The Chronicles of Kaimakla
After the Cataclysm: The Age of Fireballs From The Oceans
The story is set in the distant future after a climate apocalypse has been caused by runaway global warming. The apocalypse has resulted in the total destruction of the world as we know it now and caused total civilisational collapse. The occupants of this world have also suffered complete loss of the memory of our world and civilisation.
The entire Eurasian continental landmass is a vast desert scorched by ferocious heat; rivers have dried up; water in the oceans has become too hot and anoxic for fish to live; the ocean levels have risen due to melting ice caps and swallowed up many of the great coastal cities. Storms of unimaginable ferocity criss-cross the earth. Most of humanity has died from heat, storms, thirst and hunger and in the wars that followed. Those who have survived live in underground settlements which have access to water.
Methane hydrate rises in great burps from the seabed due to ocean waters heating up. These result in gigantic fireball explosions after they reach open air (referred to as the fireballs of the God ‘Methani’ by the people in the novel). These gigantic fireballs have incinerated many of the world’s great coastal cities. Great cities including London (known as “Londa” in the book) either suffered such incineration or have been swallowed up by massive rises in ocean levels caused by melting polar ice. The geography of current landmasses has totally changed in consequence. This is also a world of frequent and gigantic super storms (referred to in the book as the storms of the storm god “Tahunta”).
Most humans have been exterminated by “heat death”, hunger, famine, storms and war. Those humans who survived the great cataclysm now live in underground cities (like Kaimakla in the book which is located in today’s Turkey) and in cave cities cut deep into mountains (like Lan-jow in the book located in today’s Scandinavia).
The twenty or so underground cities in today’s Turkey are inhabited by a small number of descendants of nomadic desert dwellers, the Dinka of the deserts of southern Sudan, and the Tuareg of the central Western Sahara. The Europeans (“Eoropi” in the book) have all but died out and population replacement has taken place. Scandinavia and the habitable northern part of the globe near the pole has been colonised by descendants of northern Chinese desert dwellers.
All knowledge of science and technology and of our civilisation has been lost and the survivors do not even know that planes, cars and phones ever existed, and believe that the sun goes around the earth.
Read an extract of the book
Stinna wafted in at this moment looking divine in a red flowing dress made of si. She had tied her gold hair in a bun on her head exposing a long slender neck around which was a gold necklace studded with rav. I couldn't stop gawking though I managed to look indifferent as we stood up to greet her.
"No more trade talk, it's so boring" she said. "I want to hear about your underground cities. I've never heard of people living underground. Cave dwellings yes, as we do here but, an entire city underground? It's unimaginable. It must be so dark and claustrophobic."
"We have no alternative and we think we are blessed to be so protected from a scorching sun and gigantic storms that rage across our lands. I know we have not been as fortunate as you, but we are thankful for small mercies" Amanaar said.
"Living underground, as you can imagine, is very cramped with small cave like houses cut into the walls of the city. We live in semi-darkness but it's cool compared to the scorching heat of the sun which would blister your skin within minutes. There are ventilation shafts that bring in fresh air from the outside. There is little privacy as you might imagine because no dwelling is completely independent of others. Most things are communal. There are fifteen floors at Kaimakla aren't there and how many at Derinka, Achinbai?" said Amanaar.
"Twelve, I believe" he said.
"That is simply amazing. Whole cities underground. Who built them and why?" asked Chen.
"No one really knows, and our Chronicles are silent as well" said Amanaar.
"Are you all married with families and what do they have to say when you leave for such a long time. I know Wenji's and Li-Pung's wives were not very happy about their last journey to Tabariza from which they nearly never returned."
"We are all married and have family except our young friend here" said Achinbai.
"Ah so you must be the only one who can go about freely," Stinna said looking at me. "You are temporarily very fortunate, but for how long?" She said laughing, and carried on in an amused tone to say,
"You know Mayzaar, don't be in a rush to be married because your freedom to travel would be restricted. I mean I would love to go outside Lan-jow, but Chen will not hear of it."
"Well my lady..." I began, "Stinna, you can call me Stinna" she interrupted.
"He has his eye on the most beautiful girl in Kaimakla, a girl called Kwella" said Amanaar with a twinkle in his eye.
Now why did Amanaar have to say that? I grimaced inside me.
"So, you have someone" said Stinna looking at me quizzically with those mesmerising eyes.
"Well...no… not really" I stuttered. "I think I agree with you Stinna, there is so much to see and do, so many exciting places to go, so many fascinating people to meet..." I looked straight into her eyes as I said that, "... it's a bit early to think of getting married."
"Ah, I hear a change in your thinking Mayzaar" Amanaar said "is this the result of witnessing a fireball from the ocean?" asked Amanaar. No, I wanted to say, it's because of this divine woman standing in front of me, but instead I smiled.
"Oh, that must have been frightening. Tell me about it, Mayzaar" she said. I could hardly speak, and 1 knew my voice trembled. I hoped everyone, especially Stinna, would think it was as a result of recalling a traumatic event.
"Well when we were crossing the isthmus connecting the southern lands where we live to the great desert we saw the start of Methani rising from the sea in a foaming pillar of water rising from the sea..."
"Who is Methani?" she interrupted imperiously. Her blue-grey eyes were staring at me. I was transfixed and nearly speechless but I managed to continue.
"It's the name of the god of the ocean fireballs whom we believe lurks on the ocean floor," I said, and she nodded and waved her hand asking me to continue. She was still standing, and I could see the shape of her body underneath her clothes and I momentarily thought I would automatically incinerate myself long before a fireball of Methani got to me.
"Luckily for us, the foaming pillar of water subsided sometime after it appeared enabling us to make good our escape before Methani rose again in a second foaming pillar of water. By then we had travelled more than a day. We then saw the pillar of foaming water develop a mushroom-shaped head which we knew would explode incinerating everything for a great distance around it. A mushroom-shaped fireball did explode at the top of the foaming pillar of water but we were lucky. We had managed to travel a good distance by the time of the fireball explosion. It was terrifying and it is forever burnt in my memory. I had seen the face of a living god exactly as described in our Chronicles".
"I want to tell you something quite amazing, Stinna" Amanaar said, "while we were crossing the great desert we came across the fallen head of a gigantic statue of a woman or goddess and the features on her face were exactly like yours, Stinna and, we had never seen anyone before with your facial features. Wenji noticed the similarity but really having met you the resemblance is incredibly striking."