How It All Ended: A Perspective from 3025

How it All Ended

A perspective from 3025

Chapter 1: Tell me

Looking back upon my review of the digital records from so long ago, it seems impossible to believe it happened the way it did. Thank the stars, those blurry old Spectra from ancient times were preserved sufficiently so as to be updated by each generation that followed their creation. Being that I have been assigned this sad and dreary task, it fell upon me to go back over more than 1000 earth years of records.

It has not been easy, sitting here in my underground cubicle that has been home to me for so long, to sift through such an extensive file, attempting to be non-judgmental, just ordering things so that my superiors, far more intelligent than I, can make sense of it all. Lessons to be learned ....

The oldest surviving digital record, very difficult to read, dates back some 1200 years (old calendar} to the early part of the twenty-first century. It appears to be some sort of debate about the(then) available natural resources. One side was warning about global warming, climate change and such, while the other was scoffing at their opponents, singing the necessity of Tape development. Species- made carbon emissions had been tracked causing this fierce policy feud. First signs of a realization that something was wrong with our planet.

Of course, sitting here in the 33rd century (old calendar) with the benefit of so much information unavailable 1200 years ago, we now know that our planet has always been and will continue to be subject to the whims of our earthly environment. It has become patently obvious that the earth will cool and warm as it wishes, without any assist from our species. Now, to be sure, it seems likely that carbon emissions didn't help anything, perhaps even giving a nudge to what was then called global warming, but neither did they determine the ebb and flow of the heating and cooling of our planet. No, that was occurring eons before the perfection of homo sapiens. It's also been continuing while what remains of our species struggles to survive here subterrania.

When I came across the next preserved record It became apparent that several generations had passed without much change. Using my Geometric Calculator, I placed this specimen somewhere around 2050 on the old calendar. I observed some of the first visual records of total global flooding. The polar icecaps had melted and the earth's large population locations had all flooded. New York, Paris, Petersburg, Hong Kong were no longer operational. Homo sapiens had to reconfigure its living arrangements. Allow me a pause before proceeding. This is a great example of what has happened when our species has attempted tool get in the way of what used to be termed Mother Nature. Originally, whenever that was, somewhere around 8000 on the old calendar, our ancestors made a significant choice. They would have to build their population centers close to a major water supply. This was Important for growing crops and learning how to dam the cities' three water sources for transporting themselves to and from each other's trading centers.

All the great cities of the ancient world were constructed close to rivers and oceans. This had remained the case for thousands of earth years, right until the time of this 2nd file. We were being taught a lesson - rivers will eventually flood no matter what technology our species attempted to employ. Thus, with the polar caps in a melting cycle, the cities' inhabitants, having struggled against the relentless onslaught of water for decades, finally surrendered and began to relocate. Deserts and inland mountains became the new choice for habitation.

Population statistics were well maintained way back then, so I had access to a number of old data clarified digital fragment points which were helpful in reconstructing what then occurred. Places like the Dakota Badlands and remote Rocky Mountain havens became the new urban centers in the United States while desert areas in the Sudan were the recipients of large African populations. All over our planet, our species moved away from water locations as far as they could. The data indicates that this mass migration was not accomplished overnight but rather took more than SO years on the old calendar and created immense financial chaos in its path. The first sign of the disaster ahead had shown its ugly visage.

Chapter 2

As bad as the massive flooding had been, the second cause of our above ground demise was much worse. It was difficult to run from radiation poisoning. The third digital fragment clarified exactly how that holocaust took place. The Creators of nuclear energy had envisioned it as a product for good- that is, to use it for scientific purposes to aid in the eradication of disease. Unfortunately, this event occurred at a time when the nation states of the world were preparing for, and involved in, World War. So, what had been intended by that great scientist, Albert Einstein, and many others as a cause for good had turned into an end -of - time weapon. It is certainly true that the record indicates that both large nations and small had used this powerful weapon to further their own causes-examples being both the megapower United States of America and the rogue states of North Korea and Iran. Regardless of which nation-state had exploded these devices of doom, over a period of hundreds of earth years our atmosphere had gradually but precipitously become poisoned.

