Harbingers—The Far Side of the Sky
8 December 2019“Harbingers” is an ongoing series of articles, stories, and reflections by Bhante Sujato on living in the age of global warming.
It feels like the end of all things. It feels like each day is a step in the wrong direction; like we are all lemmings, walking in slow motion to the cliff, fully aware, yet watching detached, unable to correct our course. Ahead of us lies no surprise, no last minute reprieve, just the abyss. Yet here, at the end of hope, it is joy unlooked-for that fills my heart, for I have learned a great truth. We are safe. If I have seemed pessimistic in the past, that was only because I had too little knowledge. It turns out, our Leaders have had a plan all along. We can stop worrying; we’ll be fine.
Not the earth, though. The planet is toast. But that should not distress us overly much, for what matters is us. Nature and animals are nice, of course, but they are not invested with value in and of themselves. We are the ones who are conscious and awake, who contain the seeds of enlightenment, and who can take responsibility for our actions. Those actions, admittedly, include killing trillions of animals and wiping out millions of species, wreaking havoc and devastation on our home at a scale that no animal could rival. But it is we humans who have the unique capacity to reflect on our mistakes, to feel sorry for them, and to hope to do better in the future.
There is, it has been revealed to me, a conspiracy. Nothing sinister; here we find no backroom cabals of sleazy men colluding to bend events to their own ends. No, this is the right kind of conspiracy. Be not afraid, for our fates rest safe in strong and capable hands.
It was half a century ago, when the US and the USSR started sending probes into space, that they made an incredible discovery. There is, in fact, a second earth!
When our solar system was formed, say the scientists, unimaginable forces spun apart in twin great spirals that solidified both as the planet we know as Earth, and as a second almost identical planet, exactly on the opposite side of the sun. We can’t see it or detect it with ordinary instruments, but the space-farers have all confirmed it.
When they first saw this, our Leaders knew, even at the height of the Cold War, that this was something that transcended politics. Scientists cooperated in an unprecedented research project to discover what they could about our mysterious twin. And what they found was beyond their wildest dreams.
Earth-2 is the same size as our Earth-1, occupying the same orbit around the sun. It has the same mix of land and oceans, and a varied but generally pleasant climate. And it is full of life! The land masses are vivid green, the oceans teeming with fish. The biology is carbon-based, and in fact is almost identical with our own. The reason for the similarity is unclear; some speculate that an asteroid in the distant past seeded organic matter from one planet to the other. But the cause is secondary to the fact: Earth-2 is livable. It’s better than livable—it’s spectacular.
The first concern of our Leaders was to determine whether Earth-2 posed a threat. They scrutinized it for signs of intelligent life and found nothing. Decades of close study have shown conclusively that the highest form of life there is a species of adorable monkey-like creatures.
While the Leaders were learning all this, they were also learning about something else: anthropogenic global warming. By the early 1960s, the evidence was clearly pointing to the calamitous effects of our greed for fossil fuels. Politicians and scientists were moving towards a consensus that coal and oil must be rapidly phased out, and that we must transition to a fully renewable economy by the end of the 1970s. Given that this was based on solid science, and that the costs of transition, if carried out swiftly, were not great, governments began preparing legislation to mandate such a shift.
But there was a concern. Some scientists—by no means all—believed that it was too late. As early as 1972, some were saying that we had passed certain tipping points and that the collapse of the environment was already locked in. We had cleared too many forests, burnt too much fuel, and scoured too much from the seas.
While this was uncertain, it raised a worrying problem. We could pour our effort into saving this world, and it might work—or it might not. We could introduce renewable energy and sustainable farming, and build energy-efficient houses. But there is just so much overhead. Too many cities are built for cars: how can they be converted to public transport? How to reverse the long-standing trends of manufacturing, farming, transport, and a thousand other things, all built on the idea that we can just burn fossil fuels as much as we like? And how to do all this when every detail must be negotiated and agreed on by the people living there?
What if, some wondered, we had the chance to move to a new home? Wouldn’t it be better to simply start again? Earth-2 appeared to some as a sign from their God, a unique blessing. It would be a shame, folly really, to overlook such a chance. We have learned so much. Why not put it into practice and create a world really worth living in?
And so it began. A multi-decade project, with the world’s great Leaders in cooperation, preparing a world worthy of becoming humanity’s new home. This finally explains why our politicians have seemed so unconcerned with climate catastrophe, so blasé that they allow our planet to careen frantically towards collapse. This is where all the missing trillions have gone, not to tax havens for the ultra-rich. I mean really, who could possibly be so evil as to syphon funds from the public purse when the fate of humanity is at stake? The rich may have their flaws, but that would be truly monstrous!
No, the great and the good have been secretly laboring behind the scenes, building a paradise. It turns out, all our Leaders wanted was for us to live and flourish on a new world.
And what a world it is! From the beginning, it was determined that the planet itself would be zoned residential. The value of the environment, after all, lies in how it serves humanity. If we shift industry off-planet, we can truly maximize the utility of the environment.
How does it all work? Well, mining is carried out in the asteroid belt, where a complex network of robotic workers extract practically limitless quantities of any mineral. Using abundant solar and nuclear energy, materials are refined and manufactured. Waste and pollution are a non-issue, as they are simply expelled to the infinity of space. Finished goods are sent to the “Celestial Amazon”, a great network of satellites that organizes distribution. Meanwhile, huge orbiting greenhouses grow abundant food of every variety. In this way the foods of Earth-1 can be enjoyed without contaminating the biosphere of Earth-2. Space elevators have been built to silently and swiftly convey goods to the surface. Solar-powered drones then bring any kind of product or food right to your door, while garbage drones remove all waste harmlessly to space.
