The day was 23 September, 11.00 pm Kenyan time. Those who had been lying on their beds stared at their screens as their social media feeds screens froze. For the average people they tried to recharge their airtime but they were met with a connection problem pop-up message. The privileged ran downstairs to their routers and tried to restart them but to no avail. ''I should call my internet provider,'' they thought to themselves. Back in their room, they paced back and forth as they dialed their network provider number. To their shock calls were also not going through. They later after trying every way possible to know what the cause of the internet failure, landed with no success. They lay with their eyes on the ceiling after taking their sleeping peels. ''Tomorrow everything will fall back into place," they encouraged themselves.
The second group, like sleeping dogs, their fate would be in the was still to come. In their dreams, they dreamed of being famous. They saw themselves being followed around by the paparazzi. They stood just for the respect of their fans and listened to their interviewers.
"Maam, what would you like to say to your 249 million followers about your beauty brand? "One of the interviewers asked.
"I am going to push the boundaries with Fans Beauty. Make-up is a secret weapon that I would love my fans to embrace. I would like to thank my fans for the support they have given me. I promise them that Fans Beauty is going to mind everyone's unique skin tone.''
In the morning they woke up late as usual and stretched their hands to where they had placed their phones the previous night. They were met with zero notifications. When they saw the no connection sign, they concluded it was something they could just work out. They got up and headed to the dining table. The morning greetings from their parents were responded with questions. They wanted to know if their parents had sorted out the internet bill. When they found out that was not the cause and that even their parents were not able to make calls to work, they sat in disbelief and tried to fathom what could be the cause of this catastrophe.
The last group was the happiest type. It was made up of the babies and their grandparents. The babies stared at their parents and siblings in wonder. They tried to register these new faces that were always hidden behind their screens. For many, it was the first time they ever had a decent look at their parents. Everybody's attention was directed to the babies as they were the only fan thing to look at this moment of despair. The babies on the other hand had always waited for this moment. They made their baby steps and everyone looked surprised. "Wow, the baby just made their first step, let me record so that I can post this as soon the network is back. I am sure it will get over ten thousand likes. If only the babies could speak and say that they had been making their baby steps for the last month and no one noticed. Nevertheless, this was a moment to enjoy as they were the stars of the moment.
The grandmothers tried to initiate a conversation and everyone listened.
"When I was young. There were no phones, radios or televisions. We would sit under a tree and listen to stories from our grandparents. Sometimes we would narrate the stories to each other by ourselves. We were not occupied by the television like this spoilt generation. We would play hide and seek…" Their short moment of glory was cut shot when the teenagers shouted, "Television!" The grandmothers wished they had never reminded everyone about those noisy boxes.
Everyone's eyes shone as they watched the teenagers switch the sockets. They all waited patiently for the magic to happen.
"Put on the news, "the fathers said.
"Papa but who watches the news in this era? "Everyone responded.
"Don't you want to know what is happening with the network? "The fathers asked.
For the first time, everyone agreed with the fathers. The teenagers switched on the television and everyone waited. "NO SIGNAL. 'At this point, the "boxes" seemed to be mocking everyone. The grandmothers tried to hold their smiles. This was the best day of their lives.
The news of the internet breakdown spread like wildfire. The men met under the village tree and unlike before today there was much to say.
"The leaders of this country want to undermine progress in every way possible. When they were campaigning, they promised us that they were going to boost the economy. For the last three years, they have not been able to fulfill that. And now, this internet failure, the government should know better about what the internet plays in the economy. It is so sad that I cannot even access my money on my mobile bank. These corrupt leaders want to steal all the money we have been saving for months!''
There was however a group of people who spread more fear than hope. They were the conspiracy theorists. They talked of government control, Artificial Intelligence takeover and alien invasion. The children who were the audience to this group sat down as the conspiracy theorists narrated the cause of the dooms day.
"For the last few months, we have been warned about this but only a few were keen to listen. David Grush, a former American intelligence official, spoke before the House of Congress about the possession of UFOs and non-human bodies. Many also laughed it off when alien corpses were unveiled in Mexico's parliament. It is not a surprise that an AI, which is an invasion that man has been warned about after becoming self-aware has collaborated with the aliens and powerful people in the government to test and observe human reaction, "one of the conspiracy theorists said.
That night, the children found it hard to close their eyes. They recalled every word that those conspiracy theorists said. They squeezed their Bibles into their chest hoping that it would save them from the aliens. When their mothers sensed their fear through their blankets when tucking them in, they whispered, "Tomorrow everything will fall back into place. When it does, I'll ask your papa to let you watch your favorite channel all day." What they did not know is that the world as they knew it had come to a screeching halt.
The next few weeks, screens went blank and phones turned into mere pieces of glass. People held newspapers that had gone back to their former glory in their hands. They read, PANIC AS AIRPORTS, STOCK MARKETS, TRAFFIC LIGHTS AND PETROL STATIONS DESCEND INTO A PANDEMODIUM. People, who were once lively, wandered the streets like ghosts. They would occasionally stare at their screens in disbelief. Couples found themselves staring at the walls of the silent rooms in realization that they had been living parallel lives online and not in flesh. At the dinner table everyone stared at their food startled that they did not know how to talk to one another.
In the neighborhood, everyone woke to the news of suicide deaths. One of the victims had written before committing the unspeakable,
"To my dear parents, I am really sorry to have brought you this sudden suffering. I however did not know how to live in this alien world. I cannot live the fact that I have lot my news anchoring job. I cannot think of any other way as I even find it hard to initiate conversations with people When the internet is back, please inform my TikTok fans that I tried to fight."
Those who were left behind tried to hold in hope that their past would be restored.
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In the dimly lit room, Angel tucked herself with her blankets trying to escape the noise that was now echoing in her walls. Sometimes the noise would go down with distant murmurs and then she would hear a break of a glass followed by a shout of pain. The noise was a blend of angry words but never clear enough for one to make sense of what was being said. Her small sister, Zuri sleeping beside her seemed to be the most shaken. It was not the first time they were experiencing the sharp and piercing words of their parents arguing. As long as Angel could remember, she was already accustomed to their arguments. She had once made a joke to herself that she did not even need an alarm as her parents were enough for the task.
Every morning, the walls of their house would tremble from the heated conversations coming from her parents' bedroom. What worried her was her small sister, Zuri, whenever these arguments started, she could tremble and lose her sleep. Today was rather an unusual day, unlike the other days when she could not hear a word of what her parents were arguing about, the words penetrated her ears like a dagger.
"I am not going to live with your disrespectful sister? I'd rather leave with my daughters."
"My sister is welcome to live with us as long as she wishes. It's rather an unusual time Josephine, she no longer has a job due to the internet breakdown "
"Everyone is suffering but that does not leave the room for your sister in this house."
"Just say you want the whole house to yourself so that when am gone you can continue bringing your boyfriend over. Did you think I would not know? Just because there are no phones for the neighbors to alert me does not mean that your infidelity will not be uncovered."
Angel could not continue listening anymore. She put her hands over her ears but they did her no justice. She thought she heard a thud, slowly she moved her hands from her ears, there was noise from objects clattering and then a painful struggle. "I have to do something," she thought. She ran downstairs ready to talk down her parents from fighting.
"Papa! "She exclaimed at the sight before her.
"Am sorry dear, I had nothing to do with this. She slipped!''