"Bittersweet Memories (part 2)" by Rhianon fairycheese gill

14.24

14/10/3047

The War Council

Tenacre Woods Compound

War Report

The Ten Hour War

Death Toll:

N. America- unknown, all major cities presumed dead

S. America- unknown, majority presumed dead

Africa- unknown,

Australasia- unknown,

Asia- unknown, all major cities presumed dead

Mainland Europe- unknown, all major cities presumed dead

U.K.- approx 4.5 million known dead, 1 million unaccounted for, survivors split by political differences

The War:

An alliance between countries with known and unheard-of nuclear weapons together bombed all major American and European cities as well as areas of Japan and other ‘rich’ countries. These and the retaliation bombings wiped out the majority of the world’s population and with it the world’s economy. This started one thousand years of political conflict within the U.K. All contact with other countries was lost.

The Aftershocks:

After the war survivors tried their best to carry on with ‘normal life’ as they called it. Many substitutes had to be made within homes to heat, clean, cook, etc. Three months after the war most of the country once again had electricity. Seven months after the war most had a water supply. Twelve months after the war a basic economy system was arranged. However the country was becoming divided. Some wanted to continue living a basic life and concentrate on surviving, the rest wanted technology to continue developing as it had before and for contact with the rest of the world to be restored.

Several years after the war, people started to notice strange effects from the radiation leftover from the bombings. The children born shortly after the war had ‘psychic’ abilities, some described them as ‘superpowers’. Although at this stage the powers were weak and rarely noticeable some scientists started to investigate further into these occurrences. This led to the discovery and emergence of the ‘superpower gene’. This split the country further apart, and as these conflicts grew in power and strength over the years, the ‘superpower gene’ evolved with it. After nearly one thousand years the entire known human population had some kind of power. Each power was different, if only slightly and although all were stronger than the original powers, they still varied in their strength and the effort it took to use them. Both sides of the war had much developed their technology to defend from and destroy the other side, even though this development was what had split them in the first instance. Some worked to prevent the start of a war, others encouraged it. When finally, the war was declared, all who had not already thought to do so moved into one of the ‘camps’ and all hope of an ordinary life was destroyed.

The camps were rarely built as such and were often converted prisons, castles and any other buildings that seemed strong and easy to defend. People were for the first time divided into organised squads depending on the nature of their skill and upon its strength. Most were forced to take nicknames to protect their families and friends. Some chose to have their original name and memories of their families removed so that no-one could trace them. Others, orphaned in the earlier conflicts chose to use their full names to preserve their family’s pride. Powers were found to be fully developed by the age of thirteen and at this age they would take a training course that lasted for an approximate of two years. At fifteen most were assigned to a squad and joined the war. Some families got their children to pass the two years of training before they reached thirteen so that only the formalities were left. The average life expectancy dramatically fell over the ten years of war to the age of twenty-six. Death toll rising.

Additional Notes:

Although as above stated all powers are moderately different most can be categorised into one of the following types. Some cannot be assigned to a single one or are a combination of two or more types of the following and variations occur in all.

Shapeshifting- commonly into animals but there are some cases where the bearer can transform themselves into a particular object. Some reports of plant shapeshifters have been but none confirmed. This is the most common form of power.

Mind/Mental Powers- often telepathy, mindreading, ‘editing’ memories, creating false memories, being able to ‘possess’ or control others (rare), telekinesis (rare), often a combination of these.

Speed Powers- in most cases isolated to a single body part or parts, variations of the actual speed occur. Commonly combined with enhanced senses.

Enhanced Senses- A single one or all the senses are superior to normal human ones. Hearing can cover higher or lower ranges than human but rarely both. The sense of ‘touch’ reportedly can have a limit to the amount of pain a person can feel (reportedly this sense can be combined with healing powers). Three confirmed cases of powers that diminish the senses.

Healing Powers- either a person can heal themselves, others or both. Some act as an anaesthetic which seems to be combined healing and sense powers.

A further affect of all types of powers is that once the power is fully developed, the individual will be both physically and mentally an adult. On average a power would be fully developed by the age of 14, making that person an equivalent of a ‘normal’ person of age 18. However stronger powers tend to emerge much earlier therefore matureing earlier as well. The youngest confirmed case was a boy 11 years old with a fully developed healing power as well as having both the appearance and mental capabilities of an adult. Another variation of this, mainly occurring in stronger powers, is that when the power is fully developed there would still be an ability or abilities that require further practise to master completely.

End of Report.