The Chronicle

It was an otherwise routine Monday morning July 6, 2026 when the world changed.

In retrospect it was a sad commentary on the state of culture in New York City that a man with pale blue skin, white hair, and inhumanly sapphire blue eyes could suddenly pop out of thin air and attract absolutely no attention. New Yorkers were obviously accustomed to seeing much worse.

It was some months after the fact that surveillance video was finally released to the public that detailed the man appearing at New York City's Robert Moses Playground and then walking towards the United Nations Headquarters on the next block. He was wearing a light blue suit with an orange tie and white shoes. Aside from the rest of his appearance he was dressed quite fashionably for what would be a warm summer day.

The man was quite proper and entered the UN via the visitor's entrance. The leery security staff asked him to state his business and he politely said, "I am here to present my credentials as a diplomat."

Little did the security staff realize that world history would hinge on the three words one of their number uttered in reply; "Sure you are."

On that verbal cue one of the security staff radioed for NYPD to meet them at the security gate where a "10-50 disorderly" would be turned over to them. The security staff then placed their hands on the man and forcibly escorted him to the security gate.

What happened when the NYPD took custody of the man remains a mystery. There are conflicting official accounts and each of the official accounts is considered by scholarly researchers as bullshit.

Regardless of the official accounts of the event the man was beaten to death by the police officers who took him into custody. His blue blood not being recognized as blood, one of the officers admitted to being angered when the blood got on his clothes and he thought the man was some sort of protester who had intended to use blue paint to send some message to the UN.

The following day no one noticed when a second similar man appeared at the park and made his way to the same UN visitor's entrance.

"Hey look, it's another one." said one of the security staff. They quickly surrounded the man intending to repeat the previous day's atrocities. The man did not seem impressed by this show of force.

"What are you here for?" one of them asked the man.

"You killed our diplomat and so I am here to notify you people that there is now a state of war between us."

One of the security staff decided that this was a threat and he went to attack the man as part of the process of taking him into custody. Per their training they'd gang up on the man, overpower him, and violently tackle him to the ground before handcuffing him. They'd very likely beat the shit out of him while yelling "STOP RESISTING!" to excuse their actions. So like the predators they were, the other officers moved to attack the man at the same time.

And they all burst into clouds of ash.

They were instantly and completely immolated but with their clothes and weapons and badges falling to the floor unscathed.

A woman screamed.

The man calmly walked forward to the reception desk as yet more security staff came running in his direction. One of these new security staff launched himself at the man intending to tackle him to the ground. The man did not react as his erstwhile attacker also burst into a cloud of ash.

A security staffer drew his pistol and aimed it at his target. As he was about to fire the weapon he, too, burst into a cloud of ash. His weapon falling to the carpet with an audible thud.

None of this upset the man. He calmly spoke to the dismayed receptionist, "Your people killed our diplomat and I am here to inform you of a state of war between our worlds. Good day."

With that he vanished.

The surveillance recordings of this encounter were long suppressed by the UN and I was allowed to see them. They didn't dare refuse me.

Most of the world was unaware of this new war as they went about their usual daily business.

Near the Philippine Islands a Chinese warship closed on an unarmed Philippine transport that was taking supplies to Philippine soldiers on an island claimed by China. The Chinese captain intended to hit the cargo ship broadside and sink it. He did not care if he killed any of the enemy.

The Philippine ship evaded the Chinese warship with a sudden maneuver and the Chinese ship sailed by. The Philippine crew scratched their heads in wonder as the Chinese ship never changed course and soon ran aground on a nearby and well marked reef.

When the Philippine coast guard investigated they found no crew left alive on the Chinese ship. Just dust everywhere.

In Yazd, Iran a man named Bazod Mahini was sipping the tea brought to him by his new wife. A few months before he had raped the young woman and the local Islamic court 'punished' him by forcing his victim to become his wife. The man abused her daily. This day he would abuse her for not putting enough sugar in his tea and as he got up to go beat her he disappeared in a cloud of dust. Afsaneh would later clean up the mess and throw it away saying a grateful prayer to Allah for His mercy to her.

