“Sooner or later, we will have to realize that the Earth has rights, too, to live without pollution. What mankind must know is that human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans.”

– Evo Morales

Year: 3000 AD
Location: secret government base in Antarctica

    One press of a button was all it took. One simple push.

    The world was going to end. Glaciers melting, the waters rising, cities disappearing.

    President Clawson shut his dark brown eyes, reopening them after a moment and glancing at the computer on his desk. One press of a button.

    “Well? Hurry it up.”

    â€‹Clawson’s eyes darted up to see the disapproving gazes of the other leaders of the world staring down at him, and he swallowed nervously. “Yes, of course.”

    One push. Done.

Location: west coast of Africa

    Darkened hands with long, slender fingers worked quickly, putting every single part in its proper place. Finally, Lulu leaned back and looked at her creation with satisfaction. The spherical mechanism gleamed in the harsh light of the lab, the polished cream surface looked so smooth - almost like an enormous pearl.

    Lulu leaned forward and pushed in a panel on the device, causing it to split into four different fragments, all equal in size. Turning, she looked at her computer screen, mind already devising a million possible locations to hide the portions. After typing a few commands into the computer, her small particle-displacer whirred to life. She patted its rusted side affectionately.

    “Hold out for me. Just one more time, please.”

    The earth shook beneath her feet, and Lulu’s heart began to pound. She grabbed one of the pieces of the Pearl, as she had dubbed it, and shoved it into the portal, which devoured it eagerly. One down, three to go. She repeated the process as parts of the ceiling rained down upon her, narrowly missing the teleporter several times. With a frantic yelp, she pushed the last piece of the Pearl into the teleporter. The portal disappeared just moments before a chunk of the ceiling crushed it, eliminating all hopes of transporting anything else. Fortunately, Lulu did not need to transport anything else.

    Stepping outside, she watched with sickening horror and the realization that there would be no hope for her. The blackened sky was clouded above her - a result of the hundreds of factories dotting the world. One would think that by now the human population would have come up with a way to prevent pollution, but no - that would deprive the governments of money, wouldn’t it? Everything was about money and power nowadays.

    Lulu looked at the horizon, long since covered by fumes. Looking out upon her beautiful Africa, she longed for what had been thousands of years ago - a slew of creatures roaming the landscape. Giraffes, zebras, lions, and hundreds more, which were now long gone.

    She wasn’t ignorant, or stupid, or even oblivious; no, Lulu was very informed. She knew what was going to happen any moment now, unlike the millions of people living their lives at this moment, blissfully unknowing. At any second, fire would rain from the sky. It would probably be so sudden that no one would have time to think, but it would be terrifying, even if their frail minds didn’t register it. Nuclear weapons, specially crafted by the greatest scientists to ever live, would soon rip through the world, demolishing nearly all life. Of course, some areas would be spared. Many of the mountains were much too high to be affected by the controlled blast that was surely on its way, and the oceans were alternatively way too deep. The tech-shields that had been placed over most of the planet’s national parks were constructed to hold up against nearly all kinds of attacks, and were practically impenetrable. Unfortunately, the rest of the world would become a wasteland, devoid of life.

    â€‹They look like fireworks.

    Lulu watched the sky with awe as flames poured down, bathing her in a fiery red light. Noxious effluvium filled the air, and the scientist barely registered that she was falling. Her body hit the ground and her eyes closed, long since blinded by the pure light that filled the air. Skin peeled, breathing hitched, and clothes and hair shriveled up, until Lulu Salim was nothing but another corpse.

    But far below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, a quarter of the Pearl nestled itself into the mud, its blinking blue light dimming; and atop K2 Mountain, another portion did the same, burying into the rock. In the Shoshone National Forest, yet another fragment burrowed beneath the roots of a Redwood, settling down for a cozy rest. And in the city of Tokyo, the final and most durable piece found itself crammed beneath a toppled skyscraper.

"The indulgence of our lives has cast a shadow on our world.
Our devotion to our appetites betrayed us all.
An apocalyptic plight,
more destruction will unfold.
Mother Earth will show her darker side and take her toll." – Disturbed