In the video game franchise Fallout, the developers postulated a post-nuclear war scenario in which segments of the population survived the conflagration in hidden, fortified underground vaults. The game lets players experience what the world might be like if such a scenario took place.
Science fiction often starts with a question and then builds a story around the answer. What would it be like if a federation of planets peacefully colonized the galaxy? What would it be like if an alien arrived with powers beyond that of mortal men? What would it be like if a pandemic suddenly forced everyone to isolate or possibly die?
But that last one isn't just a premise for a TV show, novel, or a movie. It's the situation we all find ourselves in[1] now. Below is a story that explores that question assuming that life never does go back to what it was, and it attempts to answer what a new normal might be like.
It's been freaky thinking about these possibilities, and I'm sure that whatever I present here will miss the mark by quite a distance. But for whatever good it does, here's a look into our possible future. My thoughts are with all of us. Be safe, hang in.
"Hi, Jayla. Are you getting ready for bed?"
"Yes, Grandpa. Can you tell me a story?"
"Sure, honey. That's why I'm here. Do you have a particular story in mind?"
"Grandpa, can you tell me about the Great Distancing again. Were you really around BC?"
"I was, Jayla. I was about as old as your mom and dad. It all changed in about a month. There were previous outbreaks of something like the distancing