In a minor public agency in the United States a manager named Senita Green had finally found a way to get rid of the old white man who worked in her office. He had failed to use the designated pronouns for someone who went by the genderless name 'Gnip Gnop'. The old white man had cancer and losing his job meant losing his medical benefits. Senita liked the idea that she would be killing the man. She went to her computer to file the termination and burst into ashes.

On a playground in England the schoolyard bully had cornered his latest victim. Michael Scott, eleven years old, was about to beat Devon Heeley, who was just six years old. As Michael raised his fist he burst into ash.

Just outside of Little Rock, Arkansas it was Deputy Rick Allen who had stopped a young woman from out of state. She hadn't done anything wrong but she had a sticker on her car from an out of state college. Rick loved arresting college girls. He loved feeling them up on the side of the road and even getting his fingers in their pussies. He got out of his car and went to the driver's side window where he demanded ID from the driver. She was a teenager and she looked fresh. On the way back to his car he decided he'd be raping this one. And with that he burst into ash. The young driver didn't see this happen and after a while she drove away and made it to her college quite safely.

In a Colorado prison two competing gangs prepared to fight it out over who would control access to the new inmates, or 'fish' as they were called. A guard triggered an alarm as the two gangs faced off and then as they charged each other they disappeared in a cloud of ash. A search for the missing inmates followed but of course they were not to be found.

On the 110 freeway in Los Angeles talent agent Morty Brown was, as usual, driving like an asshole. This is because Morty Brown was an asshole. He'd paid a handsome sum for his custom BMW and he felt that this gave him the right to do what he wanted to do on the road. 'Fuck everyone else', he thought. This day he knew he was risking an accident by cutting off some 'useless bitch' in a Kia and he knew she could get hurt but he was going to do it anyway. After all, he was so much more important than she was, right? He turned to dust behind the wheel and the vehicle's computer immediately sensed the absence of a driver and safely pulled the car to the side of the road where it shut down.

All over the world it was the same story. Anyone who tried to cause any harm to anyone else would burst into ash.

In that first day the global estimate is that over one hundred million people died. In retrospect the number of dead and why they died betrayed just how violent human society had become.

Over the coming days and weeks various people came to the realization that if you didn't try to hurt anyone you'd be fine. For many people this posed no challenge. For other people for whom violence was a way of life, they died in droves.

Terrorists, criminals, drug cartel leaders, violent spouses of both sexes, violent parents, sadistic prison guards, sadistic prisoners, bullies, child molesters, no end of law enforcement officers, soldiers, they all turned to dust and died. Even when they knew better too many of them couldn't stop themselves from doing what they felt was their right to do: harm other people.

A year later the world had become a remarkably different place.

Elderly people could go outside late at night, go to a bank and withdraw money, and no one would dare to even think of robbing them.

Children could play outside any time of the day and their parents knew they didn't need to worry for their safety.

The global population of over eight billion had fallen to just over five billion.

Several demographic groups around the globe had lost distressingly high numbers of their men and particularly their young men. For cultural reasons many of these people could not live without committing violence against others so in due time they did not exist.

The disparity in humanity's male-to-female ratio led to polygamy being adopted in places where it otherwise would not have been accepted. No one was able to stop it even if they wanted to.

Authoritarian regimes around the world crumbled when their people were no longer afraid of them. Their governments and their armies were not overthrown but simply ignored. Violence and death no longer held sway over human existence. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans famously walked out of their concentration camps and tore down the border between North and South Korea.

An unexpected consequence of the new reality was with many people choosing to openly carry firearms wherever they wanted. In some places government agents initially acted to kill the people who would dare carry arms but then those government agents would themselves turn to dust.

