In a dystopian future where synthetic oxygen causes lethal disease, Ethan, a power plant worker, is humanity's last hope. His wife suffers from the disease, and he's recruited by the Chronics company to travel back in time using a machine created by his late father. Ethan faces moral dilemmas, betrayal, and the harsh truth about his past and the company's intentions. Ultimately, he changes history, giving humanity a new chance with a blend of technology and nature.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. In the year 2000, climate change caused a series of fires that destroyed all the trees in the world, leading to a lack of oxygen.
2. A synthetic oxygen was developed by the Chronic company, but it also caused a lethal respiratory disease.
3. The city in Australia was the only place where people could still live due to the synthetic oxygen.
4. The protagonist, Ethan, works at the city's power plant and takes long shifts to bring oxygen to the table for his wife, Santín, who also has the mysterious respiratory disease.
5. Ethan discovers that the Chronic company has been working on a time machine for 20 years, which was originally created by his father.
6. Ethan's father had dedicated his life to finding a solution to the oxygen issue, but he committed suicide later.
7. A recording from the future was sent back in time, asking for Ethan to be sent to the future to retrieve a cure for the disease caused by synthetic oxygen.
8. Ethan travels to the future using the time machine, but upon arrival, he finds that the world has been devastated, and humans are no longer alive.
9. Ethan discovers a laboratory where his father used to work and finds a recording of his father's last words.
10. Ethan's friend, Jude, who was also sent from the past, helps Ethan navigate the future world and fix a reactor to prevent a catastrophic explosion.
11. Ethan discovers that his father was murdered by Regina, the director of the technological department at Chronic, and that Jude was sent to rescue him as a child.
12. Ethan's father had planned to escape with his family to the future, but Regina prevented him from doing so.
13. Ethan decides to send a message to his past self, asking him to send Aidan White to the future to save humanity.
14. Ethan destroys the time machine and sends plants from the future to the past to help humanity reforest the planet.
15. Ethan also sends a copy of the video of Regina confessing to her evil plan and murdering his father, leading to her imprisonment.
16. Ethan buries Jude and returns to the laboratory, where he finds that his skeleton is no longer there, indicating that he has changed history.
17. The story ends with a happy ending, where humanity exists once again, and technology has been mixed with nature to create a better world.