitates, looking at me like he's never seen me before, but he's one of those kids who doesn't need to make the effort to remember anyone because everyone knows who he is.

"Riordan," I say as he edges himself into the seat beside me.

"Right, yeah, Riordan, I've seen you around." He holds out his hand. "I'm Nick Westerman."

He's the type who shakes hands, but not the type who does Northspeak.

Kelly, the teacher, comes in, late as usual, like he can't be bothered making an effort because he knows most of his class of fifteen students don't care anyway.

"Oh!" Kelly's face lights up at the novelty of a face he hasn't seen before. "I see we have someone new today. Class, please welcome Nick Westerman, the Southworld Special Envoy's son."

What? I stare at him open-mouthed. I had no idea the new Southworld Special Envoy was Nick Westerman's mother. Ria Mansion's appointment has made headlines all over Southworld and is widely viewed as a promising development that could lead to a thaw in the tense relations between the Two Worlds. They blame us for the Apocalypse and we blame them.

The Sunnybeach news has been having a field day. Not only is Ria Mansion the first Special Envoy in five years, she is also the first woman and the first one ever from Sunnybeach.

"Your mother must be very pleased," Kelly gushes. "It's a huge honour. We are all so proud of her."

Suddenly it all makes sense. This is why Nick Westerman has joined the class. He's going to Northworld with his mother and he needs to grasp the rudimentariness of Northspeak before he leaves. It's so unfair. This is my dream, so why does he get to go and why do I have to stay?

"Thank you, sir," Nick replies, but his smile doesn't reach his eyes, and that's when it hits me. He doesn't want to go. At all.

"Riordan!" Kelly calls out. "Have you your presentation ready?"

"Yes sir!" Of course I'm ready. I'm the only one who ever does a proper presentation, the only one who takes Northspeak seriously, the only one who actually cares.

Grabbing my materials, I scurry to the front of the class with less than my usual poise. The students shift impatiently as I make my preparations. Still, I know they would rather listen to me than wrestle with the caged letters of the Northworld alphabet, so I try not to let them fluster me as I check my slides and get ready to begin.

In Northworld they pretend the Pre-Worlds didn't exist. In Southworld we'd rather forget the Apocalypse ever happened. That's why I've decided to call my presentation 'What Apocalypse?'

I clear my throat and look round the room. It's important to appear confident and in control, no matter how I feel inside. A good start is crucial. Normally presentations don't make me nervous. I know I can entertain with my wit, and I hope some of the less dull of my classmates might benefit from my knowledge, but the unexpected appearance of Nick Westerman throws me off my game and I get off to a stuttery start.

"As you all know," I begin, wondering if they do know, though they should, we've studied it often enough, "the Pre-Worlds was made up of five continents. Amidst concerns about the environment and the dangerous levels of gas emitted by cows, which seem laughable now," I pause and look around, but nobody laughs. Most of the students are already on their portals while Nick Westerman has folded his arms and closed his eyes. I wonder if he is really asleep.

Normally I enjoy giving presentations but this is going to be the longest ten minutes of my life.

Nick

Nick was not asleep though he wished he was. Riordan giving a presentation had to be his worst nightmare. Even Riordan's voice annoyed him, the nasal twang grating on his ear. Of course someone like Riordan would be the star Northspeak student. Fragments of the presentation drifted through his consciousness.

"unlimited travel between the five continents, a hundred thousand planes crossed the skies daily and ships ferried cargo and freight across the oceans."

It was strange to think of travel and oceans. Nick had always thought Southworld was fine and Sunnybeach was the best. Peaceful and friendly, Sunnybeach had amazing weather, palm trees and beaches. Sure it was tucked away on the furthest edge of Southworld so it wasn't important or busy, not an economic hub like Sunrise or a political centre like Sunset, but what was there not to like about Sunnybeach?

Riordan was probably one of those people who thought Sunnybeach was a boring provincial backwater where nothing ever happened. More reasons not to like him.

Another of Riordan's phrases snagged his attention.

"New York, New Delhi, Paris, Singapore, Cape Town, Casablanca, Rio, Buenos Aires, cities like jewels in the crown of humanity, a poem to civilisation and beauty, all lost, and now gone forever. Nobody really knows what's left in the Toxic Wastelands, if anything. They are too dangerous to explore."

Nick sighed at the long words and fancy ideas, as if Riordan wasn't pretentious enough already.

"In the years prior to 2020, some of the most powerful countries had turned increasingly populist. There were rumours that this was due to fake news engineered by Russia but it was never proved," Riordan continued. "At the time the most powerful country in the world was the USA, although some would argue that China, which had become the manufacturing depot of the world, held a stronger economic position, while others might suggest that the European Union had the biggest market and spending power."

Nick yawned with boredom, but perhaps listening to Riordan ramble on was better than having to actually learn Northspeak. The caged letters threatened him from the classroom walls. What a weird language and one he had never had the slightest interest in learning. After all it wasn't like he was ever going to need it. Until now. Why couldn't someone else's mom get the promotion that was going to land them both in Northworld?