Cooler heads eventually prevailed and the realization was made that anyone who carried a firearm was completely incapable of using it to hurt anyone, so why care if someone did this?

Militaries around the world were mostly abolished or transformed into service agencies. Prisons were emptied and demolished.

Drinking and driving turned into drinking and dusting for those who tried to drive while inebriated or impaired.

The effects of the war even extended to financial crimes where the fraudsters knew they were causing harm. Call centers in India were hardest hit. Pickpockets had a habit of dusting themselves. On occasion, so did shoplifters.

Violent religions around the world no longer held their adherents in thrall. The threat of beheading someone for leaving a cult could not be enforced. The more peaceful religions prospered especially in countries where they had been banned.

When a Catholic church opened its doors in Beijing the newly appointed Bishop stood outside smiling and he welcomed people knowing that the police and the Communist Party of China were powerless to do anything about it. Not long after this there were no more police and the Communist Party voted to disband itself. No one cared to stop it when someone set fire to the Great Hall of the People.

Political movements led by people who craved violence and destruction were soon leaderless and they disbanded.

People were better behaved in public. Pushing and shoving were known to cause dustings.

Giving someone an angry look for no good reason was also a known cause of dustings. Lots of people were unable to complete the popular phrase, "What the fuck you lookin' at?" without turning to dust.

People's priorities shifted now that the fear of violence and the desire for violence had been obliterated.

Cultures shifted.

In the West rap music declined as so many famous rappers turned to dust. With the advent of a much more peaceful society it also occurred that the themes of racism and violent oppression that had made rap popular were now wholly absent and the popularity of the genre declined.

For myself the impact was stark. For almost twenty years I'd made a good living as a stringer, an independent reporter who would report on murders, rapes, robberies, drunk drivers, and assaults.

After the war started I reported on the dustings. Sometimes they were tragic like when one sibling would try to hurt a sister or a brother.

Sometimes it was darkly comical. The attention whore guy who threatened to jump off a building and into a crowd of people turning to dust when he actually tried to do it.

There was also lots of justice. Lots of justice.

Abusive bosses who didn't care that they were hurting their employees. Judges and district attorneys who knowingly tried to keep innocent people in prison or even worse, put them to death.

Dustings occurred wherever one person was doing harm to another.

And I documented it all. I did so right from the start.

Which is why I got a visit from a pale blue man one day.

I was sitting on the couch in my apartment and wasting a day watching old episodes of 'Battlestar Galactica' when I noticed him sitting in my recliner.

"Uh...hi?" I said to him.

"Hello, James. I am certain you know who I am so I will dispense with the formalities. I am here to inform you that we have selected you to be The Chronicle. You will create the authoritative account of this war and of what has transpired since the war began. You will have access to our means of travel and you will travel with our authority. Your record, a chronicle, will be a reference for your species as the years to come unfold."

"That's a lot to take in." I said as I sat up. "You people are hiring me to be your reporter?"

His face looked like one of those statues from Easter Island.

"Yes. But we will call you The Chronicle. This is a title of respect in our society and your account of the war will also be our official reference."

"Can I ask some questions?"

"Proceed." he replied as he folded his hands in his lap.

I picked up a pad of paper and a pen, "Okay, let's start at the beginning. I know you sent a diplomat to the UN and he got killed and that's what set off the war, right?"

"Yes."

"Why did you want to send us a diplomat?"

His stone face showed a little emotion, "I can see why you were selected to be The Chronicle. Not many of your cohort would start with that question. We sent a diplomat to establish ties and trade with your people."

"Trade?" I wrote that down. "What do we have that you don't?"

"Bear with me and do as I ask. Draw something on your paper, the one you are making notes on."

"Uh, sure." I did a quick line drawing of him sitting in my recliner and showed it to him.

"This is what we seek from you. You see, our people have created order and we have eliminated chaos. But controlled chaos is necessary for creativity and for a species to prosper and not stagnate. We are orderly but stagnant. Together we can be orderly and creative. Do you understand?"