What to do about this new dilemma our forebearers had wondered 1000 years ago. The best idea they could come up with back then was to try and insulate themselves from the atmospheric poison that they had created. So in the desert and mountains of planet earth, way back in the 22nd and 23rd centuries old calendar, homo sapien ancestors decided to construct mega buildings. These buildings, they planned, would be insulated against any air seepage, thus they then believed, they would be safe.

Let me now describe some of the digitally rolled blueprints which I have discovered from that day and time so long ago. The idea was to build interconnected super tall, mega buildings, some reaching 100 stories high. The creators used the finest materials then available to over-insulate these huge projects. Each building, it was thought, would be completely self-sufficient. In other words, its inhabitants could live, work and play there without fear of flooding or radiation poisoning- the 2 main scourges of that time. What a splendid idea! Furthermore, these construction gurus would build a small but efficient train system underground connecting these buildings, which were designed to be at least 20 miles apart.

One thing for sure, way back then the economy boomed, as the financial records of that day indicate. The construction industry flourished and the citizens of our planet gained a new sense of security and self-sufficient conduct. Oh those buildings, So many things to describe. It appears they had everything inside. The apartments themselves came in two basic varieties. One and two bedroom units were the standard design. They were comfortable if not spacious, stocked with all the technical equipment and gadgets that were available in the 23rd century. Plenty of robots to help with the daily chores. Family units were preserved, men and women went to work, their were educational resources for the children and plenty of social activities. There were limits however. One family could have a max of 2 adults, one child and one pet. Few exceptions: If you had a single family you unit, you could have 2 children, one adult and one pet. That's right, for the first time in the history ofour species, family size was universally limited.

The need for usable space had become more important than the need for family growth. The record indicates that all of this took some time to get used to' however, the buildings made up for the personal limitations. All of the first floors had markets right in them. People could shop for food and clothes without leaving their building. The 5th floor of each structure was devoted to recreational opportunities. indoor sports were available and flourished both on an individual and team basis. There were athletic fields, lots of green grass and every conceivable type of equipment. Our species wanted to stay in shape even during their confinement.

Sex flourished as well. I mean what else was there to do after the dinner hour? There developed a certain casual attitude toward relationships that had once been far more serious. Birth control measures of every type were employed and adults were sterilized after the family max of children had been reached. Lots of parties to go to all the time. Alcohol flowed freely and recreational drugs were very available. From the point of view of the building's inhabitants, life was good. One reason it was viewed as being so wonderful, was grounded in a false sense of security. Surely, the construction scientists knew what they were doing. The new insulation materials were guaranteed to keep all that nasty radiation out. It was dangerous outside with very high levels of radioactive material constantly increasing. If one left the building to attempt to visit someone on the outside, they had to sign a form which stated that they would have to pass another physical, similar to the one they had taken when they first entered their building upon their return. Since everyone had seen pictorial material of what it was like on the outside, who wanted to take the chance to become one of the mutants who were forced to live there?

If one got bored and needed variety, all that was necessary for a little fling was to go to the basement of the building, get on the escalator and go down to the tram station beneath. If one road the local, within a few minutes one could be at another building, hoping for a different experience. Alas, each building was pretty much set up the same, however there were different faces and the hours of operation of the nice gratuities might vary a little, allowing a an individual on a visitor's pass to feel that the experience was different. People didn't quibble much with the system, after all, after a few generations that's all our ancestors knew.

The records indicate that there were favorite offerings in the buildings panorama of things to do. Record after record that I have been able to retrieve, indicate that the theaters offering open air simulation were the clear favorite. One could take a seat, relax, have a beverage and a snack and, with the help of high- grade earphones both see and hear the holograms of beautiful open- air settings. I have been able to find an old copy of one such theater menu buried deep in the digital records. There were scenes and sounds of The Swiss Alps in spring, the beach at Nags Head in the former territory known as the Carolinas in the fall and plenty of presentations of other beautiful landscapes. This was the place for one to forget their building confinement. Of course, it was expensive to get a seat in one of these special theaters - perhaps costing a few dinner credits on the building card which was the key to all purchases inside.

