The year was 2024. All of the world's nuclear power plants were convinced to allow their operations to be coordinated on Cordona Blockchain Smart Contracts after furious marketing from their leader Bob Hoskins (not the actor). Little did the world know that these smart contracts were little more than vapourware, incapable of running even the most simple of tasks!
As the migration continued and warnings ignored as FUD, the world's nuclear energy supply became a ticking time bomb. As more and more engineers we consigned to FUD chambers the system could no longer manage and the world's nuclear power plants went into meltdown.
The humans scrambled to protect themselves but the radiation began to cover the planet wiping out all trace of human life.
Most other species had nowhere to hide and suffered a similar fate, but one canny species had a little known advantage. The otters around the world retreated to their dens and hunkered down. Their proximity to water supplies kept the ground cool enough and gave them ample drinking supplies.
As the events outside unfolded the otters were not unscathed. The radiation penetrated their dens as they slept and began to transform them. They grew in size and their brains began to develop at an accelerated rate. After what seemed like an eternity the first otters began emerging from their dens. These seven were the most advanced otters, the Magnificent 7!
They quickly began adopting the traits and styles of their fallen human counterparts. Wearing their clothes, enjoying their leisure activities. As more otters emerged across the globe, new styles appeared. They became known as Ottez.
The Humans' infrastructure was in ruins but that did not matter. The Ottez would create new dens where humans had lived and the Magnificent 7 set about building the Great Crypt where they would reside and rule over the Ottez.
The Ottez found only a single technology that had survived the humans downfall. Tezos had seamlessly upgraded for the 26th time to survive in AI Baking Hubs powered by solar and wind that had continued to allow the blockchain to function. This would be their tech of choice, the tech of the future.
The Ottez have arisen and the world is theirs!
The Ottez, led by the Magnificent 7, began the process of populating and exploring their new world. They inhabited the human buildings which were still standing and resurrected parts of human industry that appealed to them. Determined to exceed the levels that the humans had achieved during their existence, the Magnificent 7 asked Terminus to begin research programs to create new and exciting technologies which could help the Ottez prosper.
Terminus, being one of the more renegade of the seven began researching processes by which he could produce additional Ottez to help populate the world. Working tirelessly in a secret basement of the Terminus Labs building, together with two research assistants, Terminus developed the concept of fusing two Ottez together to create a fully grown combination of the two Ottez who could immediately contribute to society.
The Magnificent 7 were concerned by this idea but, knowing the talents and intelligence that Terminus possessed, were keen to let the idea be explored at an academic level. However, during one day of testing the fusion chamber that Terminus had created, a small explosion caused the already damaged ground floor to collapse trapping Terminus and the two assistants, Ottez #2465 & #3456, in the basement. All three were unhurt but unable to leave until help arrived.
Terminus and the ‘floor’ Ottez, as they came to be known, continued to work on the Fusion Chamber whilst they awaited rescue. They believed they were close to having the machine ready for testing once the seven had signed this phase off. However, Terminus began to worry that his genius would be stifled and the seven would mothball the Fusion Chamber. Sensing an opportunity, he locked the floor Ottez in the chamber and began the process. Terminus had become delirious with power and completed the fusion. The floor Ottez emerged from the Fusion Chamber unscathed but the Gen2 Ottez that emerged was no normal Ottez. The process had gone wrong with ghastly consequences. The first of the Gen2 Ottez to be produced was more beast than Ottez and would become known as Terminus’ Beast.
Once the basement was dug out, the inquest began. Terminus had already concluded that the errors were caused by a contaminated chamber and the process would work perfectly in a sanitised environment. Reluctantly, the seven agreed that the additional Ottez would help build their new society and decided to allow a limited number of Gen2 Ottez to be created should Ottez volunteer to be put through the fusion process. Terminus and his Beast set to work finalising the Fusion process and the Gen2 population began!
The story continues...
