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Telos
Topic Started: Saturday, 5. March 2011, 09:28 (261 Views)
Phovos
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Medicating Raptor
Telos

The burning sun shimmered through the last remaining, leafless trees, baking the earth with all its might. Any remaining plant life was either half dead or had adapted into strange, carnivorous, cactus-like monsters. The animal life wasn't much better, having adapted to this strange, new, desert environment at the cost of losing all sense of honour and care for anything other than themselves. It seemed as though dust had swallowed the air, burning any living being's nose and throat and sanding it smooth. As the wind kicked sand into the air like a child in a playground, it uncovered something that did not belong there. Something metallic. Intrigued, various animals would spot a shimmering reflection in the heat, and wander nearby, expecting to find water, only to be disappointed to find this object. It took one of the smarter beasts to nudge the metal box, revealing its secrets.

Normally any beast would have been scared away by the noise of the metal box, but in such a desolate loneliness, the beasts gathered round to listen to the screeches and scratches, unsure whether they understood the sounds or not.


“We screwed everything up royally. We thought we were so smart, endlessly trying to find new sources of energy, constantly growing and improving our lives, trying to beat whatever controls our fate in this universe. Not that we believed anything did control us. Why would the universe be so large and pointless just to accommodate a few pointless species? Yeah, at first we did, but we soon believed otherwise...

“It all started off so well, both for us and the planet. Like that bear's soup or porridge or whatever it was in that long-lost fairy tale, this world was not too hot, not too cold, just right. We had it all. Big brains. Good looks. Usable hands instead of hooves or claws. We lived the same way every other animal did, only better. Only smarter.

“Of course, we started to think and use our brains. We wanted to make life easier for ourselves. And that was fine. For a long time, we did so in a perfectly acceptable way. We grew crops so we wouldn't have to move around. We made weapons to fend off predators. We did all sorts. OK, fair enough, we did have some nasty fights with those weapons, but all animals have fights.

“It was when we worked out how to make computers and things that could think, up to a point, for themselves. We realised that we needed more and more power. Not only were there more of us than ever, but everyone wanted the same, rich way of life that for so long had belonged to a few. And being the species that we are, that's what we tried to achieve.

“Things started to turn nasty, though. The few didn't want to share with the many. And as power sources dwindled away, we became more and more angry. We always thought ourselves better than animals, but it was obvious we were wrong. And because of our anger, we failed to notice what we were doing to both ourselves and the planet. And what the planet had in store for us.

“You see, this world was angry at us for using it like a slave for so long. We'd kicked this planet half to death in just a few hundred years and it was time for revenge. We never imagined that something as simple as a small increase in sea temperatures would do something so cataclysmic to us. Our main sources of power had dwindled away and we were relying on the cold waters of our oceans to power our lives. With the increase in temperature, not only could we generate power, but we also saw that it was affecting the environment, turning what used to be lush forests into tundras and deserts. And since we'd chopped most of the world's trees down, the dust picked up and crippled us further, making it warmer. A vicious circle. And we'd started it.

“Soon, we abandoned most of the lands near the equators. We all scurried far north or south, desperate to escape from the heat. Sand storms obliterated everything in their paths, making most places inhabitable anyway. But even then, we still fought each other, until there was only one city left.

“Telos, we called it. The last city. A collection of tall towers and shacks, thrown together into a dustbin and shaken up until everyone is so full of anger, they can't take life any more. It was only in our last few years that we started to believe in things again. And it was only then that we realised what we had done.

“It was too late. On our last night, we all gathered by the main building, what used to be a simple place of learning. We all held hands and said our last words. Then we waited until the sand and the dust took us all.

“We deserved it. And I hope no-one ever repeats our mistake.”

The device crackled and twittered, before falling silent once more. By now, almost all the beasts drawn to the noise had left, leaving a lone animal, who picked up the device and carried it away, no longer sure about its future.




Notes: Meh, I wrote this as a project for dad. Wrote it in like 20 minutes, didn't really try. I just sorta went with it and let it fall out of me.
I have a whole website. It's kinda lame though.
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