The Ice Age.
That was the name people eventually gave to the aftermath of the tragedy of 2072. Personally I always thought the name sounded exaggerated, because the real Ice Ages of Earth's past had lasted thousands of years, but history rarely cares about perfect accuracy.
If anything, the period would have been better described as a modern ice age or perhaps a pseudo ice age. My professor began explaining what happened after the earthquake, and the lecture hall slowly fell quiet again as he spoke.
"Several massive volcanic eruptions followed the seismic disturbances," he said while writing across the digital board behind him.
"Ash and debris filled the atmosphere and blocked sunlight across large regions of the planet. Temperatures dropped rapidly, oceans froze near their northern boundaries, and for several years the world existed under a permanent grey sky."
The global cooling lasted until the year 2075.
Entire ecosystems collapsed during those years, food chains disappeared overnight, and the surviving human population struggled simply to stay alive.
But strangely enough, that part of the lecture was not what held my attention the most. What fascinated me was something else entirely.
Chrono Exchange.
The technology that our world now balances on. It was during those frozen years that the system was first invented, when governments and scientists searched desperately for ways to stabilize collapsing economies and shrinking populations.
Chrono Exchange gave humanity something it had never possessed before: the ability to control the pace of aging itself.
You could donate years of your life in exchange for money, or purchase additional years if you could afford the cost.
Most people knew about the system, and many used it regularly. Some traded years away just to enjoy a comfortable life for a short time, while others spent decades saving money in hopes of buying a few extra years before the end.
In this world an average person rarely lived beyond thirty.
Some people were satisfied with twenty. Others settled for fifteen.
A few stubborn souls worked their entire lives just to add five more years to their existence.
I suppose it all comes down to perspective.
Before I realized it, the lecture had ended. Perhaps it felt shorter simply because I had been too absorbed in it, but by the time I looked up the hall had already begun to empty.
Students rushed toward the exits like prisoners suddenly granted freedom.
Teenagers, I thought quietly to myself. Acting like children. I finished writing the last lines of my notes and folded my tablet carefully into the pocket of my jacket, preparing to leave as well.
That was when I heard footsteps approaching from behind me.