Location: Perth, Australia

Local time: 10:30

Melissa Campbell entered her office feeling tired and dejected. It had been an exhausting morning. All that work she had put into lobbying for the green energy mandates over the last three months, had been destroyed in a moment. She should have known. Mayfair was brilliant, evil, but brilliant. She should have realized that he had something tucked up his sleeve. “Argh!” she kicked her desk in frustration and regretted it immediately as a sharp pain shot up her toe.

There was a knock on her office door. “Who is it?” Melissa snarled, rubbing her throbbing toe.

“It’s me,” replied the meek voice of her secretary. “I was just wondering, if everything is okay.”

“Yes, Jeanine. Please come in.” Melissa responded in a softer tone.

The door clicked, and a young woman in her late twenties entered. Jeanine had been working as the Minister’s secretary ever since she was sworn in two years ago. “What is it, Minister? You seem very upset.”

“Drop the formalities Jeanine. I’m not in the mood. Can’t I just be Mel today?”

“Of course, Mel. What happened? You were so excited about the press conference.”

“I know. That’s why I’m so upset. I should have known that snake Mayfair would do something to ruin it, but public opinion was going my way and I became complacent. Stupid me. Have you heard of this thing called greening?”

“Oh yes. It’s all over the news papers this morning. Every one is talking about it. I know, Mel, that you’re really worried about the rising carbon emissions, but at least something good seems to be coming of it. I mean vegetation thriving in dry lands! We just may get through this.” Jeanine rejoiced.

“No Jeanine. This is horrible. It might seem good, but it’s minor, and now people don’t seem to think that climate change is as alarming as I have been making it out to be. The snake Mayfair made it look like I was hiding the fact that climate change will fix itself. Well, I’ll tell you what! It wont!” Melissa fumed.

“Why not? If the new vegetation is more efficient at utilizing carbon from the atmosphere, does that not solve our green house gas problem?”

“No Jeanine, It’s like using a band-aid to fix a gushing artery. Maybe, nature was helping us out. But with the kind of propaganda in today’s papers, all the emission related legislation and green initiatives we pushed through will suffer a major setback. Already, some organizations have stared pulling their funding from institutes dedicated to exploring clean energy sources. Carbon emissions will increase even faster than they already are.” Melissa sighed.

Feeling helpless, she walked up to the window of her third floor office. The ocean view usually helped her calm down and regroup, but not today. “Oh we are so …”

But she never completed that sentence. Her face contorted, she froze, unable to fathom what she was witnessing. Too late, she thought, as fright paralyzed her.

Location: Mombasa, Kenya

Local time: 5:30

“But Ambassador Huang, you must understand. Due to the unusually high temperatures this year, too many of our crops have failed. We cannot possibly make the payments within a week and we cannot afford to default. Please, you must explain this to the Chinese Minister.”

“Mr. President, I do understand your predicament, but the Chinese government has already made a commitment to invest that money in an infrastructure project in Tanzania. And we must keep our word.”

“Is there nothing you can do? I mean, we just don’t have the money.”

“You can take a loan from another country.”

“We are broke. Who will give us a loan? Please reconsider Mr. Huang. Perhaps we could work out some deal allowing China to charge a tariff for the use of the port?”

“I am sorry, but I have no authority to negotiate such a deal. I will however connect you with the Chinese Minister for Finance. Perhaps, you may be able to persuade him. He is on a holiday in Chongqing. You may catch him in a good mood. It’s almost 10:30 in the morning there, so he should be relaxing by the hotel pool. It’s a good time.”

Mr. Huang placed a call to the Chinese Minister of Finance, Mr. Zhen.

“Hello, Mr. Zhen. This is the Kenyan president Omandi,” the President began.

“Yes Mr. President. I am waiting for the full repayment of your loan, so we can complete this transaction. Then we can celebrate. I trust you are happy with the port and the road network we have built to connect it to your industrial zone.”

“Yes, it is most impressive, but I am sure you are aware that we are experiencing some financial difficulties due to the unusually high temperatures this year.”

“Yes, Mr. Huang informed me. Global warming is a problem, but America, in spite of all its talk, simply won’t significantly reduce its emissions.”

“Yes, indeed and the poor and blameless tropical countries like us, must pay the price. I hoped you would understand our difficult situation and give us an extension on the loan.”

