Greetings from 2032

Oh hello there. How’s it going? It’s been ten years since I last wrote. I thought I’d bring you up to speed on the latest developments.

Shortly after the 2024 election fighting broke out in the Southern and Western states, much as was predicted for months. One faction had been promoting violent uprisings if their candidate lost and violent reprisals if he won. Once the supreme court was called in to rule on the ballots in traditional rust belt states, their decision was immediately in favor of the candidate calling the election process into question. It was slow at first, skirmishes here and there. Flatbeds of militia bringing their modified arsenals into urban centers and opening fire on people of color and those perceived not to be Christian. By the second year of the contested presidency, the fighting was so intense, Loyalist troops were selected from the former US Army after vetting their voting records and social media profiles. An uneasy calm fell over cities as resistance fighters were executed or able to seek asylum in neighboring countries.

In 2026 and 2028 the ruling party secured supermajorities in the house and senate. Election reform was instituted and citizenship granted based on blood purity and religious purity standards. International condemnation was swift but toothless as Europe was itself in the throws of resurgent nationalism and China was rocked by the outbreak of a flu strain proving to be 30% lethal. Most international travel to the US had ceased in the years since violence broke out but the flu managed to make it into the US either from human smugglers helping remaining resistance fighters into Mexico and returning patients who had crossed into Canada for affordable medical care. Canada and Mexico immediately closed their borders to the US and all within two years one-third of the population (roughly 100 million)  had died from the flu. While a vaccine was available, the US government refused to cooperate with the WHO, insisting on developing their own vaccine. Most of the elite doctors and scientists had long since fled the country so the vaccine, produced in the laboratories of Liberty University was not effective. The official death toll will never be known due to political interference.

At the start of the new decade, a loose nuke fell into the hands of an extremist offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and was detonated in Washington D.C. Having been the subject of religious cleansing, the Mormon factions radicalized quickly against the Evangelical ruling elite. Many of the non-citizen residents of the US were forced to choose sides between oppressors. They instead chose to band together, seizing the opportunity to form small enclaves within the mountains of the American West. With the government facing a two-front civil war they found themselves quickly losing power. The dominant majority now found itself outnumbered after having fractured the country into ethnic and religious territories. The election of 2030 was postponed.

From the new capital in Palm Beach, Florida, the president issued a statement calling on citizen patriots to begin rounding up and executing “enemies of the people.” Whatever remained of social order collapsed almost immediately. The US was entering its second year without regular electricity or running water. Many of the original government officials who facilitated what is largely understood to be the coup of 2024 had fled to Saudi Arabia to avoid extradition on charges of war crimes. Shortly after the president’s announcement, the Greenland Ice Shelf collapsed and many of the world’s coastal cities were lost within a matter of months. The US capital moved from the now submerged Palm Beach to Austin Texas. However, very few citizens and non-citizen residents were aware of this move as the breakdown of infrastructure made it impossible for news to spread faster than word of mouth. Most Americans were too preoccupied with finding clean water to notice the change.

In 2032 the president died during a wet heat bulb event in Texas — where temperatures exceeded the body’s ability to regulate. Approximately 4 to 7 million Americans died in the event where temperatures exceeded 46 degrees Celsius and 80% humidity for a month. He was on board Air Force One, unable to take off due to the extreme temperatures. Without enough jet fuel to keep the HVAC system running, first, the crew perished, then eventually the president. The US has officially been categorized as a Failed State joining the ranks of most developing world nations in Africa and the Middle East. Canada has begun construction of a border wall to prevent starving migrants who threaten to overload their country. It is hoped that as the former tundra opens up Canada will be able to expand its population — but this cannot happen fast enough for the refugees pouring in through Washington State.