Point Nemo (Star Ark Mission)

Chapter 6: God's Last Mercy to Perish

After the global nuclear devastation, a few isolated pockets of life managed to survive. Among these, South Korea, Kazakhstan, India, the South-East region formerly known as Vladivostok, Singapore, and New Zealand stood as the last remnants of a world lost to catastrophe. Some say there may still be other unidentified, insulated terrains in the world, hidden beneath layers of chaos.

These countries and their resources narrowly escaped total annihilation, but the scars of war and environmental collapse were impossible to heal. Global depletion of vital resources and irreversible contamination continued, making it clear that the Earth would never return to the way it once was.

Humanity no longer had the will to wage wars, nor even engage in serious conflicts, as it faced the looming reality of species-wide extinction. The once-divided world now seemed more like fish trapped in a tank, confined by the limitations of a dying Earth. Despite the horrors of nuclear devastation, the surviving societies were split into two distinct groups.

One faction believed in returning to nature, surrendering their fate to Mother Nature and hoping for renewal from the planet itself. They believed that only by abandoning technology and accepting the Earth's ultimate authority could humanity find salvation.

The other group clung to the hope that survival lay beyond Earth's decaying atmosphere. They proposed launching  a final mission to the stars, sending the Star Ark into the galaxy in a  desperate attempt to find a new world—though there was no guarantee that this voyage would succeed.

It was a last-ditch gamble, a shot in the dark that humanity might extend its existence among the stars.

The post-apocalyptic survivor nations—South Korea, Kazakhstan, India, the South-East region formerly known as Vladivostok, Singapore, and New Zealand—managed to reconnect for one final reunification to determine the fate of humankind. After years of painstaking efforts to restore satellite communication and analyze the last remaining signs of habitable environments, the leaders gathered in South Korea, where advanced technologies, including nuclear fusion reactor facilities and semiconductor infrastructure (particularly in neuromorphic technology), had largely remained intact.

Despite their differing philosophies, the survivor nations knew one thing: action was needed, and it had to be visible and immediate.

As the radiation lingered and the global climate continued its downward spiral, it became clear that Earth—Mother Nature—was no longer a viable home. The atmosphere, choked by nuclear fallout, left once-fertile lands as barren wastelands. Oceanic dead zones expanded, and the few plants that managed to survive struggled against contaminated soil and toxic air. Earth, the cradle of humanity, had become a prison, slowly suffocating the life it once nurtured.

Out of this realization came the Star Ark project, humanity's last attempt to outlive its dying planet. The dream of restoring Earth was no longer possible. The planet was not healing—it was decaying. With each generation, living conditions worsened, and those who clung to hope finally accepted the irreversible damage done.

This was not a world in which humanity could thrive, let alone survive for much longer. As resources dwindled, the Star Ark project was proposed—a desperate one-way voyage to find a new world, a place untouched by the sins of Earth. It wasn't a decision made lightly. Many wanted to stay and believe in a return to Eden that would never come. But the climate had grown hostile, with constant, violent storms, unpredictable droughts, and toxic air making life unbearable.

The Star Ark was not simply an escape from Earth, but humanity's last hope. Some sought to stay behind, placing their faith in a future on Earth that was long gone. But for the project's leaders, haunted by the consequences of nuclear war and ecological collapse, it was clear—Earth had given its final warning.

Thus, the surviving nations began to pool their remaining resources, knowledge, and technology into the century-long Star Ark Mission. The project took decades to finalize, a last-ditch effort to salvage what was left of human civilization and its memory. The Star Ark wasn't just a ship; it was a lifeboat, a vessel for the few who could escape the planet left to crumble into the dust of time.

And as humanity stood at the crossroads of survival, fate seemed to ask:
"What will you choose—passive hope, or active desperation?"