"Forewarning" by Emma-Jane C. Smith

A massive orange flame erupts from the earth’s once calm surface. The power of the explosion so massive the whole planet shakes. As the force of the blast reaches its full height it begins to mushroom out, turning into a sickly grey colour. Then there is another explosion, another, another, and another. It looks as if all of earth’s acne is exploding at once, spewing its infected pus everywhere until it covers the land and water.

There is no longer green and brown landmasses nor deep blue oceans. All that is left is radioactive, toxic smoke which smothers the land like a heavy grey blanket. The planet is a grey blob suspended in space. Useless.

Then finally, everything calms, the earth becomes once more a sedate, peaceful, and colourful planet.

Shake

Earth’s surface becomes slightly cloudy but through the smog the landmasses begin to rise. White bleached garbage begins to appear. They are mashed so that they look like sugar cubes. They engulf the once beautiful oceans of the planet. Resource harvesting spaceships fly to the surrounding asteroids and planets and back to earth like flies around a garbage bin. They breed, and spread further out, but always return to the white-blanketed earth. Colour has been leeched out, so that garbage can no longer be identified from the rest of the landscape. But all of it is now garbage. The planet is a snowy sphere suspended in space. Useless.

Then finally, everything recedes, the spaceships disappear, the colour returns, the earth becomes once more a sedate, peaceful, and colourful planet.

Shake

A long green rod emerges from the earth’s surface like an insect’s antenna. It grows until it is fully extended, far past the earth’s atmosphere. It is the hideous, all-seeing eye of a man made god.

A beam of green light flashes from the tip of the rod down to the earth below. It leaves pinprick scorch marks on the surface. It does it again, and again, a frenzy of destruction. Then it stops. It is silent.

An explosion erupts from the antenna’s base. It rips the rod out of the earth below, sending it cart-wheeling into space. The explosion triggers another, and another. The seams of the earth tear, ripping apart with the force of it. The earth is unable to hold its core, and it explodes like a microwaved egg.

Nothing remains. Rock debris floats through space. Useless.

Finally, the rock debris retreats, earth is whole again, everything is once more calm, sedate, peaceful.

Shake

Buildings appear across the surface of the earth like boils appearing on a warthog’s backside. They creep across the landscape like a growing scar. The oceans vanish and more boils appear. Wildlife, greenery, nature disappear.

Only one structure remains; it is small and surrounded by painful blisters. A few animals are housed there, alone and unloved. Then it disappears. And the final place is filled with more festering buildings. The planet is a blob covered in regimented rectangular buildings as it sits suspended in space. Useless.

Then the scar recoils, the earth becomes once more a healthy, sedate, peaceful, colourful and nature-filled planet.

Shake

The planet earth turns shining metallic grey and crystal as a large structure is built to surround it. Long rods to support the project leap out like a spider’s legs. Increasing amounts of housing structures appear on its surface. Spaceships depart to do the same to the moon’s surface. Glittering and metallic spheres sprouting talons. Everywhere in space more and more buildings and industrial facilities infest and rob the land of beauty.

Whole planets become vacant shells because steel spaceships take what they need. Spaceships, like scurrying carrion beetles, lift from the earth in search of new prey, new places to reap, and to colonise. Earth becomes a planet of cold metal, devoid of beauty, pockmarked with edifices. Like many planets inside there is nothing, it is nothing more than a gutted animal who is old and exhausted. An empty shell. Useless.

Then the metallic and crystalline structures vanish, everything calms, the earth becomes once more peaceful, and colourful. A planet that is whole.

Shake

A spaceship departs a building-littered earth; it leaves its protective cocoon. It travels to the distant stars. Other ships appear, not born of earth. They are sedate until the earth ships send out rays of sickly green. It poisons them and they are reduced to fire, then ash.

The ships from earth dominate the black skies of space. Weapons continue to rain fire on those not of earth. Then there is an amassing of ships, ships from other galaxies, other worlds. They come with more weapons, greater numbers, and holy vengeance rises up against the teeming masses of darkness.

Sizzling bolts of light litter the once dark recesses of space. Explosions light the night skies as ships destroy one another like ants from rivalling colonies.

The last earth vessel disappears in fiery torment. The others come to claim the planet. A weapon explodes. Earth becomes a shower of light. Then there is darkness. There is no earth. It is gone. There is nothing but space. Void and lifeless.

Then finally, everything rewinds and calms, the earth appears as it once was. A sedate, peaceful, colourful and a planet that is whole.

Shake

The little girl shook her holosphere shaker again, the toy which was modelled off the ancient earth snow globes. She watched with horror-filled fascination as the explosions began again. The first of the six scenarios playing out once more.

“Now Brunie,” her mother explained, “This is why we are here. We are dependent on the earth, so that’s why we don’t want anything bad to happen to it. Now I want you to keep your eyes and ears open, and learn everything you can. Our future depends on it.”

Brunie nodded, still engrossed in her new educational toy. The lady at the entrance gave Brunie’s mother an encouraging smile, glad that she was teaching her daughter to be earthwise. Brunie’s mother smiled back and then watched the lady as she handed out another holosphere shaker.

Brunie and her mother stood at the entrance of the Future Earth Expo. A place where like-minded people from all over the planet came to mingle, learn and discuss the issues surrounding all of earth’s possible futures. It was the first Expo of its kind and owed its creation to the efforts of Green Peace. The dangers resulting from human action or inaction were to be discussed openly… finally.

Brunie’s mother held her hand out to her daughter; the young girl obediently took it and skipped beside her mother. Together they moved into the main hub of the Expo Dome.

The End