The other night i wasn‘t sleeping very well and had many weird dreams mixing up a lot of everything real and surreal in my head, but strangely one scene sticked with me after waking up and throughout the whole day. While in my head I was already automatically thinking of techniques to reproduce these images in the software tools i‘m familiar with, the urge to put these images in my head on the screen and share them with others grew. So i sat down and produced the following short clip, but it sat there on my computer for some time until i rediscovered it and got an idea how to pack it into an interesting blog post instead of talking about the technicalities of the video production. Here it is now, my dystopian news report of my dream vision, be spooked and enjoy.

New Yen City, 2050 — In a long feared turn of events, Earth's once-blue skies have turned an eerie shade of red, shrouding the planet in a permanent twilight. The global air pollution crisis that has plaguing our world for years has reached a catastrophic peak, leaving us to grapple with the dire consequences of environmental neglect and the overpowering grip of the Chinese government, which seized control of the planet in 2033. For decades, scientists had warned about the imminent environmental catastrophe. Rising greenhouse gas emissions, unchecked industrialization, and the relentless pursuit of economic growth had pushed Earth's climate to the brink. The culmination of these factors has now resulted in a world unrecognizable to past generations.

The turning point for Earth's descent into this environmental nightmare occurred in 2033 when the Chinese government, armed with highly advanced technology and an immense military force, effectively took control of the whole world. Following a series of geopolitical conflicts and resource wars, China emerged as the dominant global superpower, imposing its authority on nations that had grown too weak and divided to effectively resist. With their tight grip on resources and their far superior technological advancements, the Chinese government promised a new era of prosperity and stability for all. However, this newfound order came at the steep cost of suppression of any dissent and complete centralized control over every aspect of human life. Environmental regulations were simply disregarded in the pursuit of economic growth, leading to a never before seen rapid acceleration of climate change and the deterioration of the planet's ecosystems.

As the 2040s dawned, the consequences of this unchecked environmental degradation became painfully evident. Carbon dioxide levels soared to unprecedented heights, triggering a chain reaction of disastrous events. The polar ice caps melted at an alarming rate causing sea levels to rise and flood most of the coastal cities. Extreme weather events, such as devastating hurricanes and wildfires, became normal in everyday life. Failed harvests and food shortages led to widespread famine resulting in the biggest global refugee crisis yet. The most haunting manifestation of Earth's decline was the gradual transformation of our skies from a once pristine blue to a now deep, blood-red, casting an eerie and apocalyptic glow over our whole planet. The air is filled with particulate matter, making it dangerous to breathe without advanced filtration systems and sunlight rarely penetrates the thick shroud that plunged our Earth into a perpetual twilight.

In this rough world, the remaining population struggles to survive. Governments have become puppets of the Chinese regime, enforcing strict population controls and rationing dwindling resources. Independent journalism and the like have been brutally suppressed, leaving only state controlled media outlets to spread information. Efforts to combat the environmental catastrophe were only successful to a limited extent as the world's leaders prioritize maintaining the status quo over the preservation of our planet and environmental activists have been silenced or forced underground. Is there still hope on the horizon you may ask? Maybe there is, because a global resistance movement has been quietly growing in the shadows, working tirelessly to undermine the oppressive regime that holds Earth in its iron grip. With the survival of humanity and the planet hanging in the balance, they aim to reclaim our world from the brink of environmental and political collapse.

For now we must confront the harsh reality of our existence, where the skies are forever red, and the power of a single government dominates over everyone and everything and the future remains uncertain.

Mo
October 2050