Death Before Life

Prologue

The New Beginning 2083 AD

Humanity trashed the planet. Well and truly trashed. The air and water was polluted beyond repair. The ozone layer completely depleted. The oceans nearly boiling. The weather was so erratic that crops failed for many growing seasons worldwide. People were starving and fighting over every resource. Many perished without proper access to the vital resources.

And just when the reigning governments thought things couldn't get any worse, meteors came. Two of them, one slightly smaller than the moon, and one smaller than that. There was no way to counter them. When they hit, one in Mexico and the other in the middle of the Arctic ocean above Russia, scientists thought for sure that it would be the end of humanity as it was known. The cosmos was giving the Earth one last chance to be clean of its destroyers, the final dose of antibiotics. Fortunately for humanity, the destruction caused was not as catastrophic as predicted. The majority of coastal cities were wiped out, leaving new coastal cities in their wake. That was three years ago.

Humanity, for the most part, has recovered and rallied. The planet, unfortunately, has not. Scientists from around the world have been working together for months to figure out a way to save this planet, as well as its inhabitants. There have been conversations around the cities about what the said solution was, whispers of space travel. Of course, they were only rumors started by gossips around the town. Always looking to the stars for escape. More disturbing were the rumors of the creatures created by the meteors. It was said that if they found you, you would never be seen again. In all the chaos, it was difficult to tell who disappeared when, however, so the rumors could be just that. Sometimes in the dead of night, though, people swore that they could hear howls too human to be from the wolves.

In the following weeks, more and more details were leaked about the scientists' plans. Most of them revolved around the idea that they were sending limited amounts of people into space to travel to the safest nearby planet. People began to fight with their neighbors, adamant that they were going to be the ones to be able to board the ship. It all culminated on a Wednesday night, when thunderstorms were particularly bad.

People gathered around any running television or radio source. One of the head scientists was standing at a podium in front of what seemed like endless reporters waiting to hear their fate. She shuffled some cards around and cleared her throat, unintentionally silencing every reporter in the room, and every person tuning in to the broadcast.

"Well... Hello. We know that the past years have been incredibly difficult, and we, as a scientific community, see many more difficult times ahead of us. It has always been the goal to improve the quality of life of mankind worldwide. Here I stand, representing our community, bringing you the only solution we have found.

As was in the news several years ago, there is a planet not too far from us, around 50 lightyears, that is capable of sustaining both human and plant life. In two years we will be sending ships to this planet to colonize and resettle." At this, reporters begin to bustle quietly, still listening intently.

"The world has seemingly been preparing for this type of event for a long time. Combined with the prior prepping, and the unfortunate major loss of life in the past years, we will have room to provide board for the majority of the surviving population. We do, however, acknowledge that we cannot take everyone with us on this trip.

There is hope for those who remain on the planet! Those who remain here will be compensated handsomely, and we will, as a team effort, be fixing the planet. In the aftermath of the meteors, we were able to devise an elixir that will provide a much longer lasting, if not immortal life. Those remaining on Earth will be given a choice of whether or not to take the elixir. We require people of all professions to remain on Earth so that we may continue functioning as normal, but we will not force anyone to stay. We search for volunteers worldwide to assist in saving the planet, so that humanity may one day return to their home.

More details will be coming forth in the following days so that the people may make informed decisions about their futures. Thank you for your patience in these trying times. Goodnight."

The reporters clamored to ask the woman more questions, but she waved curtly and exited the stage. People were bustling and chattering, unsure of what to make of the news just handed to them. A new life on a new planet, or remain here and experience longevity in an effort to save the planet? In the weeks post-announcement, abandoned buildings became decision report centers, open to the public until 6 months before launch. It was discovered that no elixir would be handed out until after everyone else had departed, in order to keep options open for all citizens. People were overall incredibly apprehensive, but the volunteer slots managed to fill themselves relatively quickly, anyways.

In the end, almost a billion people elected to remain on earth from the six populated continents. Everyone from farmers to engineers to scientists to even some actors. Due to the nature of the current state of the world, anyone above the age of fifteen was allowed to make their decision independently of their families, and in cases where parents were deceased, children could choose for themselves as young as the age of ten. The dedication to saving the planet and the creatures involved skyrocketed. Finally, there was hope.