Join the new world

28 August, 2010, Day 1,012 of the New World

The world was always changing. My birth over a year and a half ago was the beginning of what some began to call "V1." Interesting as it was, it replaced the era before it, Beta. Apparently, the world was dark and chaotic. In V1, I witnessed the nation and the world change. Empires rose and fell. Romania, Indonesia, Hungary, Iran, Poland, Spain, the United States.

My home. I had always been loyal to it, whether my birth in Turkey or occasional Hungarian citizenship said otherwise. When the great invasion ended, the nation was strong. A force to reckon with. A united nation. When I lead them controversially into Asia, we proved our dominance. And when I lead it across the pond, we found out we had not become invincible. Then we were lead into Russia and, surprisingly, was victorious. We had learned a lot in my year and a half of life. Yet, the world was not the same. Everything was different.

It was changing. Everything we learned barely applied. As the rounds flew across the sky, helicopters throbbing their engines and the tanks revving, I began to realize something. War, what united our country, was no longer a match of defenders stacking weapons and attackers removing them and digging holes. It was harmful, it had sacrifices, and above all else, it was real.

Rivers spanned the region, snow crunching beneath my feet and under the wheels of my artillery. It was a heavy and slow job, but the built-in engine kept me ahead of the backpacking infantry behind me. I camped up by the river, just a few blocks from the bridge which was heavily fortified, hoping to grab a shot at a helicopter attempting to cross. Flashes and explosions blurred my sight, but I sat there, waiting for the perfect kill in a sort of uneasy confusion. I have never fought like this before, I have never experienced anything like it, and I hoped I would make it back home with my health held high.


This dude follows me everywhere...

To add to this new era of warfare, fighting with weapons of mechanized proportions to harm each other, the corporations began specializing. The economy was in turmoil as products changed shape and began to require specific professions. This spawned the creation of new weapons industries, and for the wood and diamond companies to fall under. Abandoned gift storefronts were eyesores all over the country. Stone and rare titanium had taken the hole that wood and diamond forgave, but it would only make the situation worse.

I myself, a once simple and well-paid logger and iron miner, was now struggling to find a job as a lone Mechanic. Demand was low, and my wages were lower. Not to mention the price of the weapons, food, and tickets were through the roof. I doubt a single General Manager was making more than a few pennies a day.


With a weapon like this, I had plenty of reasons to be pessimistic.

The forests above me, which previously held infantrymen from a Canadian army group, rumbled. It sounded like some allied armor was coming through the bark, but it seemed sort of useless being so close to the river and enemy air. The roar grew closer as I kept attention on the bridge to the south. The battle there had been raging, and the Croatians had left it and was making a wall of checkered troops and placed some mechanized weapons at the east end.

Just as a small dispatch of Spanish arrived to relieve the Croatians, the trees burst into a thousand shards, pine needles spraying me and everything in sight. The bridge to the far north, something I had neglected to even consider, had fallen. As the timber cleared the roar of an engine broke the crumble and a puff of black smoke betrayed a tank that was covered by collapsed snow. I had to laugh at one of my enemies not being fully trained in their art of war, but luckily I did not. The tank fired towards the capital city, due east, removing all of the snow covering it. On its titanium plate sides glistened the emblem of the Serbian Bears.


Serbians sure never modernized...

I toppled over and tripped into a hole. Not sure what made it, probably an explosion from before. The Serbian had managed to get his tank not only through the thick woods, obviously plowing through the infantry defense that I relied upon, and out of the hole it had dug trying to get out. It came charging, its turret turning towards me. I froze, coincidentally surrounded by nothing but an ice-covered artillery piece and snow. At that moment a ‘copter thumped across the distance between the bridge and the plains I was resting in. It opened fire and only took it a total of four rounds, the tank fired five of its own but missed every time. The tank exploded into a hot molten pot, lighting up the sky. I was able to glimpse a crudely drawn gorilla with “DK” written in red and yellow across the tail before it returned to the raging battle to the south. I took note to try to find the pilot and thank him for the rescue.

Chaos was the best way to describe it, if I was ever witness to it. Organization that everyone thought would happen was far from apparent, and people seemed to just fight and randomly link up on various chat programs. I walked over to my artillery, re-manning it and to keep a watchful eye on the river’s surface. The bridge to the north, the one which allowed the tank to nearly end my time serving my country, was secured by what appeared to be a group of Canadians and Finns. Seemed like on that front we were making some progress. Then it hit me.


Warning, incoming!

A bullet grabbed me by the shoulder and threw me to the ground. Dazed, I looked around. Rushing towards me was a goofy looking Bulgarian infantryman with one of the new assault rifles by his side and a set of heavy green goggles covering his eyes. In my short-sighted foolishness, I must have overlooked the defense of the bridge in favor of making sure a tank did not sneak up on me again. It had fallen to the advancing Russian coalition, our tanks apparently overwhelmed by a joint helicopter and infantry rush. My artillery guns were pointed to the sky, useless.

I pulled out my small firearm from its holster, the same one that came with all tank and artillery operators. I took aim and fired wildly. I hit him once, but it did not phase him. My bleeding wound was expanded as another round impacted me, just inches from the first mark. My left shoulder bled, my health flashing red in my eyes.

I shot at the supports of the barrels on my piece and broke them, their rounds becoming level with the ground. I took aim just as my adversary did, helicopters and tanks roaring behind and in front of me. The march of a thousand footsteps was all I recall as I pulled the trigger in my heads-up display and the dual cannons let fire. Behind it, I also heard my assailant's rifle discharge.

What seemed to just be a few seconds later, I woke up with a rather lightly dressed woman in white, wearing secretary's glasses and having a very cute smile, leaning over me. Distracted by her appearance and own set of upper terrain to compliment the hills of Alaska, I did not hear her say, "Alright Jewitt, the hospital does not have the logistics to get you back to full health, but this patch job should do the trick to get you back home." My confused look must have gave her a clue to my disillusion, so she simplified it by saying," Awesome job Jewitt! I really had fun playing nurse for you, and I hope you'll come by again soon!"

My eyes widened. What the Hell? Looking around, I noticed the bridge was not being fought over. No single flag could claim it, nor cross it without being slaughtered. I saw my comrades fall, and my enemies as well. They were carted off the field, though a few were lucky and had nurses aid them.

This was the beginning of something new. The world was changing, and it was time for a return. The nation would need someone, someone who had been there before and had helped lead it. Someone who helped set the policies, home and abroad. Someone who had disappeared with little publicity, to return as he left. But it would take more than just one, it would take an army. An army of freethinkers, an army full of new thoughts, an army of reborn and new Americans. An army which would decide to finally recognize that democracy was a liability to international security.

As I walked towards the capital city, turning in for the night and rubbing my shoulder, I overheard a scream. The river flew a beaten and half-burnt American flag. Tanks rolled over it, all proudly displaying white stars. Helicopters marked in the same way skimmed the river surrounding. The scream was clear, and it would not be the last time I heard it.

America Prevails!


-Jewitt