Why I Chose to Stay
Behind
by Budgie Bigelow
Dan sat at his dining room table, looking at the sunny
afternoon outside the window. It was quiet in his house. His
wife and daughter had already left, trying to get a spot in line
to one of the shuttles. There were limited seats, and people
were lining up for miles attempting to abandon the planet.
A comet was heading toward the earth, and the government
had a plan to save humanity, but it wasn’t enough to save
everyone.
Dan told his wife he wanted to stay, but he wouldn’t
talk her into staying with him. It was pointless to try to leave
the planet at this point. Even if they were able to get to the
ones interviewing potential passengers, they would have to
pass the interview. Dan worked with the electric system and
overhead wires, and he wasn’t even sure what they would
have in place on the new planet the media had dubbed “New
Earth” in a complete lack of creativity.
There was one other skill Dan could boast, but it was
more of a hobby than anything else. He was a competent
writer, and he had a small following on the internet when
he posted as his alter ego: Budgie Bigelow. He had been
watching the news and reading their web sites along with
everyone else in the country when the story broke about the
planet-killing comet heading toward them. The plan to get as
many people onto the spaceships and en route to New Earth
was seen as a godsend, but the more Dan read, the more sickened he became with humanity.
So Dan looked away from the window to open his
laptop on the dining room table. He decided to write one last
piece before the world was obliterated and turned to dust. He
didn’t know if anyone would read it before the shuttles blasted off, or if anyone who stayed on Earth would care when so
many were leaving them behind to die.
Still, Dan opened a document and titled his piece:
“Why I Chose to Stay Behind.”
***
Why I Chose To Stay Behind
By Budgie Bigelow
I’m writing this during the last days, maybe hours, of
the Earth. There’s looting in the cities, panic in every neighborhood, and fear in every household. As I write this, my
wife is waiting to be interviewed with my daughter for seats
on one of the spaceships to send them to New Earth, where
they’ll have a second chance on a new planet.
But I chose to stay behind.
Like every human being on earth, I have been reading the news and watching CNN almost constantly since the
bright, yellow trail was seen in the sky as the comet made its
first pass, missing earth. I breathed in relief when they told us
we came close to annihilation, but earth would persevere. I
also wept with the rest of humanity when they said the asteroid would return after the gravity of the sun will propel it
back toward us, putting us directly in its projected path.
Then the heroes of humanity rose to the challenge.
They told us there’s a planet outside our solar system
that can support human life. They had multiple shuttles readied to make the trip a week or so before our planet will be
dust, floating around space in microscopic pieces for all eternity. Soon after, the first shuttles were stocked and brought to
their launch sites.
Then the comet’s trail returned: a trail of gold and yellow etched across the night sky. Scientists came on TV to tell
us it must have left a trail of particles in our atmosphere, and
they were reacting to whatever material the comet was made
of as it made its way back to earth from its slingshot-course
around the sun. They said they needed more time to study it
to be sure, but the planet didn’t have that kind of time.
The manifest of the first shuttle broke on the internet
days before it was scheduled to launch. Rumor was a disgruntled NASA employee leaked it so we’d know the truth. It was
full of politicians and wealthy businessmen - the one-percent in other words. The manifests of two more shuttles were
released, and the results were the same. There were spots for
citizens they deemed “necessary,” but it was mostly old, white
men and their families being saved.
The protests came next. Thousands of people took to
the streets of cities scheduling launches, protesting what was
happening. They claimed the government had promised to
save humanity, but only saved themselves and their ric hest
friends. Televised media painted the protesters as hippies and
nut-jobs, and why not? The CEO’s of the news corporations
all had their names on the manifests too.
The president, his cabinet, and the richest of the
rich went first, blasting off into space as the doomed world
watched on television. They promised to govern as they did
here, upholding the United States constitution, but it’s not as
if they did such a good job before. The battle between the left
and right will only continue on some other planet after the
ruination of Earth.
This was when I came to be suspicious of their plan.
The shuttles were readied way too quickly for them not to
know the human race was going to need to leave the planet.
I don’t know if it’s possible for the government to have prior
knowledge about a rogue comet hurling toward the earth, so
one would have to assume they planned on leaving the earth
before humans had completely destroyed it.
And the people now heading to New Earth are the
ones responsible for the earth’s raping. The only consolation
is the comet would put it out of its misery before humans
could finish its slow murder of an entire planet.
I was told to wait in the long lines and apply for one of
the vacant seats. They said I may be needed during the later
days of the colonizing of New Earth, but I couldn’t see why.
My wife packed us a small bag each (all that one is allowed),
got our daughter ready, and told me we were going to try and
get on one of the ships. I told her I wanted to stay.