A New Earth – The One

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The bioluminescent plankton had begun to approach the city, riding on the northerly current.  It became visible first as a faint, thin bright line just below the evening horizon.  As it got closer, it broadened into a deep turquoise-blue ribbon that began to cast its glow into the sky above.  It was like a blue dawn, arriving from the south.  The coast would soon become the stage for a dramatic stand-off between two types of light: the fossil fuel fed, man-made electric lights of human industrial civilization, and the soft glow of the New Earth: a sustainable bioluminescence born out of the chaos of climate change. 

Other cities had already experienced their encounter with the blue dawn hours earlier, reacting with both excitement and trepidation. The glow was so strong, there were reports of some towns dimming or completely shutting down their street lighting across the shore, as the dark night was now permanently replaced by a bright blue twilight. The amount of illumination emerging from the ocean was enough to bring about a measurable decline in energy consumption across the globe.  Along with the ongoing decline in human population due to war, disease, and starvation, this was yet another victory of the New Earth over man: human civilization was literally beginning to dim, just as the new variant was stepping into the spotlight.

At the usual gathering down at the very end of the beach, the mood was both somber and jubilant. A few brave Minimalists had gone for a swim in the electric blue ocean, despite the public health warnings. One of them stood out as a dark figure in the glowing waters: it was Aspen. The plankton glowed even brighter around her as she moved in the water, almost as if it recognized her. It responded to her movements, occasionally producing tiny iridescent sparks of hot pink, purple and emerald green in the water.  Small fish followed the flashes, perhaps thinking it was other fish.

“She’s the One”, Aberash uttered to herself as she watched from the beach, captivated by the rainbow colors. She didn’t notice John standing right behind her, getting ready to dive in himself.  On his way to the water, he turned to Aberash and said: “Yes, she is”.

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(from the upcoming novel A New Earth) – PRE-ORDER NOW:

George is an author, researcher, podcast host, chemist, molecular biologist and food scientist. You can follow him on Twitter @99blackbaloons , listen to his Spotify podcast George reads George, sign up for blog alerts below, or enjoy his books