The Solution (2nd Edition)

Chon

After I'd finished corresponding, a mind-message came through and I touched behind my ear. Gail confirmed the feed had been broadcasted without any issue. So, without hesitation, I cut the internal link and gave Mikey and Sarah a nod. They dematerialized their AV-Holo-Suite, then we moved inside the venue. As we headed for our privileged seats, I felt torn. On the one hand, I was excited. Like everyone else, I longed to know what The Solution was. On the other, I felt apprehensive. What if The Solution was something utterly ridiculous? What if it tarnished our honor for eternity? What if it plunged the world into chaos? Worse still, in my heart and soul, I felt fear. There were no scattered petals in sight. Nevertheless, I knew The Rising Clans and their infamous leader would be watching, and waiting, and possibly to assassinate my xiōngdi. I prayed he'd taken proper precautions.

    Similar to the day before, we sat in our second-row seats. Then while Mikey and Sarah shuffled about, another mind-message came through. It was Xen.

    'Little brother, listen up! I know about the petals left outside the center yesterday, but don't fret. Regarding O-Kenai, and her Rising Clans, everything's under control... Trust me. For now, just get ready. Our destiny is about to begin...'

    Honestly, I didn't know what the fuck was going on. But something was happening, and the secretary general graced the UN podium. "Dear people of the world," Samir Ahmed said humbly, "greetings to you all. Instead of a traditional opening ceremony to yet another climate talk or conference, Secretary Lai has asked that I offer some brief words before I formally introduce him.

    "So, as far as I see it, we collectively are the problem, and we should collectively provide solutions. We have one planet with no second chance at redeeming our impact upon it. In the greater scheme of things, we either join together. Or fall together. Therefore, I am as keen as you all are to finally learn what The Solution might offer. Along with his team of associates, I would now like to welcome Mr. Xen Lai, the Environment Secretary of The People's Republic of China!"

    "Xiōngdi, redeem yourself, please," I whispered. "Our future depends upon it."

    "Hmm...clouded the future is," Mikey croaked. Earnestly, I imagined the big guy tried to instil a little calm in me with his Jedi Master quote. Thankfully, it helped, as did Sarah's flashing back rub. I was as ready as I'd ever be, and in that moment, I felt something thick churn softly in my stomach...

    The crowd fell silent as Xen adorned the podium. "Secretary-General, thank you for the introduction," he said with solemnity. "Good afternoon Frankfurt, and further greetings to the rest of the world.

    "Our generation cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading today. Over years passed, the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere has tripled. The polar ice caps have continued to melt. Ocean sea levels have continued to rise. Because of an abundance of toxic and plastic waste, they're sick too - our oceans, that is. And more devastatingly, crops and stocks have failed or faced extinction, forcing man to synthesize all manners of artificial alternatives. Yet even today, some are still skeptical and dismissive of climate destabilization.

    "We know the problem," Xen quipped. "Because of a constantly-mutating Greenhouse Effect, the planet is too warm. This process has confused Earth's climate and brought about severe destabilization like Seth and Sadie.

    "And we know the cause," Xen added. "There are too many of us. Our anthropogenic activity continues to strain and abuse Earth's natural resources.

    "Now for years, my mother - The Elder and Climatologist Laina Lai - collected and analyzed masses of data. Like those before her, she understood that greenhouse gases locked in glacial ice core rings told us about Earth's precipitation history. Her best example was Baiko - the last glacier. The majority of Baiko's rings reflected formation during normal sub-zero conditions. However, some rings showed instant formation, pointing to their creation during the last ice age..." As Xen tailed off for a breath, I watched Robin in front who tilted her head back. She was likely frustrated, having heard all the climate science before.

    At that moment, my hope was Xen would tell us something we hadn't heard before.

    "Now, when that ice age struck ten thousand years ago, it also ensnared life," Xen explained. "We know Mammoths and Saber-Tooth Tigers were victims with food still fresh in their mouths. Additionally, it formed a huge ice sheet over the North American continent. With the passing of time, most of the ice thawed and receded into the Atlantic Ocean. However, what remained formed five large masses of fresh water; now known as The Great Lakes; Michigan, Erie, Huron, Superior, and Ontario. Therefore, we know what ice ages can do in terms of changing large landscapes. And more poignantly, we know mankind has been lucky to survive them."

    Once again, I felt a strange churning sensation in my stomach...

    Xen pressed on. "Now, there are many Earth Scientists who still respect the work of Laina Lai. And respectfully, her theorized forecasts have become the basis of The Solution's hypothesis... We predict more superstorms like Seth and Sadie will happen. We predict they will become so regular, that eventually there could be more than two super storms surging at the same time. We predict that if they are ever geographically close enough, they could merge to form the apocalyptic 'World-Ender' storm which so many have feared in recent times - ultimately, a complex and augmented Fujiwhara Effect.

Fujiwhara

    If this demonic mega storm did ever manifest, we predict it could produce an induced cooling trend; similar to a natural Ice Age cooling trend; and in essence, the ultimate bombogenesis polar vortex. It could be the start of something that strategically, we wouldn't be prepared to handle as a global civilization. Thus, causing many of us to share the fate of the Mammoth, the Saber-Tooth Tiger, and some of our ancestors, Neanderthal Man."

    Instantly, the word 'fuck' pin-balled around my mind and tortured me like a shrill and merciless siren. When the initial rage of it calmed down, I witnessed the uproar of the Frankfurt Convention Center. Through it all, my gaze flitted between Robin and Xen, while my mind only thought of my parents. Even though Xen was by no means finished, it felt as though their legacy was well and truly in tatters.