The building and their underground tram system continued providing this relatively carefree lifestyle to their inhabitants for several earth centuries. As the so called "advanced" scientific equipment consistently indicated that the feared radiation infiltration had been kept out of the structures, the false sense of security continued to prevail. So did the absence of major conflict. It was difficult to wage war for gain from inside a building, though, the stars know, the leaders of each did try to use their aggressive computer programs to steal desirable items from one another. Hardly that sort of conflict that had forced our planet's inhabitants to become inside creatures in the first place. For emphasis, and at the risk of repeating myself, the general feeling of the population - which was rapidly decreasing due to the limits on procreation- was that life was very nice, indeed!

Chapter 3

Eventually, and over much scientific subterfuge, it did become clear that there was radiation seep. Although the leaders tried to hide this fact from their flock in order to avoid panic and possible highpitched demands for change, the readings showed that there were substantial problems ahead. It gradually became obvious to the building dwellers, that there was an ever- increasing number of individuals in white space suits working on re insulating each floor. Questions were raised, occupant-landlord meetings were called for and it became increasingly difficult to forestall the eventual unhappy conclusion - in a few short generations the buildings would no longer be safe to inhabit. What to do? There were no good alternatives. Our forbearers gradually realized that they could not go out into the radiation death fields nor could they remain in their previously secure high- rise dwellings. Although there were many ideas floated, such as building dwellers living in insulated clothes and wearing face mass, there was only one direction to go: Down.

What was down there were the trams. The stations had been kept clean and the facilities well-maintained. Underneath these stations were thick bedrock which had supported the local transportation system between buildings for centuries. So, the new pioneers found the softest rock they could and began to dig again. It was a hard, laborious job. The records of this project were plentiful as I conducted my research under the guidance of my superiors. Only the strongest and most digitally precise robots and tools were used. Eventually, after a couple of earth generations, small underground cubicles were constructed.

These early cells were very primitive compared to the ones we inhabit today, so many generations later. By now the records were reflecting 29th century (old calendar) clarity: More plentiful then their earlier counterparts and far easier to read. We have many visuals of the digging and of the early prototypes for future living and working conditions. It should be mentioned, though primitive, these cubicles were more spacious then the one I am working in today. Old ways are hard to break, and the underground pioneers of that time were still size oriented. For all these explorers knew, the amount of room available under any given building would be enough to accommodate each building's inhabitants.

This construction continued for dozens of earth years. These new living quarters were geared to providing comfort to each family of up to four dwellers. Originally, it was assumed that there would be enough room for everybody to settle underground that so desired. It should be noted that there was no initial demand from the building inhabitants to move to these new quarters- most of them would try to stick it out until everyone around them and, finally themselves, would show symptoms of radiation poisoning. They only moved reluctantly when they had no more choices available. Overtime, it became clear that there would not be enough room for everyone who needed it and so, after still more generations had come and gone, the size of the underground units gradually began to shrink, as did the size of our ancestors as their spines continued to adapt, and shrink, as time progressed.

The previously mentioned comforts such as padding, flooring, and unlimited fresh air supply would have to give way to more Spartan surroundings. It also became clear there would have to be new limitations on family size- no more than 2 humans and one pet, a reduction of one human from what had been permitted above. Also, there were severe limitations placed on procreation. A family could not bring a new life into this underground world unless one of the other two of our unit had passed away and been incinerated. Of course, this was not the first time in the gloomy history of our species that this had occurred. The ancient Chinese Oriental culture had placed severe limitations on birth more than a thousand earth years earlier. Too many damn mouths to feed, they had realized, and forcefully reduced family size to one child per household. Even though there was this awful precedent, this struck the new underground dwellers very hard, as they began to view the real possibility of their extinction.

Good thing: the technology had by then improved so much that a great deal of information was now becoming available in these newly created underground units. Virtually everything that a human could want to see or listen to was available by voice command. The knowledge of our planet dwellers was now condensed to a few disks with high quality projectors to play the information on. Things may have been dismal space -wise but, necessity being the mother of invention and all that, one could view and listen to nearly anything imaginable on non- work cycles. There was a lot to watch and hear.

Chapter 4: The objects overhead

About this time, about 2900 (old calendar), there was a new, major development. The advanced equipment our forbears now had enabled them to detect any significant disturbance in the atmosphere above their old world. Some of this equipment, over time, began to notify scientist Watch Dogs on duty that there were ripples of atomic energy circulating way above ground. Further use of refined detection devices clarified that these were foreign ripples - very different from anything that had ever been noted before in the annals of our species. There were lots of records on this issue.

