DISASTERS

The first disaster wasn't the worst. Earthquakes, floods, flames and toxic air fumes occurred regularly. In Africa, we had never seen that. The most vulnerable fell first followed by those who wanted to stay positive and didn't accept that we could no longer live like we used to. The planet would force change whether we wanted it or not. Nature was enraged and it was fed up with us human beings. It struck us relentlessly, ruthlessly, and without pity. Disasters always seemed to strike when we least expected them, so we soon learnt to always be on our guard, always ready for the worst.

"There've never been superheroes, Borys!" My father's voice began firmly beside me. "Only men, with their fears and their sins as mortals," he added still in Polish. "You have to get out of here now, Borys, get up! Get up, Borys!" He continued.

I looked one last time at the bloodied bodies lying under the rubble around me, their shapes dark and hazy from the tears that welled up in my eyes; it was dark too. I pulled myself up on one elbow with great difficulty, my limbs still numbed from the shock of blows inflicted by falling planks and rubble.

"Stay down! The voice ordered me in French. "There can still be other falls," he explained, indicating in his firm voice which direction to follow: "This way, Borys,"

I got on all fours and began to weave through the bodies and rubble.

"Careful!" The male voice shouted in Polish, just before a piece of plank came crashing down inches from my head. I immediately curled up, protecting my head and neck with my hands.

"It's okay, you can go now," the familiar voice said more calmly after a few seconds.

I raised my head and then continued my way in the dark.

"You're almost there, Borys," the voice of the man who wanted me to survive continued to say encouraging me. Soon, I could see a thin stream of light appear in front of me like the appearance of an angel.

***

The rich countries were watching us drop like flies, without doing much to help. Some humanitarian aids here and there, again to make an act of presence and to clear their conscience. Bear in mind, they were very busy with their robotics, biology and artificial intelligence research. Although accustomed to extreme weather, North America took the brunt of it too, but like Europe and China, and unlike Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, North America relied on robotic research, biological and artificial intelligence to save them before being swept away forever by a hurricane, a tornado or a wildfire. Not only would artificial intelligence be the quick and effective solution to all their existential problems, but also to potential major natural disasters.

The rich countries knew that Mother Nature wouldn't continue to spare them for very long. They had caused terror and misfortune elsewhere than on their own land, the law of Karma was bound to make them pay back. However, they still had time to reverse everything: fix the problem, and put things in order. They knew they had only a short margin of manoeuvre that technology and science could allow them to fill quick and well. How good life would be in their robotic, biological, artificially intelligent world. Everything would be safe, clean, predictable and easy. They had already planned it all, and they talked about it in their media with great enthusiasm as if there was something to envy them for. For the first time in modern history, developing countries were watching in bewilderment as western and wealthy Asian populations were being roped around their necks without protesting. Their young were still dropping like flies for 'some unknown reasons' while their birth rates also kept plummeting. Rebellious young voices turned into mere whispers behind closed doors while social media became a passive and docile playground; urgency and fear were driving everyone's mind.

After the events of the previous years, the rich world was convinced of the benefits of technology and science. Both could save their spoiled rotten mortal lives. Without technology and science, the rich world was doomed to perish in horrible conditions, identical to those experienced by the populations of Africa and Southeast Asia for years. 

Thank goodness, they had come up with an escape for them! No, not for those ones, the other ones. Yes, the rich ones! 

Cyborgs had appeared in the lives of wealthy western societies like the Messiah we had been waiting for all this time. They gradually presented them in the media, first as fairground objects, new, state-of-the-art gadgets and above all unaffordable to ordinary mortals. People were never meant to come into contact with them for at least several decades. Since cyborgs were only designed primarily to assist in national defence, they were exhibited on very rare occasions to ask them sensible existential questions, demonstrating their intelligence equal to ours:

Do you have feelings?

Do you understand human rights?

Do you think that one day cyborgs and humans could live together in harmony?

These journalists should have asked those questions to themselves:

Do we, humans, have feelings?

Do we, humans, have human rights?

Do we think that one day humans could live together in harmony?

The western governments together with the governments of Australia, China, South Korea, Japan and India had the means to finance the resurrection of their population towards the rise of the century. They would be placed in specific quarters where everything would be delivered right to their doorsteps; no need for personal vehicles, automatic electric public transport would take them everywhere; no need to worry about the fate of the planet either, because the great people of the world would then have everything in hand: the supply of water, energy, and food. Speaking of food, Westerners would exclusively eat artificial and insect-based meat to reduce their livestock farming areas. The rich and influential men, who had engineered all that in broad daylight without even having to exercise discretion, were already rubbing their hands at the idea of ​​having full control of their population. Meanwhile, they would still be able to continue to utilise their population's time, body, mind and money for the profit of the wealthiest. The scam of the century! What was the irony of the events that followed. Once again, someone, something, somewhere in the universe was laughing at us human beings.