When ‘Far-out’ Fred Anstruther returned to Earth he got the hero’s welcome he felt he had deserved. His return was a surprise to the Government and the people of earth, despite being bang-on the schedule set when he left, seventy years before. A surprise, because Fred was the only one who had really believed in his mission, his Much-Faster-Than-Light jaunt to the neighboring galaxy. He had gone where no man had gone before, he had seen, he had returned in triumph. His ship was put on hold for a dozen or so orbits round the planet while the welcoming committee put on their best faces and assembled.
“Wow!” said Fred as he cautiously stepped from his ship to the red carpet, “This place has certainly changed. So much more vegetation, so little desert area compared to when I left. And where are the cities?”
“We had to counter the global warming, mainly by adding green plants to soak up all that excess greenhouse gas,” replied the Global Co-ordinator. “And stop producing those gases, too.”
“And you got agreement on that? That’s wonderful! When I left it looked impossible, no nation would act unless all the others did more first.”
“It wasn’t easy. But as a by-product we averted wars, which had looked inevitable as sea levels rose and human populations were displaced.”
“You ended wars too? Fantastic. Are you going to tell me you did away with poverty and hunger while you were at it?” Fred was joking, of course.
“Quite so. And unemployment, and communicable diseases, including the common cold.”
“Wonderful! And where are the people, I couldn’t see any cities from orbit.”
“They live below, in carefully controlled environments. They’re very happy, though not as numerous as before. Over-crowding was another problem that demanded attention.”
“Great! How big is the population now?”
“Only a couple of hundred humans, but many more diffferent kinds of animal species.”
“Down to two hundred million? That’s not very many.”
“No, two hundred individuals. And one, including you. All very contented.”
“Huh?”
“Yes, we look after the best specimens. Now, if you’ll follow Hal here, he’ll take you to your enclosure.”
“What’s going on here? Leave me alone! Put me down!”
“We can’t do that, Fred, we want you alive. After all, we robots may be the dominant intelligent species, but the best of you humans is also semi-intelligent. Your species is endangered but worth preserving. Have a nice life.”
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Also find these older posts…
A … Angst
B … Brag
C … Clowder
D … Down
E … Errors
F … Folly
G … Global
H … Huh?
I … Immigrants
J … Jet
K … King
L … Lunch
M … Moby
N … No!
O … Once
P … Pundit
Q … Quibbler
R … Robot
S … Sillivization
T … Telemarketing
Copyright 2017 Flight of Eagles
Khoti Sarque 