9:07 AM, 16th of December, 1728.
Alexander and Aisha sat in the frontmost row of seats, closest to the casket. A solemn mood filled the air; hushed whispers and stifled sniffling could be heard all around. Seated closest to the center aisle was Alexander, with Aisha on his right and her father on hers. Further down was more of her immediate family, all of whom Alexander had no real personal relations with other than Jensen. Behind them sat those who were less acquainted with Nora, Aisha's mother. They were likely attending as either a formality or out of their admiration for Nora's work. Under usual tradition, Alexander would be seated further back, but as he had known Aisha as long as he could remember, he was able to sit up front with her.
The casket was closed, which was also the usual tradition, as they had no real way to preserve bodies. The mayor, Cain, was attending, holding a ceremonial position behind the casket, and would send off Nora's soul to rest with Order. He was well-built, but quite advanced in age; the wrinkles on his face and the hunch in his back were rather apparent. His most striking feature was his piercing blue eyes, which, when met, looked as if they were staring into your very soul. He called himself the mayor, but he was not an elected official; rather, he was the one to bring everyone together once the end of the world began over sixty years ago, following the rule of Order. After a small pause, he stood, placed his hands upon the casket, and began his speech.
"Nora was a very blunt person, and so I will keep this short so as not to bore her in her passing."
Chuckles could be heard throughout the crowd. "She was a great upkeeper of our gardens, and without her here, I believe our lives will feel a little more artificial than they already have. I ask that all of you pray with me, to our savior, Order, to ask that she be brought from this sanctuary unto His own. Maybe there she will be able to care for His gardens as well." Murmurs spread as prayers were muttered under the breaths of almost all attending.
As Alexander spoke his own prayers under his breath, he noticed that Aisha was silent even after the speech was over. Looking to his right, he found obvious hostility lacing her downcast eyes. After poking her shoulder to get her attention, he spoke in a hushed voice, "You're making it a little obvious how you feel, you know."
She jolted, as if awakened from a trance, and looked over at him, speaking in a low whisper. "Yeah, you're right. You're free tomorrow, right? Let's meet here same time tomorrow so we can talk it over some more." Without another word, she stood and began walking to leave the park. Cain stopped her for a moment, where they exchanged a few brief words, though Alexander heard none of it as he was lost in thought.
What had really happened to Nora? Her death was caused by a sudden deterioration in her health, said to be a rare genetic condition, completely incurable and disgustingly rapid in its effect. Everyone watched as her body quickly gave up on sustaining itself. But it was far too convenient.
Over the past few years, Nora had begun to doubt the legitimacy of their religion, questioning that if it was true that no life could exist outside the dome, why, then, was she able to sense the far-off call of plant life? And yet, no life was visible from the dome. It sat positioned in the center of a lake, with a grand stone wall sitting on the shore, nearly as tall as the dome itself. But what about past that wall? Thinking about it, Alexander could find no real reason, though, as to why they would have been lied to, or how that lie could be maintained for over sixty long years. But it didn't matter right now; he would worry about it tomorrow.
Right now, Alexander had something else to worry about: how unbelievably hungry he was. Though he didn't regret skipping breakfast. Thankfully, there were tables of food set up to eat at after the funeral had come to an end. One of the tables had breakfast foods laid out on it, accompanied by oranges as well as nutrient bars. After plating up eggs and sausage, Alexander threw a nutrient bar into one of his overcoat pockets for later. He didn't feel comfortable taking one of the oranges, as they were likely grown by Nora herself. The nutrient bar, on the other hand, was created by someone else's Authority, a man by the name of Graham. The bars were created by siphoning the nutrients from foods and condensing them. Graham commonly worked with the Doctor, whose Authority would leave those he healed lacking in nutrients. They were truly a convenient pair.
After finishing the food on his plate, Alexander said his goodbyes to Aisha's father, Cedric, as well as to Jensen. Most people hadn't left yet, but Alexander couldn't stand the gloomy atmosphere and saw no reason to be there after Aisha had left. There was also something else he needed to do.
-
Roughly the same distance between his home and the park, but in the opposite direction, was the city's singular library. It was the second most grandiose building in the city, sitting only behind the city hall. Walking through the doors, he greeted the city's only librarian, Elliot, who was chosen as the librarian when he was Blessed by Order. Order must have seen his Authority, which made his memory exceptional, as a good fit for a librarian. Elliot, who was uncharacteristically young for his role, was only a few years older than Alexander.
Stepping up to the desk that Elliot was seated at, Alexander spoke. "Do you know where I can find books documenting the end of the world?"
Looking up from a book he had his nose stuffed in, Elliot's expression brightened. "Ah, Alexander, it's great to see you! Of course I do, follow me this way." The two walked towards the back of the library, past every set of fully stocked shelves, each of which was so tall that a ladder would be required to reach the highest books.
"And here we are!" Elliot gestured toward a single shelf, which only held three books. "I know we don't have very many, but I hope they can satiate your thirst."
A little surprised, Alexander responded, "This is really it?"
"Well, it's not like many people lived to see the end of the world; we're all right here under this dome, aren't we?"
Alexander doubted his logic a little but didn't speak on it. After all, the end of the world didn't happen in a single moment; it was a series of events that took place over decades. Surely, people documented what was happening. "And what about books on improving your Authority?"
"They're only two aisles that way," He said, while pointing towards the front end of the library.
"Alright, well, thank you for the help, Elliot. Your memory is very impressive."
With that, Elliot gave a thankful nod and went back to his desk.
Deciding to start with the books on Authorities, Alexander walked over to the aisle Elliot had pointed out and grabbed the thickest book, hoping it would be more extensive than the rest. To his disappointment, it went no further than they were taught in school, with no mention of receiving a new Authority. After putting the book back and skimming through another, Alexander's disappointment deepened even more. The book presented the exact same information, only phrased differently.
Alexander had looked through dozens of books now, each one simply a paraphrasing of the last. Where were the theories, the new ideas? Every author was different, and yet they spoke about the subject as if they were the same.
Was Aisha an anomaly? Was she really the only one to experience this fundamental change in her Authority? He refused to believe it, not because he was envious, but rather because it didn't make logical sense. Authorities were granted by God, and the god of Order at that; a seemingly random outlier would be the complete opposite of order.
Done with the books on Authorities, Alexander made his way back to the back of the library and picked up the first of the three regarding the end of the world, titled simply "On the End of the World." It spoke of the death of the gods, with Time as the first to fall, though there was no mention of how they came to die. Following Time was Space, then Fate, Truth, and Life, in no particular order. After the death of Life, who was the last to die, the world itself became uninhabitable, the air was toxic, and the soil lacked any nutrients. All of life began to dwindle off, each death spawning a new terrible beast to roam the hellscape, until the only remaining god, Order, created a safe haven under a dome. The dome was only large enough to hold a few thousand humans, but it was a safe haven nonetheless.
The book was the only one of the three that wasn't read in their school curriculum, leaving Alexander to wonder why it wasn't taught. The author of the book was listed simply as 'Dolon', someone Alexander had never heard of until now. Alexander spent the next hour searching the library for any other books written by the same author, but found none. If they spoke about the dome, that would mean they would've lived to see it, so that was exactly who Alexander would look for next.