"The trigger for the Apocalypse was the Corona Virus known as COVID19. This resulted in a global pandemic with huge financial repercussions. Relatively speaking, compared to the destruction of the planet, the consequences of COVID19 were quite mild." Riordan paused and looked around as if to see if anyone was still listening. "But of course people didn't see it that way at the time and there was panic in the hospitals and panic in the markets, with different countries reacting in different ways."

At the back of the class, Nick didn't want to hear any more. He was sick of the whole thing. He'd heard about Corona more times. Who cared what happened or how it happened? It was all in the past. There was no use crying over it now or wondering what could have been done differently. The War of the Pre-Worlds had destroyed most of the planet and, as far as anyone knew, only Southworld and Northworld were left. End of.

"When the populist president of the USA was elected for his second term, he decided to blame China for the financial cost of the virus. At that time, the US and Russia held 90% of the world's known repository of nuclear weapons, while reports seriously under-estimated the Chinese inventory. Russia publicly stated that they would not enter a war against the USA and so the US president was confident he could win a war against China."

Hmm, Nick thought to himself, instead Russia had supplied China with the necessary nuclear weapons to counter the American attack. Of course it had never been proved, but it was another reason not to trust the Northworlders.

"The UK and Israel, both nuclear powers in their own right, were quick to side with the USA, but then it turned out that a number of Arab and African nations had obtained nuclear weapons through the black market. These states, threatened by Israel, joined sides with China. The situation escalated as countries all over Africa and Asia hastened to take sides and within days it had spread to Latin America.

In a last ditch attempt to calm the situation, France, the nuclear power of Europe, chose neutrality. However, the USA had weapons deployed in various European countries and insisted on using them to counter attacks from the Middle East and North Africa. France, at this point, threatened to enter the conflict on the side of China, in the hope of deterring US intervention in Europe. That strategy failed and plunged Europe into the fray.

The failure of diplomacy during the rapid escalation of events led to all out nuclear war, which destroyed most of the planet, killing off human life, wiping out cities and reducing vast swathes of land and ocean to toxic wastelands. There is some anecdotal evidence of survival in the tropical rainforests of what was formerly South America and the desert of Saharan Africa. It's also believed some northern regions close to the artic may still support life forms, but this hasn't been proved."

This wasn't entirely true, as Nick knew well, because Mom had told him about it. Footage from drones had provided clear evidence of human survival in certain parts of the Toxic Wastelands, but it was a political nightmare. If this news became public, there would be a duty to help these people, save them in some way.

Bringing them to Southworld was not necessarily the best option, even though that's what Nick had thought at first.

"We don't know how radiation has affected these people or whether their contamination is contagious, something that can be passed on genetically," Ma had explained. "We took in lots of refugees during the Apocalypse but we can't keep saving everyone. Besides, perhaps they will learn to live and adapt to their new conditions."

Nick wasn't too sure how he felt about that, the unfortunate survivors being left in the Toxic Wastelands as an experiment for the rest of them to observe and learn from. It was one of the reasons history made him uncomfortable.

Nobody ever learned from the lessons of the past as far as he could see. We all just carry on as best we can.

"We don't learn from the lessons of the past," Riordan concluded. He showed a series of slides from the old-style social-media in the days of quarantine during COVID19. "The end of the world was less than eighteen months away but nobody had any idea. The Apocalypse took place over the space of a week. At the end of that week, all that was left was a part of the country formerly known as Russia and the entire subcontinent formerly known as Australia. This was the dawn of the Two Worlds."

He still didn't want to go to Northworld or learn Northspeak, but Nick was surprised at how much of Riordan's presentation he'd ended up listening too. It had been strangely moving and he felt a lingering regret for all that had been lost and for the survivors struggling hopelessly in the depths of the Toxic Wastelands.

The timer beeped for the end of class and Nick waited at the door as everyone left. Riordan eventually finished gathering up his materials and came out after everyone was gone. He raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Nick still there.

"Great presentation!" Nick said.

"Thought you were asleep through it," Riordan muttered.

"The truth is uncomfortable." Nick shrugged. "But I guess if I'm going to Northworld, I need to learn to face it."

"I can help you with Northspeak." There was a trace of uncertainty in Riordan's offer.

"Thanks, I'll need all the help I can get," Nick replied. "You going for lunch?"

"Yes."

Together, the two boys crossed the yard towards the canteen.

(2245 words)

Author's Note

This was my entry for the #WhatApocalypse Writing Contest based on the following prompt from dystopianapocalypse

The most absurd, unlikely and insane reasons for the world to end. Put the fun back in the Apocalypse with the most bizarre Apocalypse story you can come up with! (2500 words max)

Audio coming soon! 

Thanks so much for reading 💜 If you want to find out what happens when Nick goes to Northworld, check out my new work, NORTHWORLD GIRL.