No one truly knows how the world became what it is today. Yet the stories carried by news networks and echoed on social media shared a grim similarity.
It began somewhere in Asia, a few nations south of Russia. Within days, entire populations collapsed. Hundreds of millions perished daily, until the seventeen days it took to end the world felt both impossible and inevitable.
Russia was among the first to fall. Radiation in the affected zones convinced many that nuclear weapons had been used. Electronics failed in the wake of each assault—only fragments of video or audio survived, mere seconds of evidence before devices went dark. It was never enough to explain what was happening.
Lacking answers, the media embraced speculation. The leading theory claimed the United States had launched a covert nuclear strike, supported by the radiation reports. Rumors spread faster than truth, and soon belief hardened into fact. When Washington issued no statement for two days, Russian officials grew convinced. Protests filled the streets of Moscow, and under pressure, the Kremlin responded: nuclear missiles were launched toward the United States.
Or so the media claimed.
The exchange was brief, almost inconsequential. Whatever the unknown plague was, it consumed humanity faster than humanity could destroy itself.