Forlorn Legacy – Short Story No. 2

10.05am. I woke up to a usual hot, sweltering day. I do not have robots or anything too modern to do my work. You know, the youngsters at work, they call me ‘Old-fashioned‘ and ‘Boring‘. Anywho, I walked up to my calendar, to update the day. Sunday, 1 Dec 2031. “The Off Day! Finally!”, I thought to myself.
The past month had been painfully hectic. You see, Mining projects have increased 100-fold in the part five years. And that’s great for metallurgists like  me… in terms of pay, only pay!
Unlike when I was a kid, days are really just programmed into us now. And Sunday’s programme, was to go to Jayside Cliff. One of the few untainted areas on this really sad planet.
I got into my vehicle; a hover-car which was re-done by my friends to run on only water! Quite nifty, my friends from my teen days. Switching it on commences a jarring sequence of lights and beeps. The infoview read ’41°C’. Yup, a normal day it is.
“Jayside!”, I thundered from inside and off it sped, slicing through the smog..

Jayside is a simply beautiful place. And was even more just about 5 years ago. A high cliff, with still sweet air, with a view of the (now snow-less) Alps. Right down below, were the Plains. Vast expanses of brown, populated with people in funny space-suits, all working towards a single goal. Making that brown to black.
Oh well, as long as I keep away from the ledge, I won’t see all that. The sky is thankfully still blue and clear from here. There’s this nice, cozy grassy area here, bordered with one of the last protected forest patches, peppered with still fragrant roses. Yes, a now rare secluded piece of heaven, where I steal a quick book-read and nap. Soon, I dozed off I think, with a copy of ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ in hand. 4.43pm.

*Rrrmble* *Booom*
Startling awakenings sure suck. 5.34pm. “What the hell just happened?”, I wondered as I clumsily got up from the coziness. A scene behind me was a tad unexpected. Oh this. The forest border, its being cut down.
“Hey, its 2030s, you gotta expect all this by now!”, my mind reasoned with me.  Never-the-less, I did ask them why this patch. Their response, “Official Orders. Buzz off!”
And yes, buzz-off I did. Didn’t have a choice now, did I?

I decided to walk back home and so ordered the hover-car to return. My way back was, umm, eventful, to say the least. Large scale tree-cutting. New pipes sent from the local Iron factory, loading their wastes into the local lake. An increase in the blackness of the air. To every query, yes you guessed it, the reply was the same. “Official Orders! Get Lost!”

I’d forgotten how used I had got to hovering. 7pm, I reached home. And it was here, where I was enlightened. Quick shower and I went to catch up on the day’s news. Virtual Reality (VR). Awesome technology, I must say. “Umm, seems like the Union of Nations have come up with some decisions finally!”, I thought after reading the quick news flash. After 25 mins of time waste, a re-telecast of the meeting was shown….

“Fellow comrades. The environment has plagued the human race for times immemorial.  The current state of affairs saddens us. Tsunamis, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Landslides, Hurricanes. Millions of pure, human souls, wasted. So, it is with a very heavy heart and after numerous failed diplomatic discussions, we have decided to cut all ties with the environment, for not stopping its atrocities. War, citizens, is the only answer to Earth.
The Earth, with its mighty ego,  asked for concrete proof that we will stop hurting it. Seemingly, it likes it green locks and doesn’t want them cut off. The Earth, in an interview with Darkha  Butt-“Woah man. I’m seriously fed up with this merciless S#!T!!”
Why doesn’t she understand, that we need all that for our survival?
The Earth, it is a coward. It strikes without any warning whatsoever. Even with all our technological advancements, we cannot escape these attacks by our foe. The solution, we must escape. And simultaneously, teach this wretched planet a lesson.
We shall build space domes around our important cities made of steel and copper. We must mine deeper, scar this land and take out every single milligram of mineral! We shall clear vast forests of trees, and convert them to farmlands to feed ourselves.  Kill every plant and animal in sight. We must starve it off all its sustenance. We can and must look to our own species for food, if the need arises; the poor are here for a reason. We must extract the oxygen and store them in tanks for our space escape. Chaos should reign here, so that Earth will not know what our plan is.
Yes, we may have to leave the several billion poor, but really, I do not think they will be missed much.
And once we are space-borne, we shall bombard the Earth and perhaps even force it out of its orbit. Let the Earth be an example for other planets who dare think about repeating Earth’s atrocities.
And we, my dear comrades, we shall explore the universe, with our cities.
Well, for all of you who are shocked with our decision, fear not! We are The Creator’s favorite creation and he is on our side.
A preemptive strike is imperative, friends. Effective from now, all these will be put into action. Good day. ”

I switched the VR off. Emerging from VR is really, quite a dizzying experience. Well, that explains all the “Official Orders!” I’ve been hearing the whole day.
9pm. A loud whirring sound was going on outside. I went out to check it out. “Tiiiimmberrr!!“, I heard. I saw a huge tree falling towards me.
—–
*Gasp*… Dream? 10.22am. 1 Dec 2012.

There was still time….. Still time.

Fate?