(Page 1 of 11) BEFORE THE CHARON COVENANT by Brenda Munday GiffordSUMMARY: An Excepted Short Story Based On The Novel The Charon CovenantBEFORE THE CHARON COVENANT
An Excepted Short Story Based On The Novel The Charon Covenant
"My darling Dara,
Don't show this letter to anyone. I want you to know the true history of what happened and how we all became so mindless, so docile that we lost our ability to defend ourselves because the time is coming that you will need to.
The Earth, as we knew it, had been nearly unlivable for over two decades. The world where trees, wildlife and flowers once blossomed under the warm sunshine had withered, veiled in a dark gaseous cloud. Even as the end neared, people buried their heads in the sand, always expecting someone else to solve the problem. As food supplies waned, tensions between countries grew while hundreds of thousands of people starved in every country across the globe. Even neighbors began to distrust neighbors; people were hording food in an attempt to ward off the inevitable.
Without warning, came the Great War of Nations. Then, without warning, came the Great War of Nations. The war ended abruptly two years later, not because some peaceful means of resolution had been established, but for lack of resources.
The leaders of the world agreed that if they were to survive, they must unite; thus, the Inner Circle was created and secret alliances were formed and the ruling class became the secret Czars of the Circle. The Inner Circle created the Weapons Control Group, which functioned much the same as the armies and police forces of the past.
The world was finally rid of war, but that wasn't the same as having peace. The human race suddenly found themselves on the verge of extinction. Pollution had become overwhelming, the ozone layer was deteriorating rapidly, everyone wore oxygen masks, and scientists were scrambling for answers as acid rain was killing most of the foliage.
The Inner Circle knew time was running out and began plans to create a haven on the moon. Resources had been deployed to the moon stations. The Circle knew they must put a daring plan into action. Launch teams were assembled. Orders were handed out to each team, including the lists of names of those who would be taken. And taken was what they did. Weapon Control units accompanied the Launch Teams and took people from their homes, often with force, as no one knew they'd even been selected. There was no time given to say goodbye to loved ones, no one must know what was happening. The panic that it would cause if this secret were to get out could cause delays and possibly destroy hope of a successful mission.
A small group of key scientists were left behind to provide needed input on any changes in the Earth's environment that might allow man to return some day.
Once we were on the moon the Inner Circle wasted no time in taking over; new laws went into affect immediately. Every person would be required to carry identification cards, which allowed entry into only those designated areas approved for each person by the Circle. Something new was to be added to daily life, the worker drones. Small pot bellied, barrel shaped robots that hovered like they were magically being levitated and would become the watch dog for the governing body.
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