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Description
The precise origins of the Dactyl Rot are unknown to this day. While the leading theory is that the fungus was an isolated species, dredged up by construction on the rural Fujian coast in the early '30s, the arguments for the Northern hypothesis are still strong, and conspiracy theories abound. Regardless of how the mold was introduced to urban China, the Dactyl Rot took to the city like a duck to water. Aided by rising temperatures and sea levels, the Dactyl Rot grew rapidly on damp concrete, with finger-esque tendrils giving the mold its common name. The Chinese authorities had no idea of the threat, filing away the problem as an exaggeration. While maintenance workers complained of the mold being almost impervious to fungicide, with only the most toxic chemicals having any effect, most bureaucrats assumed that these workers were simply trying to avoid their jobs.

In 2037, the public began to feel the impact of the Rot. That summer, 54,691 children across China died of fungal meningitis. 7,425 died to fungal pneumonia.

The Dactyl Rot had reached critical mass. Its spores contaminated hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings. While an infection from the Rot could be resisted by a healthy adult, children could not effectively fight off the infection, and any effective anti-fungal agent would end up being as lethal as the disease. It was also noted that miscarriage rates skyrocketed, due to fetal infection. Panic and civil unrest swept the coastal cities, demanding that something be done to halt the crisis. The government's fact finding team's report indicated that it would be impossible to reverse the Rot's spread without causing irreparable damage and dislocating tens of millions. When the report leaked, protesters began to demand the end of the Communist government. Combined with the strains of environmental degradation and the trade war with the Pan-Oceanic Trade Pact, the Chinese public was at a breaking point. Something would have to give.

In 2039, with unrest rising and the death toll climbing into the hundreds of thousands, the Chairman of the Communist Party made a public announcement.

The Party would give.

That henceforth, the Chinese Communist Party would be dissolved.

That a interim government would carry out a country-wide referendum on a new democratic constitution and a comprehensive reclamation plan for the country.

Historians and political scientists often look back to this moment, noting that the provisional government and subsequent democratic government were composed of leading members of the CCP, and that even to this day the Chinese two-party system is dominated by the same networks as it was prior to de-communization. But in the moment, it was a new era for the People's Republic.

Nearly three decades out, China's democracy is shaky, but the nation is on the road to restoration. China is still the world's second largest economy, the world's leading military power, and the Reformed Renminbi is still the world's new reserve currency. While the old cities of the coast may be consumed by the Rot, the Linear Arcology Network has become home to more than a half billion citizens. The Chinese lead Asian-Pacific Cooperation Council is the leading example of a fair and beneficial regional union, and China's Politiclubs have influence in almost every country on earth.

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From the shining mega-cities of the African coast, to the flooded streets of Old Miami. From the packed arcologies of China, to the bleak burning fields of Venezuela. From the vigorous debate of commune meeting halls in Buenos Aires, to the hushed whispers of secret party meetings in Munich. From the singing in the historicist concert halls of Montreal, to the screams over the burning slums of Moscow. From crowds of protesters in London, New Delhi, and Oran, to lonely miners on the Moon. All of it lives, all of it breathes, and all of it will one day die. All under the same twinkling light of the stars.

Our Fathers' Stars.

Description
The precise origins of the Dactyl Rot are unknown to this day. While the leading theory is that the fungus was an isolated species, dredged up by construction on the rural Fujian coast in the early '30s, the arguments for the Northern hypothesis are still strong, and conspiracy theories abound. Regardless of how the mold was introduced to urban China, the Dactyl Rot took to the city like a duck to water. Aided by rising temperatures and sea levels, the Dactyl Rot grew rapidly on damp concrete, with finger-esque tendrils giving the mold its common name. The Chinese authorities had no idea of the threat, filing away the problem as an exaggeration. While maintenance workers complained of the mold being almost impervious to fungicide, with only the most toxic chemicals having any effect, most bureaucrats assumed that these workers were simply trying to avoid their jobs.

In 2037, the public began to feel the impact of the Rot. That summer, 54,691 children across China died of fungal meningitis. 7,425 died to fungal pneumonia.

The Dactyl Rot had reached critical mass. Its spores contaminated hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings. While an infection from the Rot could be resisted by a healthy adult, children could not effectively fight off the infection, and any effective anti-fungal agent would end up being as lethal as the disease. It was also noted that miscarriage rates skyrocketed, due to fetal infection. Panic and civil unrest swept the coastal cities, demanding that something be done to halt the crisis. The government's fact finding team's report indicated that it would be impossible to reverse the Rot's spread without causing irreparable damage and dislocating tens of millions. When the report leaked, protesters began to demand the end of the Communist government. Combined with the strains of environmental degradation and the trade war with the Pan-Oceanic Trade Pact, the Chinese public was at a breaking point. Something would have to give.

In 2039, with unrest rising and the death toll climbing into the hundreds of thousands, the Chairman of the Communist Party made a public announcement.

The Party would give.

That henceforth, the Chinese Communist Party would be dissolved.

That a interim government would carry out a country-wide referendum on a new democratic constitution and a comprehensive reclamation plan for the country.

Historians and political scientists often look back to this moment, noting that the provisional government and subsequent democratic government were composed of leading members of the CCP, and that even to this day the Chinese two-party system is dominated by the same networks as it was prior to de-communization. But in the moment, it was a new era for the People's Republic.

Nearly three decades out, China's democracy is shaky, but the nation is on the road to restoration. China is still the world's second largest economy, the world's leading military power, and the Reformed Renminbi is still the world's new reserve currency. While the old cities of the coast may be consumed by the Rot, the Linear Arcology Network has become home to more than a half billion citizens. The Chinese lead Asian-Pacific Cooperation Council is the leading example of a fair and beneficial regional union, and China's Politiclubs have influence in almost every country on earth.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

From the shining mega-cities of the African coast, to the flooded streets of Old Miami. From the packed arcologies of China, to the bleak burning fields of Venezuela. From the vigorous debate of commune meeting halls in Buenos Aires, to the hushed whispers of secret party meetings in Munich. From the singing in the historicist concert halls of Montreal, to the screams over the burning slums of Moscow. From crowds of protesters in London, New Delhi, and Oran, to lonely miners on the Moon. All of it lives, all of it breathes, and all of it will one day die. All under the same twinkling light of the stars.

Our Fathers' Stars.