“We no longer hunt in the forests... For the forests are no longer here.
We no longer fish in the seas... For the seas are no longer here.
We no longer gaze at the clouds... For the clouds are no longer here.
We no longer look to the future... For we no longer have one.”
The words were carved deep into the cliff face, an epitaph to a species no longer here.
The scorching breeze seemed to sigh with sadness as it swirled across the barren landscape, sadness for the loss of the beautiful world it once knew.
The three beings stared up at the strange symbols, uncomprehending, uncaring.
The taller of three turned and took a long, sweeping look at the cracked, baked ground, and the swirling sand devils.
It took a slow, deep, satisfying breath of the carbon monoxide rich atmosphere.
“The planet is perfect for habitation, start shipping the colonists.”
©2011 Stephen. J. Green.
From you, I expected the Native Americans to rise up and start hunting gringos in cities. Extraterrestrials work too!
ReplyDeleteThanks John, my idea was that if we ever succeed in totally destroying our planet, maybe another species with different needs might be able to make use of it.
ReplyDeleteI imagine the Earth will need to renew and start over fresh someday. It could happen, I believe in ET... did I tell you about the alien I saw in 1969. Remind me to do that some day. :)
ReplyDeleteA very thought-provoking post. I love the post-apocalyptic feel coupled with the hope of a new beginning for someone at the end. (And in so few words! Wow!)
ReplyDeleteGood to know the planet won't be totally useless when we get through with it. Good story!
ReplyDeleteLife will find a way... it might just not be the life we're used too.
ReplyDeleteA very evocative piece, Steve.
Chuck - Thank you, nature does seem to have a way of taking care of things though.
ReplyDeleteEric - Thank you, I believe that whatever we do to the planet, it will still be habitable by something. It is reckoned that cockroaches will survive just about anything.
Rol - Thank you, I believe too that life will find a way, not necessarily any form of life familiar to us though.
Imagine the places they looked at and found unacceptable. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have a real knack for this grim-future stuff Steve. I like it!
Thanks Harry, me too, it's good to be grim isn't it? Mwuhahahahahahahaha!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting thought that what might be inhospitable to us might be perfect for someone else.
ReplyDeleteEric wrote exactly what I was thinking. At least we'll leave the place for something.
ReplyDeleteIcy - Thank you, even on earth there are different creatures living in environments hostile to others, air breathers, sea creatures, burrowers etc.
ReplyDeleteStephen - Thanks, I personally don't believe that we will ever wipe out all life on Earth, but the days of mankind are probably finite, I think we may be too clever for our own good.
Very thought-provoking Steve. I guess this illustrates that old saying, "one man's trash, is another man's treasure." It goes for plants too, I guess.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel, yes there is much truth in that saying, and different plants require different environments to survive too, we only need to compare seaweed to eidelwiess, or grapevine to swampgrass.
ReplyDeleteHiya Gwendolyn, sorry for the delayed response to your comment, but I just came across it in the spam section, and unspammed it. I have no idea how it got in there.
ReplyDeleteNature does have its own way of taking care of business, and most things tend to go in cycles too. As for the alien, I will look forward to hearing that story. :-)
RE: "Thanks John, my idea was that if we ever succeed in totally destroying our planet, maybe another species with different needs might be able to make use of it."
ReplyDeleteIt's always good to have someone out there thinking about recycling.
The repetition in the opening strikes a great chord for an epigraph. (I recently read Sean McMullen's The Precedent set in a future where they've burned out earth and I could see someone from that era carving the stone.)
Thanks Aidan, I had never heard of "The Precedent" but I have now downloaded it from a free-library, and read the first few pages, I am very impressed by what I have read so far, and I too can easily imagine someone from that era carving the words into the cliff face.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed this. So succinct and powerful. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, thank you for the very kind words, awesome is a compliment that is a real confidence boost. :-)
ReplyDeleteAt least someone will benefit from humanity's lack of common sense. Although I wish they didn't. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteYou've evoked a lot of feelings in very few words. I'm going to water my plants...
Thank you Magaly, and please, don't tell your plants about this, the glimpse of the possible future may upset them.
ReplyDeleteOde to the planet recyling itself...once was will be again...Nicely put.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lara, nature will always take care of business, our planet is such a small speck in the grand design isn't it?
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