Global Evolution

Chapter 11-20

Chapter 11: Microbes

With his eyes closed, Chang had a long dream. He dreamed of hovering in the universe, looking down at the red fog-covered Earth. From this god-like perspective, he gave off the impression of being the creator of Earth.

Standing over the azure sphere, Chang saw the desolate Earth. There seemed to be nothing but microscopic single-celled life dividing at a snail's pace.

If the evolution speed was that slow, even until the destruction of Earth in five billion years, the planet would still without a doubt be desolate.

While Chang was praying, the azure planet suddenly became shrouded by the red fog, turning it into an oxblood globe.

Inside the red fog, the monotonous unicellular organisms rapidly evolved and branched into countless species. In the blink of an eye, the world turned into a green paradise full of life.

"How did that happen?" Chang muttered.

As he asked the question, the red fog quickly dissipated. Time accelerated, the Earth was once again in harmony. He saw the proliferation of these marvelous creatures as they thrived on the greenness.

The planet was full of life, and every life was full of vigor–however, the sudden emergence of another life changed everything, humans.

Human had only appeared on Earth for a few million years, but they radically changed the past billions of years of history on Earth.

Humans had unceasingly altered nature, resulting in the rapid decay of other species.

In a way, humans were similar to the infection on his wound; they inflamed and festered the Earth. Soon, Earth's decay would occur if no one took any action. While the Earth was dying, the red fog–as if it was an antibiotic, timely appeared to curb the growth of the pathogen.

No... rather than being an antibiotic, the red fog acted as catalyst – it gave the decayed species a chance to face the human pathogen.

The red fog was not directed against humans.

At the end of his dream, the red fog dissipated after a long period of time, and the "pathogen" on this planet was eliminated. The green world had recovered and once again became a habitat for those marvelous creatures. The paradise had returned.

It was a long, uncanny and inexplicable dream.

Sometime the next day, Chang woke up from his dream. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head so that he could return to reality. From the light coming through the window, he knew it was daytime.

Chang pulled out his almost dead phone – 9:40 AM.

"It's morning already." He stretched out his body – he was no longer dizzy. Chang also checked his ankle wound; a scab had formed on the wound already. His body recovered and became almost as energized as he used to be.

"Hey, Tao, time to wake up!" His voice was filled with joy because he survived. He pushed Tao who was sitting next to him – his stiff body slid to the ground.

Bang.

"Tao?" Seeing Tao's body hit the ground, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

He moved forward to straighten Tao's body, but the area that Chang grabbed was stiff and sticky – Tao was dead, and his skin began to soften and decompose.

Tao couldn't be more dead; his muscle was rotting.

"..." staring at his classmate's corpse, Chang was speechless.