A Better Tomorrow

I wonder how life would've been if people had just learned how to love one another. If a prime minister or a president who behaved badly wasn't elected. If people had stopped killing other people and the Earth. Would the world be perfect or is it inevitable that it just crumbles into the doomsday, that is about to come. No one knows how it will come, or how. It scares people...

...the Unknown...

It scares them so much, it drives them insane or to suicide. Me. I don't know what to think, or even how to feel. It's kind of left me... empty.

We started out as humble creatures, who used to live alongside Mother Nature and thrive along with her. We had a peaceful life, plucking fruits from trees, roaming around and hunting. Soon we discovered the wheel and used that for transport, we also captured fire, and gradually we became civilised. During this process of modernisation, we were slowly but surely going away from Mother Nature. Our relationship was becoming severed.

Now, in 3024, the world has cut off all connections between countries. Every country is on it's own with walls built up and borders impossible to escape. The government, now corrupt, tells the people it's world war three or maybe it's thirteen, and the only hope is placed in the newer generations. "It is too late for us, our power is used up, but our magnificent youngsters, they can build a better tomorrow."

Imagine the greatest social experiment of all time. The richest person you can think of turned poor. The kind of thing that can only happen in the imagination...

It's been tough... all the sacrifices, time and effort spent just to stay alive. Friends, family, the young and elderly, they all turned on each other to stay alive. All the death and suffering, just for your own selfish desire to live. The world wasn't perfect before, but at least you had trust, love and the ability to care for someone. But I guess nothing goes according to plan, does it?

I was only 13 at the time when they had announced the latest war, when I had been taken from my family. I didn't understand why we were at war. Why I had to leave my family, honestly, I still don't.

It all started with an important news alert on TV. On the screen, there was a picture of the Prime Minister with the caption: "We care about you." The Prime Minister seemed to smile at me, and then started speaking. Wondering why the Prime Minister smiled at me, I missed the start of his speech, but what I did hear was confusing.

'...We stand close to one another, we strive for perfection, and we continue venturing for a better tomorrow. We don't know what'll happen in the near future. We will lose people over the decisions we make, I mean the ones the government will make, but that is where you come in. You can give us A Better Tomorrow.'

Change, there had to be change. We embraced the uncertainty. When nothing is certain, anything is possible. You can't have a better tomorrow if you're still thinking about yesterday. The old had failed, we were the new. We cleared the way. We were the future.

But losing my parents... held me back for a bit. But a half a day later, maybe less, I was back up helping create a perfect world. It had been hard, learning how to run a country. With the old folk gone we had to find our own way. Many times I wished there was someone older, wiser to turn to but I knew that would have just led us back to where we had been.

Can there be such a thing as a perfect world? It is an ideal that many people think is unattainable. Surely, though, it is an ideal worth striving for. What is the worst that can happen if we fail to create the perfect world? The answer is – a better world. And we were succeeding.

The older people had the right idea, the future of the planet is in the hands of our children. So, most of our food, and time went to the children. But, behind the walls we had to rely only on what we could produce. We did the math. We could feed 100,000 so the numbers had to reduce. It was obvious, the babies and the young kids had to go. Most of our resources went to them, so they had to be removed from the equation. With them and a few other people gone, we finally had the perfect amount of resources for everyone.

Eventually, we divided into two, East and West. One day, I noticed something I didn't like. I don't know why but those living in the West seemed to have more than us living in the east. That was clearly unfair. We told them they had to give us some of their food and other things but they refused. So we eliminated the problem - them.

We then had lots of space and plenty of food but would you believe it! There were still some complaining. They didn't like this or that. This person was doing something wrong, that person had more food. It was never quite right. In the end we got sick of their whinging so, we removed them.

It was much better for a long time. Those that were left never complained. Even when you think they might have but somehow they kept quiet, which was just the way I liked it.

it seemed to me that it would be much more efficient if we didn't waste resources on lots of different clothes in different colours. I decided that we would all wear black overalls. So much neater and . . . efficient.

I couldn't believe it when one day I saw someone wearing a red scarf. Clearly a troublemaker and someone who might cause a problem. I had her removed.

I don't quite know how but over time little things came to bother me about different people and needed to be removed. Our group got whittled down one by one until there came a day, maybe ten years later when I realised it was just me and her.

You know, she might have become a problem.

Now, finally I am living in a perfect world. There is never an argument, never a debate over what to do, everything is just right. Perfect peace.

Although one day I caught sight of myself in the mirror. . . . . .