Most of the work has gone into construction. Promising sites are selected by teams of geologists, ecologists, botanists, and other specialists, who carefully survey the planet to determine the most beautiful and pleasant places to live. Architects design living spaces that harmonize with nature. Great tree-houses wind around 300-meter high forest giants. Houses on stilts have glass floors for watching the mysterious forest beasts prowl below. Floating cities move between continents, allowing the citizens to enjoy the endless delights of the various climates. In the mountains, caves, dry and warm, await those who love silence and solitude. There is even a local plant with a giant flower, several meters across, large enough that cozy living spaces have been provided within the golden petals.
All of this, of course, took an unprecedented investment of money and resources, and in the meanwhile Earth-1 has sadly languished. Scorched by fire, drowned by flood, stripped of her mineral wealth, she lies broken and bleeding, spasming in the throes of a terminal decline. This is, of course, regrettable. Nobody wants to leave their mother in such a state. But it was a necessary sacrifice, and when you see the wonders of Earth-2, I’m sure you’ll agree that it was worth it.
Okay, okay, I hear you! “When are we moving?” you cry! I cannot reveal the date, but rest assured, it will not be long. The plan is that the move will be complete before 2050. And seeing the astonishing integrity, commitment, and ingenuity of our Leaders—our real ruling classes, not the public puppets—I have little doubt the work will be handily completed before the deadline.
In a few years, the great movement will begin. A steady stream of settlers will lift off, coast gently for a few weeks in space, then arrive at their new home. How excited they’ll be! Don’t worry if you’re not among the first to leave, there’ll be plenty of homes for you, too.
When I say “you” I mean, not everyone of course, only those who have been chosen. Even with the scale of resources at our disposal, we cannot get all eight billion humans transported in time. We will, unfortunately, have to leave some behind. Current estimates project that the settlers will total some tens of millions.
That leaves us with a hard choice: who is to stay and who is to go? This is yet another reason to be grateful that our Leaders have the strength to make such burdensome decisions on our behalf.
And here I want to let you in on a little secret. Please don’t publicize this, as some may not understand. The Leaders have, as we have seen, worked from a place of tremendous wisdom and compassion. Now, far be it for me to claim that they are literally enlightened; but it sure feels like it. They are evolved beings.
And they understand that among the peoples of this earth, there a hierarchy of moral value. This is, I think, self-evident to any thinking person. Consider those who endorse racism, or who believe that women should be treated as less than equal, or whose minds are full of hate and greed. Clearly, they are just as human as we, but they are a lesser—I don’t want to say “breed”, but perhaps a lesser state of evolution.
It is, after all, because of them that we are in this pickle. We have always known that true happiness came from spiritual things, not from the material. We didn’t chop down forests or slaughter animals or beat women or hate gays. (Note: Unfortunately, no homosexuals are allowed among the chosen. This is due to our overriding genetic imperative to continue the species, and is not homophobic.) We tried to do the right thing. We took the week off for executive mindfulness retreats, and we paid extra for organic vegetables. We are not perfect, to be sure, but at least we tried.
So the selection is based on spiritual evolution. As a Buddhist, I was delighted to find that meditators feature strongly. Indeed, among the group of chosen to whom I was privileged enough to be invited, most were meditators, looking like they were plucked straight from the front cover of a yoga magazine.
Not so fortunate are traditional Buddhists, who just make merit and worship images with flowers. Most of them will stay behind. Not to speak of the followers of, shall we say, certain other religions, whose unenlightened views condemn them to a backwards morality of hate and division. Sad to say, there are many who, through no fault of their own, have not had the benefit of the cultural and educational uplifting that would allow them to participate fully in an enlightened society. It is truly unfortunate, and while the Leaders have striven to be as inclusive as possible, at the end of the day, a choice must be made.
Other criteria are also relevant for the choosing. The settlers should be young, and since they are to be the future of humanity, nubile. Mostly teenage girls, in fact. Which is a nice balance, given that—through what is, I am sure, a purely non-sexist historical accident—the Leaders are all older men. They are men of letters, captains of industry, titans of intellect, serious fellows committed to innovation and progress. Though somewhat advanced in age, they will find no rest in the new world, for they will take on the essential duty of pairing up with multiple partners to ensure the propagation of our species. Oh, to think that future generations will be blessed with such genetic bounty!
I am writing here, in the place where the truth has been revealed to me, and where I meet for the first time with my fellow travelers. I look around me at the faces of the chosen. I am bound by deep oath to reveal no names. But it is an inspiring and uplifting experience to be surrounded by so many noble men and women, whose serene beauty radiates a true sense of mankind’s highest potential. A pure and elevated race, humanity shining at its most fair and golden!
It is, finally, with a sense of sad yet inevitable resignation that I contemplate the fate of the leftovers. We mean them no ill will. I derive no joy from the thought of the dark and unwashed masses scurrying like rats from the flooding shores of poisoned water, to find only slaughter at the hands of rabid mobs fleeing the dust and drought of the interior. Indeed, I feel boundless compassion and loving-kindness when I think of the poor children, diseased and starving in the ashes of the world we ruined, cowering in pain and despair as the scorching sky spits hot acid onto desiccated soil. Never will they be forgotten. So long as lifeless seas lap on lifeless shores, the brothers and sisters we left behind will ever remain in our prayers and meditations. We shall radiate them with pure, selfless love from our wondrous home on the far side of the sky.