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    The Visionary
    The Visionary
    The Visionary
    Ebook110 pages1 hour

    The Visionary

    By J.C. Gemmell

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    About this ebook

    At the beginning of February 2060, Mount Erebus erupted, the first of a chain of Antarctic volcanoes that forever changed Earth’s future. Within days, sea levels began to rise, until sixty metres of water claimed coastlines worldwide.

    Twelve-year-old Xin-yi and her mother fled their home, surviving amongst a community of rice farmers. A year later, a chance conversation with international census officials prepared her for a new life.

    Now fourteen, Xin-yi commences her training as a visionary. It is her task to imagine a new Earth, rising above the drowning waters. Thousands of young people strive to design a world in which the displaced millions can live, and engineer a solution that will take a millennium to populate.

    But Xin-yi’s challenges are more personal: coming to terms with the loss of her brother and unexpected feelings toward a friend. She has to choose between working to benefit humanity and her internal conflict with love.

    Set over three decades after the 2060 flood, The Visionary combines dystopian, future and science fiction, and introduces J.C. Gemmell’s Tion series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJ.C. Gemmell
    Release dateFeb 8, 2021
    ISBN9781838072865
    The Visionary
    Author

    J.C. Gemmell

    J.C. Gemmell was born in Falkirk, Scotland, and received his B.A. in Computer Studies and a Master’s Degree in Applied Science from the University of Portsmouth, UK. Before turning to science fiction, he worked as a software engineer for a number of multinational organisations. He lives with his partner on the south coast of England.Tionsphere and The Uprisers are the first novels in the Tion series, and will be followed by Demiurge in 2022. He is currently working on a novella tied to this series, which will be available for free at Easter.Visit J.C. online at www.jcgemmell.com and @JcGemmell

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      Book preview

      The Visionary - J.C. Gemmell

      cover-image, The Visionary

      THE VISIONARY

      J.C. Gemmell was born in Falkirk, Scotland, and received his B.A. in Computer Studies and a Master’s Degree in Applied Science from the University of Portsmouth. Before turning to science fiction, he worked as a software engineer for a number of multinational organisations. He lives with his partner on the south coast of England.

      Find out more about the author at jcgemmell.com

      By J.C. Gemmell

      The Visionary

      Tionsphere

      The Uprisers

      Demiurge

      J.C. Gemmell

      THE VISIONARY

      A Tion Story

      Copyright © J.C. Gemmell 2021.

      The right of J.C. Gemmell to be identified as the author of this works has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      Cover image by Keenan Constance on Unsplash.

      This book first published in 2021.

      A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      ISBN: 978-1-8380728-6-5

      All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      7446-1699

      jcgemmell.com

      For Macca

      CONTENTS

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

      CHAPTER THREE

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CHAPTER SIX

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      CHAPTER NINE

      CHAPTER TEN

      TIONSPHERE

      THE UPRISERS

      DEMIURGE

      CHAPTER ONE

      Year of the Dragon

      庚辰

      A DRAGON IS coming for us. He is called Erebus, and he lives on Ross Island in Antarctica. Erebus has stirred from his ancient slumber and is spewing fire high into the air, melting the polar continent.

      It is the Year of the Dragon, and I am twelve years old. I was born in the winter of 2048 in Guangzhou City in the Chinese Province of Guangdong. My parents christened me Xin-yi, which means heart-harmony. Sheng often teases me, saying his little sister lacks either, but I have always tried to live up to my name.

      When I woke this morning, warnings of devastation clogged my feed: people around the world worrying that the tide will come in and may never go out again. Our home is not far from the Pearl River, but we live almost forty metres above sea level, which the news says will be enough. My mother kissed me before I left for school; she had a strange look in her eyes. She is spending the day at church, praying that the reporters are wrong.

      Some of the students in my class asked the teacher to switch the jammer off so we could follow the global events during the day, but he said we were here to learn, not waste time on our smartbands. About an hour later, he relented. We watched CGTN together, sometimes pausing the programme to discuss responses to climate change or international policies. While we didn’t learn any maths or history today, he said it wasn’t a day wasted.

