Teen Ink

Prologue

NIXON ARRESTED FOR SUBSTANCE X
Bradley Nixon, founder of Clean Power Incorporated, has been life sentenced to jail. Nixon, once thought to have solved energy needs by replacing the use of fossil fuels with Substance X, is no longer seen as a hero. When Substance X was first created in December 2230, officials, eager to have solved a major problem, overlooked the potential health problems. With its past of an efficient coal cleaning process and successful nuclear fusion, many figured nothing could be wrong with Substance X.
A few years after the creation of Substance X, which survey’s show is the country’s number one energy source by a landslide, an epidemic, known as the Dark Epidemic, began. With brain scans, doctors have traced the cause back to Substance X. One of three families has reported having one or more family members that have come down with the epidemic. Nixon failing to reveal the contents of creation has proved to be a fatal mistake. When a person breathes in Substance X over a long period of time, it begins to affect one’s brain cells. Over time, these cells become mutated. However, this isn’t just brain cancer.
Patients insist that they are hearing voices, even though no one is talking. They begin to hallucinate, gradually going crazy. There is currently no cure, and once one comes down with it they will surely die.
Human volunteers to run experiments on are very scarce. Doctors say they need to run tests on a human being with the disease in order to find any possible antidotes.
“When I first created Substance X, I had no idea what it would cause,” Nixon admitted at his trial, “I’m very sorry for not revealing its contents.”
It is a little too late for sorry. Because Substance X has been an energy source for most things, it will be very difficult to completely stop the use of it. Meanwhile, millions of lives are being lost. Some areas, where use of Substance X was heavy, are completely wiped out.
“We were too optimistic,” Dr. Henry Stallins claims, “We were so eager to find a solution to our energy problem. When one came around, we were too quick to take it.”
Solar panels, wind turbines and dams are being built at an impressive rate. However, this kind of energy cannot be provided just anywhere.
Reluctantly, the use of fossil fuels is coming back. With its relative cheapness and availability, to many it seems like the only option in this desperate situation. The supply is quickly diminishing, so this solution would be very brief. A temporary fix to a huge problem.
Clean Power Incorporated, as well as many other industries, will be gradually shut down and replaced. During this gradual process, a devastating number of lives will be lost.
“One day, we will find a solution to our energy needs,” a jury member from the trial states, “I just hope that I will be able to live to see it.”