December 31, 2856 A.D.

11:43 P.M.

We’re some of the few remaining humans left this world, with only a few minutes left ourselves. But despite that, there was a wide grin plastered on me and my colleagues’ faces.

“We did it!” “Adam has been born!”

A bunch of joyous shouts were heard, not failing the spirit of new year. A group of people wearing lab coats were happily dancing and jumping around as if they had won the lottery. Some of the more emotional members of the group started crying in joy.

The cause of such happiness stood right in front of me. A small bipedal creature that looked similar to a broccoli, was being surrounded by me and my colleagues.

The Earth’s environment had changed due to mankind's habits, and became an unlivable and unforgiving place. A step out of this building and we would quickly turn purple due to all the poisonous chemicals in the atmosphere.

When faced with a wasted Earth, the first thought we had was to go into outer space. But while living in outer space might seem like a great idea, it was only great for the privileged.

Even if we could miraculously find the resources  to create a space colony, or a large rocket that can get us onto Mars,  on this wasted Earth we wouldn’t have enough resources to sustain it, just as it wouldn’t be able to sustain a growing population of humans.

Even if we didn’t take that into consideration, each of their environments would be just as bad or even worse than Earth in its current state. At most only a few people would be able to thrive in space, with pitiful living conditions at that. So as desperate as we were, we crafted a plan fit for our situation.

“The air filters are damaged! It might not last for long!”

This warning jolted the ones surrounding the creature to reality, including me. Everyone went to their stations and worked hard to finish their tasks as soon as possible.

“Faster! Base the rest off Adam’s cell structure!”

If we can’t live outside of the Earth, then we’ll have to live on the Earth. Even if we would all die in the process.

“The designs have been finished! The rest would be produced soon enough!”

We biologically engineered photosynthesizing plant-like creatures with the same level of intelligence as humans, with the purpose of making the Earth livable again, even if it would take thousands of years. Some people argued that robots were the way to go. Some groups even released self-sufficient robots around the world in hopes of making the Earth livable again, but we wanted something full of potential just like us humans, beings able to flexibly adapt to the situation, instead of robots that are lifeless and stiff in their ways.

“They’re 40% complete!”

The plant-like creatures, which we named chloros sapiens, were made up of animal cells modified to possess organelles necessary for photosynthesis. They will be able to move and think like humans, while subsisting on water and minerals. They're also resistant to the poisonous gases in the atmosphere. The only downside is that they will only be awake for a few hours a day because photosynthesis  can’t produce enough energy for movement, even though they were  designed the body to live in Earth’s current environment with maximum efficiency and despite being slower than ordinary animals.

Sitting in the floor right in front of me was the hope of humanity, the first member of the chloros sapiens to exist.

“Guu?”

“I’ll take you someplace else, Adam.”

Making a sound as it tilted its body, a gesture which I found surprisingly cute, Adam seemed confused, yet it still obediently allowed me to lift it in my arms. It seemed to be sleepy.

“I’ll bring him to a greenhouse.”

As I said this, without waiting for an answer, I walked quickly to one of many greenhouses within the building, exchanging a few nods with my colleagues who brushed past me.

opening the door to the greenhouse, what greeted me wasn’t a bunch of green plants, but a large machine. It was custom built to take care of our little future until it reaches maturity.

The system set in this place would put it to sleep until it fully matured and supply it with all of its needs, drastically shortening its growth period and increasing its chances of survival by at least hundred times. 

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Overcame with drowsiness, Adam fell asleep, and I found myself smiling at the sight, despite the impending doom.

I placed Adam in the soil in the middle of the strange looking contraption which then lit up, indicating that it was operational.

I walked to the side of the room where a robot was placed, currently turned off. The robot, named WA-T50N, would turn on once Adam was finally matured to record its actions.

“I’ll leave it to you, Watson.”

I whispered softly, placing my hand on its head. Content with what I saw, I briskly walked back to the laboratory to check on the current progress.