Over years, let me clarify by saying decades, of continuing investigation, it became clear that these bands of energy were coming from a foreign source far, far away. It took a long time then for our leaders to accept what was happening. This foreign source was monitoring activity on our dying planet.

A lot of astronomical research followed. The different possibilities were narrowed down. Finally, as our leaders approached the new Millennium-you see by then the year 3000 (old calendar) was approaching they identified the source as Orion. The Orionians were the ones monitoring our above ground demise. What did all this mean for our more immediate ancestral underground dwellers? At first, no one was sure. Certainly, there were a lot of hypotheses ranging from a foreign power wanting to monitor us or manipulate us or destroy our planet. How could anyone be sure back then? Gradually, as no aggressive activities were noted over dozens of years of recording these disturbing activities, the conclusion was reached that there was no immediate threat. On the other hand, measures were instituted over time to limit any emissions from our underground transmitters that could be detected by the Orionians. This was a difficult process, lessening intense volume of energy transmissions. Nevertheless, it had to be done, and it was. Sirens went off in every cell to warn the occupants to shut down all work Immediately.

After a short time, the master load switches were hit in case any recalcitrant moles had not acted. We were hiding from the intruders. To be sure, Orion was part of our Galaxy. However, 250 years ago, very little was known about its properties or possibilities for some life form. The fact that flying objects from that faraway place were able to enter our planet's atmospheric territory indicated that we were being watched by an advanced civilization. Our scientists at the time were baffled by the interest of such a distant entity. Intense monitoring began and slowly we came to understand the nature of the individuals - can we use that term- that we were dealing with. The inhabitants of Orion were space travelers with a long history of scientific investigation. However, the question remained- why us?

The nature of our species is such that when, in the past, we haven't known the precise details of the problem we were dealing with, we tended to assume the worst and withdraw further into our subterranean way. Whether the Orionians wanted to help us or hurt us remained unclear for decades, and to be truthful, even today, we don't fully understand their motivation. Caution became our most consistent response action: generally speaking, our leaders assumed the worst and acted accordingly.

Let me pause for a moment. Because my superiors are sticklers for chronological sequence, I believe I should now return to my description of what the preserved digital records indicated about how life was lived after our ancestors, by necessity, moved underground. I will return to the problems with Orion in a few moments. Throughout the history of our species, adjusting to new environmental circumstances had always been difficult. From ice ages to intense warming, the inhabitants of our planet have had to continuously adjust. We can see some perfect examples of this with the development of the subspecies known as Neanderthal. These distant relatives of ours lived in extremely cold climates, suffering from Ice Age conditions. Their body types - short and squat and hairy - reflect this adaptation as did their highly carnivorous food. These adaptations were necessary to survive in their Ice Age world.

It was difficult for those who first moved underground to escape the radiation that had been gradually seeping into their comfortable buildings. So little room they thought, so very confining. It should be noted that those original cubicles were a great deal larger than the ones we now call home. As mentioned previously, there were benefits to a technologically advanced society. However, it became increasingly difficult to get clean, above ground real food. So, soon after our downward spiral, our ancestors began to develop nutritious, tasty food alternatives. Everything was converted to cubes approximately the size of the old- fashioned sugar cubes used to provide stimulation for our previous, more delightful diet. Looking around my cell today, I see neatly organized stacks of protein, soluble fats, vegetarian alternatives, all readily available.

We that are the descendants of these early subterranean visitors, have our heroes too. About 100 years before my conception there lived a small, Hobbit- like creature - one of us to be sure - that the historians refer to as Saul. His only companion was his dear cat, Felix by name, who is pictured with him on most of the images that were passed down to us. Saul and Felix were perfect cell dwellers. They bothered no one, did good, intense research studies - that is to say, Saul did - and developed an idea of how our species could still make a contribution to our planet's development. Many significant discoveries were made by Saul during the course of his relatively short life - about 32 earth years. By then, we had a shrunken body type as our spines had in fact slowly reduced to meet the conditions of these small cells.

