The Kenosis Epidemic

Chapter 1

There was a loud, piercing screech, and I woke suddenly to the sound of wheels hitting the tarmac as the plane touched down and skidded abruptly to a stop. The icy sleet on my face as the storm hammered down reminded me it was going to be a cold winter. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. These are all great ways to start a story – sharp, dramatic, in your face. They allow you to know that things are about to happen, and that you need to pay attention because an epic story is about to unfurl before you.
But for me, it wasn’t that way. There was no loud screech. It wasn’t icy outside or scorching hot; it was a pleasant, ordinary day. This isn’t some bittersweet story that tells you times were good even when times were bad. It’s a story about me, an ordinary man with an ordinary life – very ordinary, in fact. I’m not a hero, at least not one with a cape or a badge, one they make movies about, or one with chiselled good looks and snappy catchphrases. I am, in fact, the very definition of plain and uninteresting.
My name is Dr David Amiasaf. I run a small general practice with my brother just outside of Darlington in County Durham, England. It’s a lovely little nook of Britain if I do say so myself. The streets are clean, and the people are decent. Although the weather doesn’t always cooperate with a planned day out, one gets used to it. One might say I live in an almost perfect world. Thanks to the governmental and para-governmental organizations, after centuries of petty squabbling, governments started to listen to one another and work together for the greater good. They united almost all the nations with common goals. They then set out to eliminate all waste and global poisoning. No more wasting fuel; we all have a monthly allotment. No unwanted children; the designed family council approves all pregnancies, and any accidents are immediately terminated. No more greedy people; we are all allowed to earn our own money within reason, but if our accounts go over, the government takes the excess and uses it for much-needed social programs. No more waste; everything is immediately recycled, and everything has an energy cell, so whether we are walking or riding a bike, we are powering energy cells for use in your home. It comes in handy if we get close to using up our monthly energy allowance.
Since the global union, we are all far more educated and enlightened, and we push forward as a worldwide population that cares more about the collective than the individual. It’s as near a perfect world as one could wish for. So what exactly is my story? Is my story one of luck, fate, or some mystical divine hand of almighty God? I guess it depends on what one believes, and I never much cared for luck or divine inspiration. I simply live my life.