Episode 1: The First Tuesday

From the GD25 Series
by Esi Noire

Nobody noticed the beginning. Not really.

The headlines that Tuesday morning in early September 2025 still buzzed with celebrity scandals, AI lawsuits, and the usual tensions overseas. But down near the bottom of every financial news feed was a single, easily missed line:

“Bank Withdrawals Temporarily Frozen Across Select Regions.”

Ohio. Lagos. Berlin. São Paulo. Tokyo.

A glitch, they said. A cybersecurity precaution. “Systems will be restored by Thursday.”

But by Wednesday, every ATM in the world went dark. Cards stopped working. Banking apps glitched out. Gas stations locked their doors. Grocery shelves emptied. And the digital markets – the very engine of modern life – stopped ticking.

“Don’t panic,” officials said.

That’s when the panic truly began.

By Thursday, supply trucks were grounded. Clinics turned people away. Mothers held up their phones, watching their balances flash $0.00 – and stay there. Not because they were broke, but because the system was.

By Friday, it had a name:
The First Tuesday.
The day the world unplugged itself.

The White House, the EU, the African Union, and the World Bank issued a joint statement:

“We are experiencing a synchronized global cyber-disruption. Please stay calm. Resources will be distributed equitably.”

But that was a lie.

There was no plan. Just silence.
And a new era, one without convenience, without access, without mercy.

People traded canned food for solar lanterns. Hacked old phones to become shortwave radios. Cities fell first. Rural communities followed. The wealthy fled to bunkers. The poor returned to fire pits and barter.

They called it a glitch. A bug. A rogue AI. But elders remembered something deeper – prophecies whispered in every tongue:

“When the money vanishes in daylight and the sky hums with silence, you’ll know the reset has begun.”

The Great Depression of 2025 didn’t start with war. It started with a blank screen…

and a soft, mechanical whisper:

“Funds unavailable. Please try again later.”

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Follow for more episodes in the unfolding GD25 series—fiction born from foresight.