reply to post by bananasam
Humanity has grown in its many forms like a mythical hydra - for every head that fell (Neanders, Heidels), another would appear and persevere.
We grouped together and spread along coastlines and rivers, singing, building and fighting in ever larger masses. The Earth was our Garden and we
could do whatever we wanted with it.....or so we thought. Quietly walking lock-step and four square with us every step of the way are the real
custodians of this Outpost Earth.
They used subtle influences and appeared in hundreds of different forms to keep 'the kids' in check until it just wasn't working. By 1918, they
looked at Northern Europe's lands and saw the blood-soaked soil and bones twisted into broken metal. The air was heavy with chemical warfare and the
last breaths of millions of lives. Looking at the state of humanity and its prospects for the Earth prompted one of them to come up with a
solution.
Her famous assessment was short and awesome, "This # ain't working!"
Of course the humans couldn't hear this over the mental traffic of 'Me, me, me!' But for the custodians, those four telepathic words rushed around
the world like the tides of all the seas. With prickling sadness, she pressed the button and the signal went out for an off-world team. It was time
for the Welfare and Social Services (WSS) crews to assess.
It took until 1942 and above the skies of Europe there suddenly appeared unusual objects mingling with planes in aerial battles and watching over the
slaughter. They weren't happy at all - not one bit; especially as we were firing at them. Welfare realised this was too big for them and sent the
signal 'up top' for Police reinforcements and the Psy-Teams.
They were late to the party, but wow! 1947 and the humans had gone atomic and not for fun and electricity. Crazy SoBs! The police guys assessed the
state of play on Earth. They looked at this AFB over here and had a glance at that reactor over there...and saw it was
not good. It wasn't
bloody good at all. Nuh uh. The psy-guys assessed the people by appearing in different countries with warnings of destruction and calamities. Well
something was lost in the translation! People ran away...or shot at them. Kids even threw stones. Psy-guys shook their heads in baffled humility.
Sigh. Echoing the phrase from many years earlier, the head of off-world police muttered darkly, "This # ain't working!"
With the Earth being at stake, it was time for the last resort and the signal went out for the Medical Section. A bad day indeed because nobody likes
a visit from the folk in white coats. By the time they arrived in the late 70s, people had stopped killing each other so much and for a moment they
were going to head on back and leave it. "All this way for nuthin'?!' It was soon noticed that the humans were now engaged in choking and starving
themselves to death by poisoning the air and land at the same time. Dang but these humans are as stupid as a side order of dumb!
Throughout the 80s and 90s, they selected and duplicated some people and marked others down for deletion. Like thieves in the night - or actually just
thieves in the night - they snipped a gene from this strand and added one there. Like master weavers they changed the fabric and altered the patterns
of the future of humanity. Human 2.0 (service pack 4) was created and placed into the populations.
So now, if you look across from your coffee cup at the folk at the next table. Or if you brush past that couple at the mall. Think to yourself. Are
you one of us or one of them? You won't get an answer, but they'll certainly hear your question. If they look back, will they feel sadness for the
Human 2.0 (service pack 3) that's been marked for extinction?