      The dragon has been dozing since he was discovered in 1841, occasionally growling to himself and at the relentless researchers. Now he has roused, the world is watching him liquefy the rock surrounding his lair. The lava is flowing down to the ocean, and the ice in its path is exploding and turning into clouds of steam. Footage from the news helicopters shows great slabs of glacier breaking up and lurching towards the sea. This is not what concerns the scientists. They think Erebus is only the first to wake because of an instability deep below the continent, which will enrage a hundred of his cousins. If the Antarctic ice is lost, the consequences might ruin the entire planet.

      Our teacher said he didn’t want to worry us, but he had a duty to remind his class of the significance of the polar caps. The pristine white reflects the sun’s harsh light into space, keeping the Earth cool. If they dissipate, the past fifty years’ work to curb global warming will be undone. He called the volcanoes a catalyst, something that causes significant change, and predicted the loss of the arctic icepack within a year. The permafrost in the north locks up vast amounts of methane which, once released, will cause temperatures to rise. He referred to this as positive feedback.

      I worried on my way home.

      Sheng was waiting in the kitchen. The sun was setting as I entered the apartment, but he hadn’t turned the lights on. I was a little tetchy with him when I reached for the switch, yet Sheng remained quiet as I pressed it repeatedly. He waited for me to stop before speaking.

      ‘The electricity is down,’ he said calmly. ‘I’ve used your power bank to charge my band. I thought you wouldn’t mind.’

      I immediately checked the battery on my device: eighty-three per cent and a full signal. ‘It’s fine. I’ll be good for a week.’

      Sheng didn’t say anything else, he just leant against the counter, sending messages to his friends. I waved him out of the kitchen and checked the roster for details of our evening meal. I was unsurprised that Mom hadn’t returned yet; she often stays late at the church when people need her support. She is a volunteer but not an open advocate. My mother says I can go with her if I choose Christianity, but not merely because it’s what she expects. I have only been a few times and am yet to decide. Of course, we’re a nation of agnostics, even though most believe in something. Young people believe in technology and leave religion to their elders. Although he is only four years older than me, Sheng is already a declared atheist, but I still have time to make up my mind. I sent a message to Mom offering to cook and asking what time she would be home. It took twenty minutes for her to respond.

      My father works for the government and stays in Beijing one week each month, the rest of the time, he is at home. He left yesterday before Erebus awoke. We’re not supposed to contact him while he’s away on business because he has to focus on his job. Still, I wanted him to know he was in my thoughts, so I sent a photo of me smiling for him. He says my smile is true to my name. Daddy will be back on Saturday.

      I was happy to make dinner on my own, even though Sheng likes to cook for us. I found six self-igniting candles, carefully lit each one and arranged them in the kitchen. Once I switched on my band’s torch, it was bright enough, so I began slicing and dicing so that everything would be ready when Mom returned. Unlike my brother, the rest of the family tend to use preprepared sauces, which meant everything except the rice was ready. This was a problem: without power, I wouldn’t be able to use the rice cooker. I tapped my band and asked it for other options.

      I never found out.

      In parts of the world, the seas had risen by two to three metres in a single day. I watched video after video of the unhurried surge of water washing across beaches and along roads and into homes and shops and offices. I had expected a wave like the ones I drew as a child, but this was a change in the ocean’s boundary, the sea claiming the land for itself. The water seemed slow enough to outrun, but it was as terrifying as the Antarctic dragon. It churned up the dirt and filth in cities and countryside alike, with trees and cars and shacks mixed up in its swirling vengeance. The rising water was the cause of the power cuts: many generating stations are coastal, located to exploit the cooling waters. Without their contribution, the remaining infrastructure is struggling to meet the demand, and whole cities are dark.

      I gazed out of the window for maybe half an hour. The lights from cars and trucks picked out the street’s details, but the traffic signals and street lamps weren’t working. I wasn’t concerned about my mother because the buses were still running. I checked my band for messages: she would be home in half an hour. I tried calling her, but I couldn’t connect.

      ‘Sheng, do you have

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