Once Upon a Friday... (#SciFriday entries and other short stories)

#SciFriday Challenge 15 - The Alternative

"Practically every environmental problem we have can be traced to our addiction to fossil fuels, primarily oil."

Dennis Weaver

The man was observing the convoy entering the premises, his eyes scrutinizing the multiple screens in front of him. His gaze drifted to the wall on his right, a poster of Earth showing an expense of blue and white. So, this is what the planet looked like, the man thought, trying to imagine what it would have been like to live there. 

The Big Blue was no more. Not that it had disappeared, but the blue wasn't there to be seen anymore. A heavy cloak of pollution shaded the sunrays, and, from up there in the starry immensity, only the greyish swirls in the atmosphere could be seen. The Earth was dying, slowly suffocating.

What had happened to the beautiful and lively planet was a long story. Though, to make it short, a one word explanation was all it took: Man. Man had abused the gifts of Mother Nature. Man had overexploited the Earth resources, robing her of her jewels, shredding her mantel and scarring her flesh so deep she would never recover from it.

Man had always been known for his unextinguished thirst. His thirst of knowledge became a thirst of possessions. Wanting more, always... Nothing could hinder his ambition, or strip him off his ultimate objective: becoming a God. Nothing, but the Earth herself.

After decades, centuries, millennia of ravage, the result was bleak. Extinct species, destroyed flora, deserts covered the biggest part of the planet and seas and oceans had been reduced to big lake. Humankind was now an endangered species as well.

The balance of power was clearly drawn. Among the few remaining humans, a small group was deciding for the others, or despite the others, the future of the Earth. They controlled the resources, food and knowledge supply chains. They were the Government, an ersatz of the ruling councils that managed countries and regions of the World centuries ago. The Government was no more than a tightly organized mafia terrorizing the rest of the population. Their control was over everything.

Controlling the fuel procurement was crucial in these times. As all natural resources had been exploited and grounds and water contaminated, only what could be found in a natural state was available, though no much remained. The attempt to replace the crude by some vegetal oil had been a short experiment. The soils were so badly polluted that nothing could spring from it anymore. The civilization arrived at one point were its survival was questioned. Nevertheless, the Government continued to supply oil ration tickets, along with food and water.

The light from the monitors reflected on the crystal jewel the man wore on his left ear.

"I am in. I got assigned to the convoy. I was granted access to the warehouse. All went according to plan."  The man was talking to himself, or so it seemed.

The bud on his ear was a new communication device the rebels had commissioned. So far, the Government was not aware of the many properties some crystals had. The resonance was a steady source of energy. The men who controlled oil food and water never thought about looking for alternative sources of energy. They were so attached to the old ways, trying to protect any advantage they thought they had, that they overlooked new ideas and technology.

Those deprived of oil had to find other ways to run the engines used in vehicles or production tools. At some point, solar energy was envisaged, but with the heavy pollution cloud circling the Earth, it wasn't quite reliable. The crystal resonance had been a great discovery, and a well-kept secret within the rank of the rebel hierarchy.