Chapter 1314: Collapse
Vahn's global announcement had, as could be expected, far-reaching consequences. Though a number of people hadn't taken his words at face value, as they had their own system of beliefs to drive their decision-making, it quickly came to light just how serious the man calling himself an Emperor had been.
Many people still had the mentality that they would be going to work as usual, trusting that their government and military would be the ones to handle this strange and incomprehensible event. What they didn't expect was that the entire global market had crashed in an instant as suppliers lost their factories while most industrial equipment had been crippled. Even cars, the main way in which many people got around, simply didn't work any longer once they had been safely parked, stranding numerous people.
The only vehicles still in service were ambulances, fire trucks, and a few other emergency vehicles, so long as they were used as intended. This meant most of the streets were largely empty, despite the best efforts of mechanics to try and fix the issues. Unfortunately, this was made impossible by the fact that most parts had been irreversibly damaged and, even if they managed to contact one of their usual suppliers, replacement parts could no longer be produced as nearly every assembly line had been downed.
What terrified people the most, however, was the complete shut down of telecommunications systems networks and the internet. Those in so-called 'First World Countries' were hit the hardest by this as, in recent years, people were so reliant on the interconnectivity of their devices that they were incapable of adapting to the sudden changes. They were now completely severed from the stream of data they had used to make all their important decisions and, to make matters even worse, the emergency broadcast system informed them that intermittent power outages would become common while, in some regions, the grid was already down completely...
When it finally began to sink in just how terrifying the transition was going to be, people began to flock to grocers, supermarkets, and even farms themselves to steal and loot produce. In countries like China and the United States, this resulted in the nation's militaries cracking down hard on the population while, in many cities and states, people took up arms to protect their businesses and homes.
It was almost like an end of the world scenario as, despite elevating themselves above the other countries of the world, the people in these so-called First World Countries immediately resorted to extreme violence and barbaric behavior once the systems designed to make their lives more convenient had collapsed. They immediately turned to looting, breaking and entering the homes of their former neighbors, and hoarding everything they could get their hands on for fear that it would be taken from them.
One of the hardest-hit countries in this entire transition was the United States as, with their very loose gun control, gun violence peaked demonstrably just hours after Vahn's announcement. It didn't matter if the military had declared martial law as, with too many people to police, absolute anarchy had consumed the once proud nation overnight. There had even been a few skirmishes between the military, armed citizens, and local gangs as, realizing how drastic the changes they faced would be, the worst part of people had come out alongside their self-preservation instincts.
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While chaos ensued, Vahn bore witness to these events through hundreds of projected monitors, each floating around him in a hemisphere. The atmosphere around him had become solemn as, while he had expected chaos, the fervor in which humanity showed when it came to harming itself was mortifying. If people had followed the instructions provided, they would be aware that food and water weren't significant concerns. The Empire had more than enough resources to feed the entire planet's population and, while it would certainly be a little less convenient, even a complete novice with Magecraft would be able to produce freshwater...
It was sad to see but, despite having been looked down upon by other, more advanced, societies, the members of Second and Third World Nations were adapting far faster. They lived their lives in constant fear of starvation while, with few exceptions, things like clean water and electricity were extremely rare commodities. Because of this, they were largely unaffected by the changes and, by following the instructions, many of which were spread by word of mouth, they were actually living better lives than before.
Though he knew there was a fair amount of bias skewing his observations, Vahn could see that the more 'convenience' people used to shape their lives, they less capable they were of actually living productively. They were entirely reliant on the systems designed to control and profit off of them so, without this infrastructure, billions of people immediately turned to violence. They had lived in a society that perpetuated the idea of individuality thus, outside of close family and small circles of friends, they were grossly incapable of working with other members of their community.
Vahn had severely underestimated how indoctrinated advanced societies had become as, with very few exceptions, the more prosperous a nation had been prior to the announcement, the worse the fallout. The only exceptions to this were countries like the United Kingdom, Egypt, and, curiously enough, places such as Japan and South Korea. These were places where the Magus community had strong standing and, as a result of strenuous control laws, the people were less prone to violence.
A stark contrast to most countries, the people in these regions followed the instructions of their government while many, rather than immediately turn to rioting, read the documents uploaded to their personal devices. Thus, instead of killing and robbing each other, they gathered together in relative peace as they patiently waited for the distribution of food and other pertinent resources, all of which was provided for free. Some had even taken the instructions on their computers very seriously and, with strong imaginations and an even stronger desire to use Magic, a few talented individuals were even able to use rudimentary beginner spells before the day had passed.
