Every Ending

Needle prick. Anesthesia kicks in. You’re floating, light as a feather, then you fall back into your body. But not in this dream. You won’t wake up again.

Harsh hospital lights. There’s no capacity to sustain you. To build homes in this scorched world. You couldn’t afford them, not even before the natural disasters. Instead, one-square-meter pods in space—compact and cheap—for your brain. For all human brains. Other body parts are redundant.

We need to shrink. Reduce our footprint. The resources have been exhausted.

Before your eyes, the scalpel blurs. Remember that every ending is a new beginning.

From Guest Contributor Bettina Laszlo

Superman

Superman used to be the savior of the modern world. Natural disasters and global calamities quickly resolved thanks to his timely interventions. No feat seemed impossible to the Man of Steel.

That was before. Now, whether the state of the world just seemed worse by comparison, or the long peace meant that we were not ready to look after ourselves again after relying on the Kryptonian's good graces, who can say? All that's certain is tragedy is never far away and there's no one here to save us.

Not since Superman got a dog. Let humanity take care of itself.

In Posterity

Humans have always known it's unwise to offend the Gods. They are ventose braggarts and given to empty talk, especially when their anger is piqued. Fail to make proper obeisance and a natural disaster is likely to follow.

xxxx wanted to end the cycle of sacrifice and retribution that had lasted for centuries. He thought the Gods were bullies and believed they would back down if someone challenged them.

After what happened to xxxx, I don't dare to write his name. Suffice it to say his theory about the Gods was poorly thought out and won't be named after him.