Chapter IV: The Civilization

Long before the first Shrimp pondered about the spiritual centre of the universe, the world was completely different. The planet was covered by financial machines, controlled by the Fiat Citadel. The citadel was a greedy monopoly through which all of the world’s finances had to flow. The citadel controlled everything, finance, transactions, money printing and even information. It was a sad, greedy world in which corruption and oligarchy reigned over all. The main production units were tasked with the creation of new BEP plants (Bureau of Engraving and Printing).

The BEP plants ran on the so-called GFI (greed and fear index). When scared, the citizens of the civilization’s great megapolis exuded a valuable GFI essence that ran down the drains and flowed into the BEP plants. This stimulated an increase in banknote printing, generating even greater inequality.

As the citizens became ever more fearful, they excluded yet more precious GFI essence that only made the rulers of the citadel richer and more powerful. They were powerless and the system was stuck in a vicious cycle.

When the citizens of the dystopia protested, the Citadel brutally suppressed them. This kept the citizens in their place, but not for long. With every passing year their dissatisfaction only increased and financial crises brought on by the money printing crippled their society. The oppression never ceased but the fear of losing their jobs and ability to provide for their families stopped the citizens from breaking free.

The most effective way of containing the protests were the so-called Control Levels. The levels were three different spheres that varied in size engulfed the planet. They were indestructible and made of high voltage, metal enclosures that kept people in their place.

The first sphere was the smallest. It enveloped the Earth, separating the poorest from everyone else. Its impassable boundaries were only 16 feet greater than the planet’s diameter. Its residents could barely walk upright. The poorest people on the planet were truly trapped and could only pass through the checkpoints that separated them from the next sphere at the invitation of a higher-level member.

The second sphere was situated around the first one, forming the second level. The residents of this class had more privileges, opportunities and freedom of movement. However, these privileges only gave the illusion of freedom for they also lived in a metal bubble with yet another level that loomed over their heads.

The third and final sphere was raised over the second, forming a third class within itself and a fourth outside of its walls. It differed from the rest only perhaps in its bigger size and material: crystal clear glass, which allowed the residents to enjoy the daylight. The third class consisted of managers, superiors and directors. They spent most of their time working at a job that guaranteed a lavish life, but not even they were truly free.

Finally, beyond the crystal clear glass of the third level, stood a towering monument to the evil of this civilization. A single building that dominated all levels of the dystopia: the Fiat Citadel. Infested with the disgusting, sweaty bodies of the richest citizens on the planet, it reeked of gluttony and greed.

The oligarchs in the Fiat Citadel ruled with absolute power and enjoyed a life of luxury. The citadel oversaw a strict hierarchy among the planet’s inhabitants, which was ruthlessly enforced. Soon, after yet another crisis, the fear from the citizens caused the BEP machines to reach their capacity, producing a huge amount of energy.

The environment of the planet had long been fragile but this last act of gluttony was the tipping point. All of the planet’s vital defences began to fail. The ozone layer evaporated and the sun’s ultraviolet rays laid siege to the planet’s delicate ecosphere. Weather became unpredictable and many of the planet’s poorest began to struggle to survive. Soon, as the temperature of the planet rose, the world’s remaining icebergs and glaciers began to melt, flooding everything in their path.

The first to collapse was the lowest level. When the water began to flood their homes, everyone rushed to the checkpoints that led to the second level. Thousands were injured in the stampedes at the gates and those that were first to arrive and found them locked were crushed by the weight of those pushing from behind. Many families didn’t even manage to make it out of their houses on time, desperately trying to save their hard-earned belongings. The residents of the second level saw the surge of refugees as a threat to their safety and blocked all the entrances to their level, leaving the majority of the planet’s population to die in the flooded metal cage.

At first the rulers in the citadel laughed at the misfortune of those on the lower levels. They were used to being separated by two spheres of impassable metal and thought they were immortal. The only thing that they didn’t take into account was the fact that the water level continued to rise and had no trouble making its way through even the smallest of cracks. Soon enough, panic spread through the second and third levels. A total blockade of all existing passages began. The greedy rulers in the Fiat Citadel were so sure of their power that when the water reached the glass sphere and threatened to flood even further, they were not ready in the slightest.

As in any other story, there is a beginning and an end. One by one, the oligarch succumbed to a water grave. The last remaining resident of the civilization was Gary Densler, the richest person on Earth. The very man who had turned a bounteous natural paradise into a world of fear.

Attempting to flee from an inevitable death, he climbed to the highest floor of the citadel. Even though Gary knew he was now only minutes from death, his nature hadn’t changed. As he gasped for air under the ceiling of his top floor apartment, up to his neck in icy meltwater, Gary used his final moments to force down a few more mouthfuls of the world’s last remaining caviar sandwich. The last thing Gary would feel in this world was the rich taste of fresh eggs, stored at sub zero temperatures to ensure perfect preservation until the moment of consumption.

The story does not disclose the details of the ruler’s death, but one thing is known for sure: Gary Dansler drowned in his house, the Citadel collapsed, and the civilisation was destroyed. The flood claimed every human life from the brutal dystopia and the remnants of a society ruled by greed were washed away by a flood of their own making. But, as is always the case with the natural world, nothing lasts forever and every end is a new beginning...