Dissonance - Book One

forty-two

"So what do we do now?" Lex says as she rummages through the side compartments of my car, looking for something to eat. "I'm starving. Couldn't you be like a normal teen and keep half eaten containers of chips in your car?"

"What? Is the end-of-the-world diet not recommended by Cosmo?"

She laughs. One of my favorite things about Lex is that we can banter back and forth. It's what got me through some pretty tough times. It probably comes off as rude to other people, but it's the dynamic of our relationship, and I like it that way. I can always count of her to give it to me straight.

"But for real?" she replies, in a more serious tone.

"For real? For real, we head inland," I glance at Wyler. He stares directly back at me in the rear view mirror.

"Why?" Lex asks, oblivious to the tension between Wyler and I.

"If Dr. Ivanov is right, then the water will continue to spread. The dam can only last so long."

"Plus, if this is really happening the way he predicted, then this is just the first of many disasters to come." Wyler steals the words right out of my mouth. So he was paying attention in our Environmental Studies class. I always knew he was smarter than he realized or acted. He just needed encouragement, but he didn't get that at home. He was too busy taking care of his younger siblings after his dad left. His mom hardly noticed him, even when he was working every day after school to help pay the bills and put food on the table. He was never recognized, never thanked for his efforts. Maybe she just assumed that was his role as the eldest son. But he was still a kid, her kid, and I know at times he wished his mom would show him some of the same affection she reserved for her other children. Nothing he did ever seemed to be good enough. He tried for a long time to make her proud, but when he realized she paid little to no attention to his efforts, that's when his grades started slipping and he cared less and less about school and more and more about work. He never wanted to talk about it: school or work. I think he was embarrassed. I went to visit him once, at his job, but he wasn't there and the other employees acted like they didn't know who he was. Maybe he told them to do that. He wasn't exactly proud of flipping burgers. His brilliance went to waste. He was creative in a mathematical kind of way. He had a talent for building things and an understanding of complicated computer systems. I always thought he'd make a great engineer, but with his grades the way they were, there was no way he was going to get into a good college, or any college really. Not that any of that mattered now.

Wyler diverts his eyes away from my stare. I can't tell if he is angry with me or worried that Lex will notice, either way, it makes me feel uneasy. He's right though about Dr. Ivanov. He was the world's largest proponent for the original plan that was pushed through Congress to address climate change. It was he, who insisted before Congress, that a series of cataclysmic events would lead to an apocalyptic-like experience in which the earth's population would be wiped from existence. He had a television show that aired every week discussing his theory. It had a huge cult following. Kids at school liked to get high and watch the program. They thought it was hilarious to make fun of his "crazy" ideas and thick Eastern European accent. Conspiracy theorists and conservatives said he was working for the Russians and that his ramblings about climate change were nothing more than scare tactics to get the U.S to do something that would give Russia the upper hand in the coal, oil and gas industry. That was part of why his warnings were largely ignored by many. Others however, saw his words as a warning of a very likely outcome of global warming. Contracts were given to company giants like Environettix, to build bunkers and infrastructure to protect us against the possibility of worldwide destruction. But despite his "end-of-the-world fear-mongering lingo," as one reporter put it, his show was never pulled from the air. It was on for years. Many used it as a "how to" guide to survive the end of the world, stockpiling canned goods and water for what they believed was the Second Coming. It's a bit eerie now to think how spot on he actually was. I wonder if he survived the initial disaster. I secretly hope he's hulled up somewhere in a safety bunker, laughing at all of the congressmen and women who were too naïve or too stubborn to believe him. He deserves it after the hard time they gave him.