Arriving at the laboratory with a tense atmosphere, a woman walked towards me and handed me a small cuboidal communications terminal.

“Here, chief.”

I turned on the terminal and gave the data a quick read through. 50% done, huh. The second half should take a bit more time. At the rate the tanks are being depleted, we’d be cutting it a bit too close. I consulted my assistant:

“Do you think we will make it?”

“We might be able to.”

“You’re unsure?”

“We can’t be sure unless we’re done…”

Exchanging small talk, we walked to the center of the room where a large monitor was placed. I took a seat in front of it and faced the assistant behind me.

“After this, I have something important to tell you.”

She smiled at what I said, knowingly nodding her head to show her affirmation.

I faced the monitor and started to work, and before I knew it, a few hours have already elapsed, and the oxygen supply became critically low.

“It’s almost ready!” “60 seconds left! Start the countdown!”

60, 59, 58…

I wiped the sweat off my forehead as I sighed in relief. We barely made it.

“Chief!”

One of my subordinates called out to me, and the rest followed him and formed a circle around me.

“Chief, we did it!” “I knew we’d make it!”

One by one, they started cheering in joy, as if they were ignorant of the fact that we would die within minutes. Though I’m not one to talk.

“Chief, as the biggest contributor to this project, are there any words you want to say to mark our success?”

“Ah, I didn’t plan for a speech…”

“Oh, c’mon!” “You could just say whatever!” “Yeah, anything will do!”

“Alright, alright…”

Accompanied by the robotic voice counting down to zero, I started my improvised speech.

“You know what, from the start, I wasn’t very optimistic about this project. It was only after I’ve seen everyone’s hard work, did I start taking this seriously. Questions popped up after every answer, but my pride wouldn’t allow me to be outdone, So I worked hard, and before I knew it, decades had passed. Everyone recognizing my efforts and making me the leader of this project was one of the happiest moments of my life. After working ourselves to the bone for countless days and nights, we made it to the beginning of a new era! Adam and the other children, the result of our blood, sweat, and tears, being born on New Year’s Eve of the new era, shall paint the future of this planet, and correct the mistakes that we made that caused harm to Mother Earth,

3…

“As they act as the torch,

2…

“Lit with the fires of hope within our hearts,

1…

“To light up the new era, and the new world!”

0

The countdown ended, and each of the other children were placed in their own systems just like Adam’s. We made different kinds of chloros sapiens. There’s one that looked like a cabbage, one that looked like a palm tree, and many more.

“Most of the filters have been broken.”

“I wonder where chief stole that speech from.” “yeah, I’m curious as well!”

“You bastards! This is how you act after you’ve all forced me to make a speech!?”

“““hahahaha…”””

Laughing in a room with limited oxygen like this is akin to suicide, but we couldn’t stop ourselves. We continued to chat idly, waiting for our end without any regrets. The toxic gases started to seep inside, slowly passing through the remaining filters.

I walked to the left of my assistant who was standing in front of the glass window and grabbed hold of her hand. Knowing my intentions, she showed no form of resistance. She rested her head on my shoulder as I took a deep breath to relieve my fatigue. Staring at the outside from the window, I spoke:

“For a long time, I’ve always imagined the end to be like this, but right now, it doesn’t feel real.”

She moved her head to look at my face. I took a golden ring out of my pocket.

“Is that so. It feels pretty genuine to me.”

I raised the hand I was holding and put the ring on one of her fingers.

“I love you, Mary.”

“Mhm”

We continued to stay snuggled as we stared at the window for a while, our faces getting increasingly pale. We watched as the Sun rose from the horizon, finding it very beautiful. After some time, she and some of my colleagues fell unconscious. I looked at the others who are still standing as they looked at me back with wry smiles. I gently placed Mary on the floor, her back to the window. I gave her a kiss on the forehead. Feeling my head spin as my sight got increasingly blurry, I sat down right beside her and held her hand again. As I closed my eyes, I felt my consciousness fading away…