It started, like so great many things, on a Tuesday. All across the world, mankind went about their regular lives. Some went to work, some to school. Some were born, some died. There were hurricanes in some countries, tornadoes in the other, with a predominant sense of normality. Everything was not perfect, but everything was... right. The Earth spun its usual path, and its occupants still fought, loved, lived. But out of this perpetual state of routine and regularity spawned something no one would ever have predicted and something no one would ever quite be able to explain. Of course, they all tried to explain. If there is one thing to be sure of when it comes to humanity, it is that one can always rely on the humble strives of the outmatched and ignorant to try to comprehend that which is inherently unexplainable. Scientists studied the anomaly and found no solid proof of much at all. Religious worshipers spoke of long foretold prophecies, though few found much merit to those ideas either. Philosophers, too, contemplated the implications of the change, and fiercely debated the topic in dim, crowded rooms. Artists, politicians, businessmen; all sought to discover the meaning of what was happening, and what had caused it.

Reports around the world became flooding in simultaneously. The day had begun like any other, but the following days, months, decades, would certainly not. As the world went about its routine, suddenly, there was a single, resounding beat across the world. A short tremor, just a hint of vibration, barely noticeable. Actually, many didn't even notice the first beat. Those who did wrote it off as some movement of tectonic plates, or some trick of their minds, or some other chance occurrence. The next day, at the same time, the next beat struck. Once more it was dismissed and ignored. However, after a week or so of the daily beats, the world slowly began to expect the note, if not always consciously. It was now that everyone began investigating The Beat to find out what it was. A month passed with no change in the volume or rate of The Beats, and people tried to adapt. Those whose job it was to be precise and detailed decided to take breaks conveniently at those times. Important meetings and events were pushed aside to avoid any unwanted disturbances. While some chose to go about their lives normally, many people around the world stopped to take a moment, a breath, a beat out of their days to wonder about the latest mystery of life.

As time marched on, The Beat began to change. After a month, it occurred twice a day, and slightly louder. This only caused more controversy, investigation, and introspection. What was The Beat, and what did it mean? People now took two moments, two breaths, two beats out of their days to wonder about the latest mystery of life. After a year, it was hourly. After a five years, it occurred every few minutes. As The Beat became faster, it also became heavier, deeper, louder, stronger, and more violent. Most of the world was aware of The Beat at this point, and it had slowly begun slipping into references in culture, politics, and art. Hollywood and TV directors were infuriated as The Beat interjected during their filming. Politicians and businessmen angrily sought answers and ways to avoid The Beat. Musicians and dancers were upset as well, complaining that The Beat messed up their personal rythym. The Beat ruined lives as it knocked brides to the ground, interrupted important speeches, and otherwise reaked havoc on an innocent world. However, The Beat's impact was only just beginning.

After a decade had passed, The Beat had begun to sound every few seconds, thunderous and shaking. Conversations were difficult, and people now had to say only what they really needed to. The Beat offered a moment to think of what one wanted to say, and then the gap between Beats would provide enough time to say a short but effective sentence. Hollywood and TV directors now didn't bother trying to hide The Beat. Instead, they adapted The Beat into their storylines or sound effects, or even didn't address it at all. Musicians and dancers, too, began to change. The steady rythym of The Beat was used for new songs and dance moves, and even the average pedestrian had a slightly peppier step. The dances varied by culture, naturally, but were united under The Beat regardless of race, sex, age, or other differences. Profiteers took advantage of the situation, selling new products to either enhance the vibrations of The Beat or to limit them. “Shakers” became addicts of The Beat, wanting only more Beats, faster, louder, stronger Beats, while “Stillers” reveled in the old ways, wanting only the silence, peace, and calm. Medication soon evolved to meet these needs, and from it, new narcotics were created. Meanwhile, scientists, philosophers, and religious worshipers still argued about The Beat, though it was beginning to settle down. It was simply too difficult to talk over The Beat, and after all, if anything malicious was to come of it, surely it would have come by now? The conversations slowly died off as mankind grew accustomed to The Beat. It was simply becoming a part of every day life.

Soon enough, The Beat was very fast, and a new generation was taking over, a generation that had never lived without The Beat. Shakers and Stillers were a thing of the past, as no drug could knock out its power and no drug could make it any more powerful. Mankind now rarely spoke at all, occasionally writing or using hand signals, but primarily using dance to convey thoughts and ideas. The Beat was taking over, and now the unimportant things – music, TV, politics, education, science, relationships – were all brushed aside, secondary to the natural high of The Beat, from which all of culture and life was centered. Cults of The Beat rose and wiped out lesser dieties. Philosophers could no longer wonder what The Beat was, and rather accepted and gave in to its omnipotence. Life consisted of dancing, moving, shaking everywhere to do normal activities like eating, working, or communicating. Those who could not adapt were outcast from the society who had once loathed The Beat. Mass suicides and homicides were rampant over the world. Things were simpler, in a way, and everyone either agreed with The Beat, or was not around long enough to disagree. As The Beat grew worse and worse, louder and louder, stronger and stronger, faster and faster, so did the people it impacted. The Beat forced the world to adapt until there was only one type of person, one type of lifestyle, and one perpetual, thunderous Beat. There was soon only a single Beat, rumbling continuously as mankind struggled to move its feet to The Beat. They rushed around, frantically, in a panic, urgently, desperately trying to fix the issue of their slow legs, worrying about only themselves and the steady roar of The Beat in the sky, the ground, their bodies, their minds... The world cried, cringed, collapsed. Then, The Beat stopped.