The Iron Cloud

A short story written by Fawad Rathore with PlotWeaver: Cards of Creation, a storytelling game made by Mod Hob Cooperative.

This story uses an Inverted Plot Pattern, written in 15-minute timed acts with all story cards drawn at random. For more information, visit www.plotweavergame.com

Act 1: Immediate Conflict or Crisis

Story Elements: The Shadow, Floating Islands, Isolation, and Science Fiction

Today is a new day, he thought, looking out the circular window of the space station. The shadow of the past seemed to be diminishing before his eyes. He could see bright lights flickering back on as he looked at the dark side of the Earth, though it was not as bright or crowded as before. Still, it was a glimmer of hope. It had been four years; time had moved so slowly during that first year, he remembered. He had hoped for communication from Earth for a long time.

Someone had tried to connect with him today, and his heart had beaten so fast he thought it might give out. He had been tending to the atrium module, though his options for what he could grow were limited. Rationing food and water had been a constant struggle, made worse by the knowledge that the world may have fallen back into the dark ages, leaving him to die of hunger alone.

But today, someone had reached out on a Ham radio channel... what an odd thing, he thought. They informed him that because of rapid solar storms four years ago and non-stop wars, the people below had lost almost everything. They hurriedly explained they didn’t have much power, but someone would connect with him again soon, as things slowly came back to life. Four years ago, the people on Earth had destroyed their own infrastructure; meanwhile, living outside the atmosphere above the clouds, he had been left isolated with only rationed food, water, oxygen, and silence.