“That, I am afraid, is not possible. We are developing many global infrastructure projects, so we must be strict about payments. Otherwise, it will be complete chaos. We cannot make exceptions, President Omandi or everyone will demand extensions, and our economy will suffer. I must think of my own people.”

“Please Mr. Zhen. I would not ask this lightly. But I have run out of options.”

“Have you asked the USA for help? I mean their per capita emissions are very high, and they keep lecturing everyone else about it. Perhaps, they can compensate you for your failed crops. Or perhaps, the UK can. These nations are responsible for this awful situation we are all facing, you know. So irresponsible, their business practices are.”

“Please Mr. Zhen. Can’t we work out some new repayment deal. Maybe, you could charge us a higher rate of interest. I am looking at the port from my window. I am sure it will earn us a lot of money by boosting trade. We just need some time. Won’t you …”

He never completed the sentence. His eyes fixed on the newly built port outside his window widened. He let out a gasp, and then a terrified scream.

Location: Mumbai, India

Local time: 8:00

“Oh my goodness! Have you seen this?” Nalini gasped.

“What is it, Dear?” Suresh mumbled, as he skimmed through his messages from work while eating his breakfast.

“Indore. It’s absolutely horrible,” Nalini said, sipping her morning coffee. “The wet-bulb temperature briefly crossed thirty five degrees Celcius yesterday. One hundred and fifty three people died.”

“Enough with this environmental crap, Honey. I don’t want to hear about it.” Suresh snapped.

“Suresh, what’s the matter with you? These people died.” Nalini was shocked by his callousness.

“I know,” Suresh sighed setting his spoon down on his empty breakfast plate. “But I can’t take this stupidity anymore. All these rules about stricter carbon emissions. Carbon scrubbers are expensive. We can’t afford so many of them in all our factories. We had to lay off some people yesterday.”

“But Suresh, you know this climate change problem is real. What kind of a world are we leaving for our daughter?”

“Nalini, it makes no difference. The highest contributors of carbon emissions are the developed countries. During the industrial revolution, while Britain looted us, they contributed to huge amounts of green house gases. In fact, all that coal usage caused the Great London Smog of 1952. Now that we have a chance to develop fast, they want to hinder us.”

"But that's in the past, Honey. We need to think about the future, our future."

"Then let's talk about the present. In spite of all their preaching, America's carbon emissions for example had been increasing until last year. Even if we cut down our own emissions, it won’t make any difference. Even though our population is more than three times that of the US, our emissions are less than a third."

“Fine, they don’t cut their emissions, it sucks for them, but shouldn’t we try, for our own sake?”

“No. Climate change is a global phenomenon, and tropical countries like us will be the first to suffer the devastating consequences of extreme heat, even though we have barely contributed to carbon emissions. The West won’t significantly reduce their carbon emissions, they haven’t yet, and the world will keep getting hotter. We might as well develop technologically as best we can. From what I can tell, only the rich will survive this. So we might as well try to get rich instead. I mean only those who can stay inside air-conditioned rooms will survive such high wet-bulb temperatures. So emissions be damned, let’s get rich.” Suresh slammed his fist on the dining table, stood up and walked towards the living room window.

“Well, at least, I am rich,” He whispered standing by the french window of his sea-side apartment in Bandra. “When the time comes, we’ll go live in the Himalayas if we need to. I can afford …”

He never completed the sentence. “NALLU,” he screamed and dragging her by the arm, barged into his daughter’s room. He wrapped them in a tight embrace. And took a deep breath.

Location: New York City, USA

Local time: 20:30

“Enrico, this is rather late at night. What’s this about?”

“Mr. Martelli, you must have heard that we have had some heavy unseasonal rains and flooding and all over Columbia, so over 70% of our poppy plants have been ruined.”

“I hear you Enrico, but we have an agreement, so I assume my supply will be here on time. I pay well, and I expect to get what I pay for, on time.”

“But there is nothing to ship. How can I send it to you? This was an act of God Mr. Martelli.”

“I don't want to hear about God. Be a man, Enrico, don’t whine, and get me what I need on time. That’s all.”

Mr. Martelli flung his phone onto the sofa, lit a cigarette and walked over to the balcony of his penthouse apartment in the upper east side of Manhattan. Most people liked looking at Central Park, but he preferred a view of the the East River. Turning his head towards his left, at a great distance, he could see Rikers Island.

So many Americans were in jail for using drugs. He laughed at the thought. He knew America had the highest number of drug related prisoners in the world. “I don’t know what we are doing, but we’re not winning,” a Senator had once told him.

