Firefall Timeline 2184.2

Entry 2184.2 - "The Nine Year Winter"
''The following is a letter from Dr. Murray Kearney to a colleague in Hastings, New Zealand. Dr. Kearney was a well known medical doctor who remained in his hometown of Dunedin, New Zealand to provide medical assistance to fellow survivors. Written in 2184, it provides a rare understanding of life during the Nine Year Winter.''

-Aris Holden - Historian

Jemaine,

Thank you for your letter. When we last spoke, I was worried I'd never hear from you again. Thank you again for your help in getting my family to safety. I am forever indebted to you. I am sorry that I could not leave with you. These people here need me and I could not abandon them. This year has been much worse than the last. We have almost completely run out of food. We're still trying to suss out a way to get the fishing boats out there, not that I expect much good will come of it as cold as it is. Dunedin has become a ghost town, only a quarter of those that didn't leave are still alive.

Temperatures rarely rise above freezing these days.

The last time I saw the sun was almost 4 years ago. I went to the solar fields yesterday to see if there was anything I could do to help. The sparkies were working as hard as they could, but not a single panel wasn't covered in soot and ash, another day wasted.

The old coal power plant near Highcliff isn't worth the stone it's made of. There it sits, rusting and crumbling like the decaying corpse of a once great beast. How the decisions of the past come back to haunt us. Save the Earth only to damn humanity.

We haven't had any form of power for over two years. I can't run any medical equipment. No electricity for lights. And worst of all, we do not have electricity to heat our homes. We ran out of trees for firewood nearly two months ago and we're running out of homes that still have wooden frameworks. I'm not sure how much longer we can last without help.

We've requested support from Wellington and the North Island. Medical supplies, food, evacuation, anything. We've heard bugger all in response though. From what we can tell in our radio communications with Christchurch and Nelson, it appears that the North Island has abandoned us. There are rumors that the Kiwi government is actually at war with the Aussies. But, I cannot believe these rumors to be true. It makes no sense. Jemaine, why on Earth would we be at war with Australia?

I hope this letter reaches you safely. Share my love with Susan. If you can, please send any supplies you can spare. I'm not sure how much longer we can survive. -Murray Kearney

''Dr. Kearney never left Dunedin, choosing to remain for the entirety of the Nine Year Winter. For his devotion, Kearney was celebrated as a national hero. Many years after his death, a statue was erected in the center of Dunedin as a memorial to his work.''