14 [JUST BEFORE]

“Well, there being no further questions…”

Rustling at the microphone… who? I can’t see… more than one person?

“Dr. Thomas, provocative assessment. For clarity, you are saying homo sapiens have no hope for any positive future beyond current-state?”

I squinted towards the speaker. The lecture-hall lighting seemed dimmer, like a haze had blown into the building, and it was hard to see the source of the melodic voice.

I hesitated. “Everything I’ve written was past-current, wide-field assessment. I avoided any prescription or future-casting. How-ever…”

Hey, why not? “However, data on negative behaviours such as species aggression, human-induced suffering and self-profiteering at the expense of others has globally remained on a linear incline over the last two centuries. It’s increased both because of population rise, but per-capita as well. We’ve never played well in the sandbox with each other, we are selfish to the detriment of others, we hurt each other. The data shows it is getting worse. My personal hope is that the future would somehow prove to be different, the curves would begin to bend the other way.”

A dismal assessment of a failed and flawed race on this M-class planet that I desperately want to leave right now… beam me up, Scotty…

crisbaj

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‘The Last Last Lecture’ is copyright ©2018-2021 by crisbaj. All rights reserved. No reproductions, reprinting or reposting without express permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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