He looked somewhat like a Hobbit from one of that genius writer's works, HR Tolkien by name. Saul and Felix were responsible for many of the photographic innovations we still use today to visualize the exact conditions in our above ground buildings and even with the burned-up land masses which surround them. Exceptional, forgive the expression, ground -breaking work. Some of these devices in a more primitive format had been available a thousand years before but had been lost in the flooding and radiating destruction.

Because of Saul's innovations, scientists in following generations leading up to my own were able to attach small, insignificant looking detection devices to his photographic equipment that could measure the radiation above down to a 2% margin of error. Now we would see if Mother Earth could truly cleanse herself and, if so, how long would it take? The generic images of these two buddies were imprinted on every Central Cell document for hundreds of years, down to my own time.

Chapter 5: Emergence

Let me return to my tasks in the present day, as my superiors or getting nervous about my ability to produce this report. I am now in work cycle number 1077 (new calendar). For the record, I will note that in or about the year 3000 (old calendar), that is to say about 250 old earth years ago, our leaders decided that, since there was no longer a differential between day and night tasks, we should go to a new system of measuring time-one based on how much work we could achieve in relationship to how much rest we needed in a certain period. After all, the ancients said years and years ago that time is relative." In the long -gone days of the Roman Empire, years were numbered by the amount of years that a Roman monarch ruled. Much later in the 19th century (old calendar) the leaders at that time in what was then the United States of America changed time according to when their farm crops would be taken in and called the new time frame daylight savings time. Homo sapiens as a species has always altered time to meet its needs. Therefore, it was entirely logical that once we were underground our leaders decided to once again change time frames. So here in 1077 work cycle time, 3250 old calendar time, I stayed in my cell valiantly trying to finish my report.

After a while the Orionians ceased monitoring us - as best we could tell around 150 old years ago. We no longer were able to detect any atomic ripples indicating their presence. Of course, all safety precautions were kept in place - the alarm system was fastidiously maintained. However, without the constant threat of invasion, most surviving underground inhabitants decided to refocus their attention on the suitability of the old buildings above the old tram stations for habitation. Lots of new calculations were made and some of our fearless single males, advanced in years and with little to lose, put on newly designed radiation shield suits and began to poke around the bottom floors of some old buildings. They carried with them the latest technologically advanced meters to get a first- hand non robotic read on just how bad the remaining radiation poison was. Of course, the results varied location by location but with complex mathematical formulas in place it began to appear that re-habitation might be possible in a few dozen work cycles or if you wish about 80 old earth years. These explorers had to be meticulously checked upon their return to our underground world and underwent severe radiation - removal shower pains.

One of the important reasons why the leaders of our current cell society wanted this research to be done revolves around the motivation for our people to once again inhabit buildings. When it became noted that so many of my cohorts, not just here but around the world, were persisting in their desire to once again live above ground, it became apparent that a report of some depth needed to be generated to help those re-emerging to understand what was facing them: what had gone on before; this is why the old blueprints that I discovered were so important. There were many questions: should the existing structures, badly weathered, be refurbished or should the old structures be gutted floor by floor and be replaced with new, more technologically advanced, living quarters? There was no clear consensus on the answer to this conundrum and so the cell council leaders would have to decide. Either way, it was clear that a large majority of our survivors wanted to try to live above ground once again.

Before I digitally produce my report and prepare to send it to the council leaders, please, dear reader, in whatever century you may be viewing this, allow me a point of personal privilege. I do not count myself in the numbers of those who wish to go back above ground. You see, I am quite comfortable in my current surroundings. I plan to spend the rest of my days here surrounded by those few who wish to remain with me living the only life I have ever known. No offense to the majority, but I would rather finish my days here, be incinerated as we all must do because of lack of crypt space, and have my Ashes preserved in a small urn to be placed on the shelf above and behind me along with the urns of the others who have previously inhabited my little space. For me this is the best, and indeed the only way, for me to explain to those of you reading this many earth years ahead what life was like here for us for so many years living in the underground.

Well, I must go to get this report ready to be released- out of my easy chair and back to my screen. To you surviving almost homo sapiens, I can only wish you the very best of good luck in your attempt to reinhabit our precious planet. Surely, there will be a lot of work for you, our descendants, before you can gradually venture into the outside world, even if you are able to rebuild the old edifices to self-indulgence.

Be careful how you conduct yourselves-others may be watching.