A
cockroach ran across the shattered linoleum floor of the Laundromat, looking
for food in the midst of a structure that could not have been natural. For as
insignificant as the insect may have been, it was amongst the few life forms
that have come to inhabit the Laundromat along with the plants growing through
the cracks in the walls. As the roach stopped and looked at its surroundings,
it could not make sense of the washing machines nor the dryers whose uses have
been discontinued for decades. Needless to say, the roach could not have any
idea of what it was inside of.
A slight wind blew through a rubber
factory in Dublin, Ireland, and a few hours later that same breeze would grace
an office building in Gaborone, Botswana. Countless other winds presented
themselves to other abandoned structures across the globe, as their purposes
had been unfulfilled since the last human had met their fate.
While humans were alive, it was
always assumed that the end of their species would be via war or extreme
natural circumstances made by their own doing. This was not the case. For as
brilliant and creative as the species formerly known as Homo Sapiens were, they had their own destructive and negative side
as well; some would even argue that positive attributions were mere exceptions
to their violent behavior. But the flash of a nuclear explosion did not bring
about their end, nor by a tidal wave, earthquake or other such disaster; no,
the end of humanity was brought about by disease. Not a disease that festered
in humans and robbed them of their health (ironically as humans did to the
Earth) but a disease that affected their mentality, an inundation of nihilism,
if you will. As humans lived longer and improved their rationality and common
sense, they all saw that there was no point to life and decided that they would
be better off not existing at all. Populations decreased over a period of time
as more and more people understood the burden of a higher level of perception.
Eventually, with the human populations engulfed in a sense of hopelessness, the
last humans perished with the belief that the universe did not have a single
care for them.
The world truly had ended with a
whimper instead of a bang, as many expected it to.
From the minute that the last human
ceased to exist, the Earth took control of itself once more. The world was no
longer guided by the codes of humanity; instead, it was guided once more by the
ways it had been before the arrival of humans: a renaissance of sorts. Of
course, the monuments of humanity lasted far longer than their creators, but
without a purpose they succumbed to the rule of the planet. Factories, which
produced the most technologically advanced devices on the planet, became
overrun with plants and animals struggling to understand its place in the new
world. Homes, buildings, and other structures soon became the markers of the
once proud species, who built themselves up, and destroyed themselves. But
without anybody to understand what their purpose was, what was a monument, but
a structure that might as well have been built by creatures from another
planet?
A squirrel ran into a synagogue in
Buenos Aires, Argentina; a place once beloved by those with the ability to
perceive of an existence higher than their own. Running through the aisle and
up to the Rabbi’s pedestal, the squirrel happened upon the open pages of a
Torah. Not understanding what the symbols meant, the squirrel continued its
quest to find food in order to fulfill its most basic animal instinct of survival.
The squirrel abandoned the synagogue when it found nothing that could sustain
its metabolic needs.
Days turned to months and months
turned to years, all the while the world kept on turning just the same. By and
by, evolution continued to take its place as insignificant and small changes
were becoming more noticeable. Offspring began to gradually look less and less
like their parents as their biological composures became more adapted to the
world. The shells of insects grew thicker, birds could fly for longer periods
of time without as much need for food, and plants became suitable to fight off
diseases that had the ability to wipe out entire swaths of vegetation. Meanwhile,
the structures of humans fell into yet more decay as the Earth attempted to
recover any nutrients or minerals left behind by humanity.
Once the worms and microscopic
organisms purged the structures out of every mineral that was to be found, the
rest was left to nature. The centuries wore on as various insects attempted to
extract as much nutritional value from the Lincoln Memorial as they could, but
once it was picked clean, it was left to the weather, the winds, and the
erosions of time. Honest Abe’s eyes still look out for the slightest sign of intelligence
that would appreciate his life’s work.
The same could be said for the
monuments dedicated to Mandela, Washington, Churchill, Susan Anthony, Curie,
Cleopatra, amongst many others. Their works, accomplishments, goals, and
purposes were cast out of a world that had no higher sense of perception and
saw no need for one. The plants and animals saw no reason why the United States
Constitution, the invention of the steam engine, or the World Wars should have
any bearing on their existence if it didn’t have a hand in aiding their
survival. For the sparrow in what used to be Mozambique, the berries on the
trees had more significance on it than the country’s independence in the year 1975.
A catfish swam up in what used to be
Boston Harbor in the wake of ships that sank long after their use was
discontinued. In the catfish’s limited mind, the ships were an oddity, and something
that it could not comprehend. But a school of tiny fish emerged from the
porthole on the side, and the catfish saw on opportunity to eat. In a harbor
that hosted much political significance to the country formerly known as the
United States, the catfish amongst any other sea creature could never behold
the importance of the waters it swam in,
Within one millennium of the last
human’s passing, changes still happened across the world. Whatever was left of
the mark of humanity was reduced to little more than crumbling buildings and
any pollution that took a long time to decompose. Yet, already the Earth had
become what it had been prior to the arrival of humans. Only the laws of
survival and the universe guided the animals through their lives on the planet,
and while some fared better than others, the laws of nature reigned supreme.
Plants continued to grow stronger and live longer depending on the amount of
water and sunlight they were exposed to. In Moscow, Russia amidst the crumbling
of the political building known as the Kremlin, an ivy vine growing for years
eventually found its way into the Prime Minister’s office and wrapped itself
around the desk and chair where Stalin, Khrushchev, Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and
Putin once sat.
Predators continued to hunt prey
much as they had done for millennia past, even while humans were still around.
A mongoose hunted a mouse in the Marne, Hawks continued to hunt over Hastings,
Armadillos searched for food in Antietam, and snakes sought out pray in
Stalingrad. Competition continued to flourish in the world based on the
principle that only the fittest will survive. Once a plant or animal was able
to secure enough food to stay alive and live to pass on its genes, there was
little need for much else. No lands to conquer, no riches to acquire, no
propaganda, no large-scale attacks, simply nature catering to the strongest and
abandoning the weakest, as harsh as that principle may sound.
The process of natural selection
went on for millennia until evolutionary adaptations gave animals new abilities
never thought possible before. While the progress of humanity came to a
complete halt, nature flourished and branched out in ways that humans never
would have thought possible before. Plants took on properties and features that
made them grow stronger, quicker, and able to harvest their food in lesser, but
more substantial qualities. Land animals grew larger and with more defensive
attributions to ensure that their genes would pass on to the next generations.
Birds took on otherworldly characteristics that made them the masters of the
sky; what was once a sparrow was little different than a pterodactyl. But the
most impressive evolutionary advancement took place beneath the waves.
Groups of fishes began to sprout
appendages and grow air sacs within their bodies that would allow them to
briefly walk on land. A few more generations later, they had lungs, arms, legs,
and a mind that was accustomed to living and surviving on land. A couple
thousand years later, they took to the trees, and when they got down they
spread all over the planet, despite how far apart the continents began to
drift. As time went on, they began to use tools, farms, politics, writing, and
language all based on which region of the Earth they migrated to. Eventually,
the meekest species of all inherited the Earth and made it their own.
