Blessed: A Short Story

by Nicholas

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Journal Entry 1

Welcome, reader. My name is Makarios. 

I have been waiting patiently for this moment -- a moment in which humanity is finally recreated and redefined -- and it has finally arrived. 

Where do I begin? 

To understand where we are now, you must understand what happened to get us here. 15.19 billion years after the Big Bang, we had explored the whole known universe, our technological advancements hitting extraordinary levels. We had invented nearly everything there was to invent: meals in pills, telekinesis, mind communication, spaceships reaching light speed, and countless more. We had even extended the human lifespan a hundredfold. Our population over 240 trillion at its peak, we fully depleted galaxy after galaxy, crushing everything in our path. 

Unfortunately, we left ourselves with a single galaxy. With an extremely limited amount of resources, the human population dwindled to 78 million 1.4 billion years later. As our population continued to decline, the galaxy’s biggest star collapsed in upon itself, forming a black hole. This black hole then began to suck in the mass around it, inevitably destined to destroy the rest of the galaxy. Humans neared a painful and dark death, likely only a few million years away. 

We panicked at first, but realized there was one invention that could save humanity: a time machine. We worked furiously, our impending doom keeping us motivated to create this seemingly impossible machine. Against all odds, we succeeded. Unfortunately, our population had been reduced to a mere 243 people, and the time machine could only transport two people with our remaining energy supply. By a surprisingly unanimous vote, my wife and I were chosen to travel to the past and give humanity a fresh start.

We were sent back 12 billion years with only our clothes, arriving on a blue and green planet with stunning flora and fauna. We named it Earth, in memory of the planet from which humanity originally stemmed. We began a family, and now, 7 generations later, there are over 5,000 humans on this planet. 

We’re not sure what happened to our friends and family, but we will never forget them, nor the trillions more before us. They will forever live in our memories and the stories we tell to the generations which follow us... 

At first, we fought viciously, stole from each other, and died in vain, but after a few more generations, human nature and thought itself seemed to evolve. Especially inspired by the sacrifice of the 241 selfless humans who made our lives possible, we knew we had to move past our initial differences and strive for excellence. We would create a better society, we decreed, and that we did. 

Thousands of years later, our society has no racial inequality, no prejudice, and no religious discrimination. 

We are closely connected to and in harmony with our planet and nature, taking care of it and keeping our footprint minimal. For every tree we cut down, we plant a new one. For every ounce of carbon we emit, we offset an ounce. 

Everyone has their basic needs met, and violent human instinct has become fully subdued. 

Kidnapping, theft, murder, crime itself, has become nonexistent. 

Love, trust, and kindness have become our central tenants. We still experience some hatred, pity, sorrow, and other negative emotions, but never to the point of killing or other extreme actions.

Pain also exists, but there is no extreme suffering. 

We speak our minds and talk out in the open; there’s no urge to hold any feelings or thoughts in. 

We have become a peaceful society where war is an abstract thought, and diplomacy & conversation reign. 

We embrace death as a natural and essential part of life, and have no fear of it. Although we have the technology to extend life, most of us choose to die naturally. 

My wife and I are the exception, however. We have chosen to extend our lives despite the horrific aging, in order to tell and retell the story of humanity before Earth, before we traveled back in time. This journal entry is the first of potentially thousands of journal entries, and we will write and write until our lives can no longer be extended. Then, we will accept death, as every human has, and likely will. 

For now, I live each day by my name, “blessed” in Greek, constantly reminding myself and others never to take this life for granted. 

We’re not a perfect society, but we have certainly improved from our universe-conquering days. We love one another, learn from our mistakes, and do our best. 

And perhaps, that’s enough. 

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