I had lots of ideas for Teresa’s prompt today. But in the end, I went with Charlie’s view of colonization of other planets.
Your challenge today, should you accept it, is to explore humanity’s future and write your take on the Science Fiction subgenre of Colonization and see where it leads…or whatever/wherever the picture takes you.
https://maplesswanderer.wordpress.com/2020/01/17/daily-writing-prompt-17/
There are so many things I want to write about…and I will write about them, I am sure I will. But sometimes, it is so nice to switch from everything in your life and divert your thoughts to a little bit of fictional writing. You might remember Charlie from another post I published in response to one of Teresa’s posts: When I Grow Up I Want To Be…
“Dad…if humans completely ruin the planet is there a back-up plan?”
“Why do you ask that Charlie?”
“Well, Miss Cromwell was telling the class that one of the reasons why governments spend billions of pounds on researching outer space is that one day we might use up the earth’s natural resources and we will need to find another planet to colonise.”
“Your teacher told you that?” Jacob, turned to his wife and asked, “Lynn, do you think that’s part of the National Curriculum?”
Lynn laughed, “That’s just a bit of speculation. I’m not sure that’s not part of the syllabus. Charlie, did Miss Cromwell explain what she meant?”
Charlie put his knife and fork down, “Well she said that as soon as scientists locate a planet with water and a breathable atmosphere, they will probably send a group of specially chosen people there to try to live.”
“What did you think of that Charlie?” asked his father.
“Dad, I don’t think it’s a good idea at all. Aren’t we supposed to be trying to do our best to look after our planet and live in a way that doesn’t cause harm? Aren’t governments and industries supposed to be converting to renewable energies and finding ways to become carbon neutral or even carbon negative and eliminate non-recyclable waste? But if they think they can just abandon our planet as soon as they find another planet that we can live on, won’t the same thing happen all over again?”
Charlie’s mother commended him “That’s a good point Charlie. You are right, we all need to look after our beautiful planet. It’s wrong that so much damage has been done. It’s endangering the lives of animals, sea creatures and birds. With all of the extreme weather that we have seen, many people have suffered the loss of their homes, schools, and their families.”
“And if we did develop better spaceships that could go further and find other planets, wouldn’t it make us like the bad aliens?”
“What do you mean by “the bad aliens”?”
“Well in all of those alien movies, the bad aliens travel looking for planets so they can use up their resources themselves. They always seem greedy and they don’t seem to care about anyone else except themselves.”
“You know they are just movies though Charlie, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know they aren’t real. I just don’t understand why my teacher said that humans might need to find another planet after we ruin our planet earth. It’s such a silly thing to say, don’t you think?”
“Why do you think it’s silly?”
“Well, you ask me to tidy my room every weekend. If I didn’t bother cleaning my room and just let all my trash build up and it became dirtier and dirtier, the answer wouldn’t be to ask for a different bedroom, would it? If you have a room or a home of your own, you have to learn to look after it properly.”
“Excellent Charlie. You do a great job of tidying up your room. Your mom and I appreciate it.”
“Dad, I think everyone needs to work harder at looking after our planet. We have such a beautiful home here on earth. I think it’s kind of silly thinking that if we ruin this planet, we can turn to a back-up plan. If people don’t look after this planet, how are they going to be able to look after any other planet properly? It would be a disaster!”
So much to do, so little time! It’s one of those months! It will pass! We are past halfway point already.
I have had to bite my lip so many times! For I have learnt that once you humiliate someone. it is hard to win over their heart. So even with people who make themselves idiots by their speech, it is wiser to find something about them or their opinions to commend and seek common ground. Then to express an alternative viewpoint with appealing words. Softening someone’s heart before you deliver clear irrefutable logic and reason.
If someone asks me what I do, they receive a very long answer. Sometimes the look of bafflement on their face is priceless. Their questions can be varied. I guess, mostly their questions fall along the lines of “How?” “How is that possible?” How can you afford to live? (Especially “how can I afford to live where I do?”)
Weapons and armies. I find it terrifying that governments have developed arsenals that could cause unimaginable harm on humans and animals.
But besides the physical training of men and women to carry out warfare, there is something else I find disturbing. Violent video games and movies. People are training their own brains for violence. So many people argue that these are only games, only entertainment, and that people who enjoy them would never do those things in real life. Really!
What are we talking about here? Are we suggesting banning smoking, overeating, abuse of alcohol, and a sedentary lifestyle? Are we thinking about banning extreme sports, thrill seeking, reckless behavior and taking risks with sexual practices that spread disease? Or is this more focused on those who are experiencing chronic emotional pain or prolonged stress, who seek to either relief their stress through some form of deliberate self-injury or to actually cease their own life?
But we as a human race are not well. We do foolish things. We lose balance. We give into impulses and weaknesses. Some of them are on a small scale. We can often do something to undo the damage. All of us have perhaps harmed our bodies or our consciences to some extent. Many of us realize we ought to make an effort to change our thinking or habits.
Of course all practices that show a disregard for the incredibly precious gift of life, from smoking, to speeding while driving, to inflicting injuries on ourselves, are obviously unhealthy. Of course they should be discouraged. A law makes it clear that something is wrong. Everything I mentioned above is wrong. Smoking is wrong. Surely everyone knows that, including smokers. To choose to put poison into their own body is baffling. But the law allows people to do that. I am not quite sure why that is.
Some police or law enforcers may be compassionate and empathetic, but I have also witnessed some shocking behaviour from police when it came to how they dealt with individuals who were clearly at crisis point. I dread to think what might happen if those of the law enforcement agencies who do not seem to understand despair, feel obliged to “lay down the law” and drive a hard line. It’s frightening.
My legs have always been great. They never seem to tire out. I have used them for swimming throughout my childhood years. They helped win many a race, many a trophy for our school and the county swimming club. At high school, it was hockey, netball, rounders, cross-country and athletics (middle distance was my preference).
But this month, I have had six twelve hour shifts so far, and I have six more before the month is over. Twelve hours on my feet. Well, I do have chance to sit down for fifteen minutes during my lunch break. It amazes me that my legs don’t get tired. One night, I had to go shopping after work because I had no food at home (I keep forgetting to buy groceries) and my legs finally felt some achy tiredness. I think I pushed them too far that day. Well it was also my third twelve hour shift in a row. But other than that night, my legs have been tremendous!
Caramel 