The biggest inconvenience to these communities was the breakdown of the internet and phone networks but, with their large populations concentrated in very small areas, information spread quickly by word of mouth and megaphone. It was a stark contrast to countries with comparably large land and a rather diminutive population, places where people literally needed cars to get around due to living so far apart from each other.
This was one of the things Vahn intended to address during the transition as there was literally no reason for humans to live in such divided communities. People did not need a significant amount of land for themselves and their families. Rather, the earth should be something that people could freely explore in order to observe its beauty and challenge themselves.
With this in mind, Vahn intended to concentrate the human population to a few localized cities in order to preserve their numbers, reduce the logistical nightmare of overseeing billions of people, and protecting the environment. Having them live far apart was extremely impractical as it made the existence of continent-spanning highways, comprehensive railways, complex flight paths, and other transportation infrastructure necessary. All of these were dead-end technologies and, with the transition of the world back to its nascent state, monsters, spirits, and other fantastical beasts would soon reclaim the land.
Vahn knew that the death toll would be even greater if humanity hadn't been united by the time the transition had completed so, while the current chaos was troubling, it was necessary in order to prepare humanity for what was to come. They needed to adapt and learn to live alongside the other races, themselves, and the planet. If they could not do this, the only fate that awaited them was constant strife and an endless cycle of destruction perpetrated by the ridiculous need to have more of something than someone else.
Even if he needed to become the target of the entire species' hate, Vahn didn't particularly mind as this was the type of traumatic event a species needed to undergo if it was to have any hope of changing for the better. It was only when the seeds of corruption sprouted, growing through the foundation of society until it completely collapsed that you finally realized how messed up things had been. Vahn was intending to expose this truth, remove the roots, lay a stronger foundation, and usher in an era of genuine prosperity, not just for humanity, but all sapient species...
If things had remained as they were, most Spiritual entities born into the world would be quickly corrupted by the influence of humans. Even worse, there would be a number of Tier 4 and Tier 5 entities returning to the world, most of which would not hesitate to twist humans to their will. This included the Gods who, in the ancient past, used the beliefs of humans to turn against the planet itself. They were bound to attempt something similar in the future as, without any restrictions on how and where they could manifest, isolated human populations would quickly fall under the influence of one or more deities.
By having humanity congregate in a few locations, they would be much easier to protect against the forces that would readily exploit them. This was something Vahn had to be concerned about as, the more divided humanity was, the harder it would be to keep the gods in line. There were a number of them who could shake the Empire individually but, united, they would be a terrifying foe that even Gaia and Alaya wouldn't be able to fend off.
The higher the concentration of mana in the atmosphere, the more easily the Laws of the world could be bent by those proficient in its use. This meant that, as the regression continued, more powerful entities would begin to appear in the world. Eventually, the first generation of Gods would return to the Surface and, while they may not turn against Gaia a second time, he still had to consider the fact they were able to defeat her the first. He knew they would immediately try to seed themselves as the rulers of the world once again so, in order to prevent a repeat of history, Vahn needed humanity to be united.
He only wished this could be explained to people in a way they could understand but, until things had started to stabilize, this would be an exercise in futility. They didn't have the time or energy to focus on anything other than preserving their own lives and, with more than half the population of the mind that only their god or gods existed, they would be extremely resistant to anything that proved otherwise. In fact, with the changes forced upon them, many people turned to the leaders of their respective religions for answers, something Vahn would be forced to address in the very near future.
For now, however, he was more focused on laying the necessary support infrastructure to protect as many people as possible while preparing his forces to begin policing the entire world. He also needed to assign personnel to protect the facilities as there were already some foolish idiots who were trying to monopolize and police the food-production factories. The fact they thought they could get away with this, only hours after his announcement, completely baffled Vahn. However, if humanity wasn't prone to extreme bouts of foolishness, such extreme actions wouldn't have been necessary in the first place...
(A/N: Sorry guys, I'm completely out of commission atm. As soon as my sickness began to go away, I got a very severe ear infection. At this point, the entire right side of my head is in pain and I can't even close my jaw. I've been trying to sleep without any success and, even with antibiotics and pain killers, it just hurts too much to focus on anything. I feel like my ear is going to explode from the pressure. It hurts. I can't even describe how badly it hurts T_T...)
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