Let me ask you a question. What does conflict achieve? Many ask this question. Humanity has done so for hundreads, if not thousands of years. And yet despite this, even when we don’t know the true answer to this question, we still initiate conflict in places that aren’t even our own. We believe we must own everything, yet this is impossible when other countries already own the places we want. No matter how you look at it, if conflict on a large scale starts, then war is guarenteed to begin. This is what has happened to humanity, but instead of something along the lines of nuclear annialition, a far different outcome has come to light. The end of humanity’s first chapter came and went, but what happened?o the planet as a result?

F o l l o w i n g t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e 2 0 1 0 s , h u m a n i t y ’ s s t r i d e s i n s p a c e t r a v e l t e c h n o l e g y l e a p e d f o r w a r d m a s s i v i a l y . T h e p r o s p e t o f l e a v i n g p l a n e t e a r t h a n d l i v i n g a m o n g e s t t h e s t a r s w a s b e c o m i n g a n e v e r g r o w i n g p o s i b i l i t y . T o a c h i e v e s u c h a g o a l , r e s o u r c e s w o u l d b e n e e d e d f o r t h e s a k e o f s p a c e t r a v e l a n d h a b i t a t i o n s t u d y . W i t h p l a n e t e a r t h s e v e r d w i n d l i n g a m o u n t o f n a t r u a l r e s o u r c e s , h o w e v e r , c o n f l i c t w a s b o u n d t o a r i s e a s h u m a n i t y p o w e r e d i t ’ s w a y t h r o u g h w h a t c a n o n l y b e described as ‘‘The Second Space Race.’’ T h o u n s a n d s o f l i v e s w e r e l o s t t o c o n f l i c t a n d d e s t r u c t i o n , t h e i r h o m e s f l a t t e n e d a n d b o m b e d s o m o r e r e s o u r c e s c o u l d b e f o u n d a n d u s e d t o e v e r p u s h f o r w a r d t h e r a c e t o s p a c e . F i n a l l y , t h e w o r l d s s u p e r p o w e r s r e a c h e d t h e i r g o a l , a n d w i t h i n d a y s m i l l i o n s o f p e o p l e w i t h i n t h e w o r l d s p o p u l a t i o n h a d l e f t p l a n e t e a r t h .

But not all people were so lucky...

O n l y t h e w e a l t h y w e r e a b l e t o l e a v e a n d m o v e o n t o h o m e s i n t h e s t a r s . T h o s e w i t h o u t m i l l i o n s i n t h e i r p o c k e t s w e r e f o r c e d t o r e m a i n o n a n o w w a r t o r n a n d d e s t r o y e d p l a n e t e a r t h , a v e r y m u c h a p o c a l y p t i c r e a l m w i t h l i t t l e t o n o r e s o u r c e s l e f t f o r t h e t h o u s a n d s l e f t s t r a n d e d o n h u m a n i t y ’ s f o r m e r b a s t i o n o f h o p e . T h o s e w h o r e m a i n m u s t s c a v a n g e t o s u r v i v e , s e a r c h i n g f o r a l l t h e r e s o u r c e s t h e y c a n t o e i t h e r h e l p o t h e r s around them, or souly help themselves, B u t t h e s e s c a v e n g e r s n e v e r h a v e t h i s j o b e a s y . D a y i n d a y o u t , r e m a i n s o f s o c i e t y t h a t h a v e d e g r a d e d f a r e n o g h , r e s o r t t o m u r d e r a n d d e s t r u c t i o n m j u s t l i k e t h o s e o l d w o r l d l e a d e r s , T h e y t r y t o s t o p t h e s e g o o d n a t u r e d s c a v e n g e r s , o n l y t o t a k e their own collected resources and waste them to no end.

I t i s a h o r r i b i l y h a r d l i f e , w i t h n o s e e m i n g e n d t o t h e continued repetitive nature humanity seems to follow. Live, Claim, Destroy, Conquer

Survival of the Fittest A Story by Luka Connell