2042 A.D.

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{{{{World War 3: “The War of Decimation”

A short essay by: Harold Reem

The world didn’t end in 2012, but it came close in 2018 and the following years.  In 2018, tensions that had been building up in the Middle East for decades finally exploded.  The long dreaded World War 3 had arrived.

Unlike in previous wars, the United States was one of the first nations to join the war.  Civil War in the Middle East meant the world was nearly cut off from our precious fossil fuels, and the constant attacks on U.S. soil prompted the nation to join.  Reserve units were called in, and drafting was reinstated.  The amount of people in the United States military more than quadrupled in the next several years.

The war lasted for 13 years (2031), and the U.S had the largest amount of casualties of any one country.  There were 2,127,900 military deaths, 3,253,620 wounded, and an unspecified amount M.I.A.  There were 32,120 civilian deaths, and 65,250 civilians wounded – this all in the United States alone.  

In total, there were 27,259,400 military deaths, and 45,518,600 injured.  Civilian deaths were numbered at 5,833,200 deaths, and 8,162,500 injured – these are considered low estimates.

There wasn’t an option of winning this war.  Most of the Middle Eastern armed forces were destroyed.  The war ended when a global cease fire was called and agreed upon to end the terror that had been reigning for thirteen years.  

Now, 11 years after the war ended, we are still rebuilding and dealing with our aftermath.  Many countries demilitarized, including the United States (who didn’t have many troops left anyways).  The United States decided to close itself off from the rest of the world because of the large number of casualties.  They focused their efforts on education, and on new military technology.  This way the United States can stay demilitarized, even as opens its doors back up to the rest of the world.}}}}

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Professor Jonathan Brint gave the off command to the projector he had been using and sighed wearily.  He’d been listening to students’ essays all day.   He stood up, stretched, and shoved his students’ hologram chips into his messenger bag.  He had a long weekend of grading ahead of him, so he needed to head home and get some sleep.

He looked around his office as he was about to leave and sighed.  He walked back to his chair, putting his bag down.  He needed to clean his office before he left.  There were papers strewn everywhere, his chairs were covered in books, his trashcan was overflowing, and there was still food on his desk from lunch.

The professor bent down to take care of the trash when he heard glass shatter. He stood up quickly and started to cough and gasp as gas made its way around the room.

Through the tears and gas, he saw several bulgy forms pile through the broken window and start coming towards him.  He turned to run, but in his panic he couldn’t find the door and ran into a wall.

Someone grabbed him from behind and shoved a damp cloth over his mouth and nose.  He struggled and thrashed around, but the combination of pain and confusion from the gas, and the drowsiness that was overcoming him, made him unable to get away.

After the professor had passed out, the men who had come for him quickly aired out and tidied up the room.

“We’ve got him.  Subject 7 has been secured,” A man said into his headset.

“Good.  Get him back to the base. And don’t forget to fix the window this time!” called a voice from the headset.

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