[Interlude]

After humanity’s debt to the planet came due

Our ancestors crawled from the wreckage of their sunken cities

And out of the deserts where once they had grown food enough for millions

Chance brought thirty survivors together

Hundreds of miles to the south of here

Worn down by storms and starvation

They set their sights northward

And followed the coast to find a new home

In the first days of their journey

They encountered three storms, and had no protection

The first storm killed four

The second took two

The survivors had warning of the third

For by then they knew what weather signs to look for

In their haste to find shelter

They unknowingly entered the ruins of the old capitol

The storm trapped them there

And they fell victim to lingering poisons in the air and water

Their minds became clouded

Many were stricken with fever and flux

Twelve died

The survivors continued northward

And when they came upon more ruins

They kept walking

As they drew closer to the island on which we now dwell

They encountered more survivors fleeing to the north

As the roads grew crowded with desperate refugees

So too they became rife with thievery and killing

And three were lost to bandits on the road

Six others were falsely accused of banditry

And were lynched by other travelers

The survivors kept to themselves after that

Our ancestors were judged for their role in despoiling the earth

Along with the rest of their generation

Their penalty was decimation

When they arrived on this island

Only three of the original thirty remained