How could we, he had thought, when we fund both sides of the drug war? The money the government spends on fighting drugs, is about the same as the money the citizens spend on buying drugs.

Well, he shrugged, stubbing out his cigarette, if people are stupid enough to get high and overdose, that’s not my problem. People will always be stupid, so I might as well use it to my advantage and get rich.

He looked towards the horizon and blinked. It wasn’t possible, just not possible. He stood paralyzed staring, hypnotized by the impossible.

Location: Bournemouth, Great Britain

Local time: 3:30

“It’s a strange time of the year to come to the beach, isn’t it?” Marsha was surprised to see a lone gentleman sun bathing.

“You’re here.” The man noted.

“I’m working.” Marsha explained.

“At the beach? What kind of the job is that?”

“I’m majoring in Marine Biology, and I need to collect water samples through out the year to study the variation in plankton growth.” She hesitated, before adding. “I’m Marsha, by the way. What do you do?”

“Nick. I’m a stock broker on a vacation.”

“Figures.” Marsha rolled her eyes.

Nick raised his eyebrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, your complexion. You’re pale. But otherwise you seem like a healthy specimen.” She eyed his muscular body.

“Oh, thank you for your kind assessment, young lady. It’s not like you’re a wind surfer, Miss Marine Biologist.”

“Oh, but I am. I love the ocean and want to understand it in every possible way. Fortunately it’s large enough keep me occupied for a lifetime.” Marsha laughed at her own joke.

Nick snorted.

“What?” Marsha snapped.

“Just, you have no idea how long a lifetime can be.”

“And you have no idea how short it can be.” Marsha retorted.

“Here have some,” Nick offered Marsha the stuff he was snacking on.

“What’s that?” She wrinkled her nose.

“Beef jerky. I made it at home. I got one of those dehydrators last year. This one is is mustard flavored. So good.” He smacked his lips.

Marsha shook her head in disgust. “I’m vegan,” she explained.

“Oh damn! Really! One of them hippie environmentalists. I hate you guys.”

“Oh do you now!”

“Yeah, I mean, now electric cars are all the rage. People are driving glorified lawn mowers for goodness sake. Not me, I drive a Bentley convertible. Now that’s a real car!”

“And what are you going to do in this car, when the planet is baking?”

“Blast the air-conditioner and chill out, what else. Score some grass if I can, and get baked in a good way.” Nick winked.

“What about the future. What about your kids?”

“I don’t have any, so I have nothing to worry about. I can waste the planet and have a good long guilt free life.”

Marsha looked nauseated. “What about the countries we colonized? Many of them are finally prospering, and now they have to pay the price for our reckless rampage on the planet.”

“Girl, those countries always paid the price for our greed. So what else is new? Besides, it's not our fault they breed like bunnies and put so much strain on the planet. If they weren’t always fornicating, we would’t have to worry about the end of the world.”

A sudden odd sound caught their attention, and they both turned to look at the horizon.

What they saw terrified them. “E...ee..nd of th.. th.. the wo ..orld” Marsha stuttered, and those the were the last words she ever uttered, before the ocean she loved so much, swallowed her whole.

Perhaps, she was right and Nick was wrong. Life could be a lot shorter than one imagined.

Location: Chongqing, China

Local time: 10:45

Jin Zhen had returned to his hotel room in a huff. Another project successfully completed, but the country was complaining about the payment. Such losers. Jin was annoyed with Omandi. How dare he hang up on him like that. The nerve of the guy. He would make Omandi pay for his rudeness.

After a refreshing shower, Jin poured himself a glass of whiskey from the mini bar, and turned on the TV. Many of the channels were not working. Some sort of breaking news was dominating every working channel. It took him a while to put together the hysterical reports to understand what was happening.

A large chunk of the Antartic ice shelf had cleaved off and collapsed into the sea causing a tremendous surge in sea level and drowning several coastal cities including Perth, Mombasa, Mumbai, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and so many more, within just a few minutes.

“Oh, so that’s what had happened to Omandi.” Zhen gasped.

“My goodness, we’re finished,” Jin Zhen shouted out loud, pulling his hair in desperation. “This is the end.” He screamed. “Almost all the infrastructure projects we invested in were in coastal cities. We’re ruined,” he sobbed.

He considered calling his office in Shanghai, and that's when the reality sunk in. There was no Shanghai left to call.