Paul Stefanik

Whimper Paul Stefanik

Publisher Marketing: This is the end of the world. Not from two nations destroying each other, or even an alien race coming and wiping us out, but simply through a minor accident during an experiment at the Hadron Collider in Europe. Elliot finds himself in a strange predicament. In the world of old he skirted at the edges of society, following a moral code which could be described, at best, as malleable. When the society he took advantage of passed away, Elliot found himself as the leader of a group of survivors. Where once he had been amoral he was now forced to adapt his philosophy to create a society which wouldn't immediately self-destruct or plunge into lawlessness. Although holding him in an extremely poor regard, Tracy finds herself as his biggest supporter in the establishment of a new society. Growing up in foster homes and locked psych wards, Tracy has none the less taken the time to read voraciously. Balanced between anti-social behaviors and a highly developed understanding of history and philosophy Tracy finds herself struggling to avoid lapsing into old behaviors while helping Elliot form something more akin to Utopia than the society they once knew. The days after the fall are only part of the story though. Elliot and Tracy struggle to build something new to follow them but the end result bears little resemblance to what they envisioned. An unknowable amount of years later Rexus leads his tribe, known as the Body, through the ruins that remain. Toxic, inhospitable landscapes lie between him and the land he knows he must lead the Body to. Where history collapses into legend and mythology is where Rexus is forced to lead his people. Living off what they can scavenge and living in a rudimentary hunter/gatherer society the Body has developed numerous superstitions and mores, not all of which are for everyone's good. Whimper starts from the ashes of our world and traces humanity's descent from civilized beings to the barest elements that contrast us from animals. Stripped of society, family, morality, science and art what remains except for flesh and blood shrouding dreams? And, in the end, do dreams have anything meaningful to impart?