I looked at the line drawing and then at him, "I don't get it, what's this sketch have to do with what you're saying?"

"I asked you to use your note paper for a purpose other than what you were intending to use it for and you did. Among my people such a request is impossible to even attempt. I am rare because I can conceptualize doing so. Thus I am here."

I nodded and wrote. "Okay, next question is when will the war end?"

He cocked his head, "You are wondering when we will let you go back to killing each other?"

"Yeah, I guess that's what I'm saying. I didn't think of it that way."

"There will be a time but it is many years from now. Centuries really." He looked around my apartment.

"Why so long?" I asked.

"Because we will be gifting you technologies that you could use to harm others and not just on your planet but elsewhere. Absent our restraint you might adopt unfortunate ideas."

Had to give it to him, "Yeah, you're right."

We spent more time talking and working out my job description.

I did not understand how it worked, but he gave me the ability to go anywhere I wanted to just by speaking my destination. I tried it and he and I ended up at a sweet little cafe in Florence, Italy. We had the Ossobuco special and my new friend paid in Euros.

After that I went home and got in a night's sleep. The next day someone called to tell me my new house was waiting for me and they gave me the address. Speaking it out loud I was instantly there.

Nice place. On a lake. Just what I'd always dreamed about and far removed from my tiny urban apartment.

My friend called a press conference at the UN and announced me to the media as The Chronicle and explained to them what he had explained to me.

In the years to follow I documented the war and the various stories attached to it. It was the small stories I liked the most, like the one I heard from Afsaneh after she was elected President of Iran. She relished the justice of the Islamic fundamentalists dusting themselves when they were unable to embrace peace. Iran was still a religious country but now it was just as free as anywhere else. There was no choice in the matter.

The trip to see North Korea after unification was rewarding. New homes were rising and families were busy being happy. It wasn't something I'd ever expected to see in my lifetime.

My visit with the President of The United States was one of the most unsettling. The guards outside the White House were now called guides. The security fence had been removed. When I was escorted to the Oval Office the President was sitting alone and unguarded.

"You don't have any Secret Service guys with ear buds and hidden microphones?" I asked.

She laughed, "No, there's no need. No one can hurt me. I also travel coach most of the time. We're saving a fortune on fuel this way."

Her predecessor had been dusted when he'd ordered the Department of Justice to use force to disarm anyone seen carrying a firearm in public. Her first day in office she consulted with Congress and rapidly passed a law revoking all firearms laws. She didn't want anymore people dying while needlessly enforcing gun laws.

She'd balanced the Federal budget by ending the military. The Coast Guard was expanded and they absorbed the parts of the Navy that were useful to them.

That bit about the budget met with opposition from Wall Street and the banking cartels. Within a day or so the opposition was dust and her agenda moved forward.

She invested into the nation by rebuilding railroads, roads, bridges, hospitals, and schools. She admitted she was still dealing with corruption but it was much less than before. Corrupt people had a habit of getting dusted for the harm they caused.

She gave me permission to come directly to her office whenever I wanted to. Then I went home.

On my fiftieth birthday I noticed that I was looking pretty good. I'd never been much for mirrors in my house and never needing to stay anywhere else I rarely saw my own image.

When I spoke to my friend I asked him about this.

"We fixed your body for you. You will not age anymore. Age does not serve our purpose for you. You are The Chronicle."

This was news! "What? You mean immortality comes with the job?"

"Yes. You will be witness to the change in your people and your record will be the reference for future generations."

All of this started one thousand years ago.

Today is July 6, 3026.

And I still look like I'm roughly thirty-five. Okay, maybe thirty-six.

Human society has progressed a very long way from when I started my work as The Chronicle. We're on other planets. We work closely with our friends and in 2845 when we had the choice to end the thing that dusts evil people we chose to make it permanent. But it was then our choice and the war officially ended.