'Fantasy is impossible made probable, and Science Fiction is improbable made possible' And the distinction between them...I was gonna say, makes all the difference, to make it sound magnificent but let's not. Okay so, I am a solid sci-fi buff. Space and Technology fascinates me, freaking enchants me. From Back to future to Marvel, DC and everything in between, except Star Wars, I've seen them all but I just don't feel them, or connect to them, especially the older stuff. And I know this is an unpopular opinion and would offend so many, but...not today.
I watched this show called Salvation (you can check it out, it's got two seasons, pretty informative, I won't spoil it), the plot of the show is that a meteorite is heading straight for the earth and would collide in 186 days. Now, it wouldn't have been that big of a deal if the meteorite hadn't been something that's called, 'planet killer'. Remember the meteorite that hit earth about hundreds of millions of years ago? well it had about 10 km impact diameter and it killed Dinosaurs and other former earth inhibitors, that enormous rock was a planet killer. These are essentially heavenly bodies with the ability to wipe out entire planets. Fortunately (or unfortunately) the biggest one to crash land on the earth since then, has been about 15 meters at most (embarrassing really).
So nothing short of catastrophe! what to do? Oh! Let’s blow it up with nuclear missiles before it
greets earth? genius? Nah! It would just create pieces of that giant rock that would still hit earth causing race ending chaos. Then what? Ooh! We can send small devices, which would stick at the rock and maybe slow it down? Divert its course I don’t know or some other instrument for stumbling into the meteorite to change its course, just enough to miss earth. Well NASA has stuff like these planned and made (at least in theory). So this is all theoretical right? What if this didn’t work? What if we need a back up plan? And it in no way would be easy because this isn’t the movie 2012, where giant ships were just there to contain a large group of people or something. Honestly I don’t remember much of it, there was a plane and this rich guy and the main family and their uncle who can fly that plane and somewhere in Asia or whatever, since the last I watched it, was in 2012 and was most scared I have ever been, just waiting for earth to swallow me whole or floods to drown me or for lava to burn me (I think?). Ten years later I’m like ‘what a wasted opportunity’ (talk about character growth, right?). So yeah! It’s not 2012: the end of the world (slow burn), it’s freaking Don’t look up (just blam and dead also here I'm not going into the whole scientists have warned and global warming, later). Lemme spell it out for you- you die, no mission impossible shit can save you.
Well, Salvation taught me, we only need precisely 160 people to recreate and rejuvenate the human race on some other planet because let’s be real there won’t be much left, after rocky here devours the earth. We might inhabit or what humans lovingly call… Colonize Mars or Venus or Titan, one of the millions of moons of Saturn, because my geography teacher told me that would work best and I don’t really know why but I believe him. So yeah we would have to build a craft massive enough to carry at least 160+ people and some animals because why even keep humans, oh right! animals can’t take care of themselves (maybe? I don’t know, I haven't trusted anything after Toy story).
Alright then, my question to you gentle readers is, ‘who would your 160 people be, if you were the brand new Noah? Now Noah for those who don't know was a guy in Christian mythology who was told by God to make an ark (a ship of sort I think) because God was doing the year 2020×10 and flooding the whole earth and wanted Noah to save one specimen of every animal specie, kinda like Indian mythology has Manu and Greeks have Deucalion. Anyhow, Who would you choose to survive the end and be part of the new beginning? Who would you feel like ‘should’ survive on that boat? (there has to be a boat of life analogy in there somewhere, but I'm not diving into that, pun intended) Who would be those Noah’s arch’s passengers? (oh passenger movie is a cute example too).
Would you just pick your closest family, relatives and friends? Or the people with most money because Dollars and Euros (which in hindsight is clearly useless, what would I buy with it? Air? ooh I can but what if they change the currency and end my semi-dictatorship) or would you just pick people with the highest IQ because you know, ‘crème de la crème’, ‘big brains’, better chances at survival and development and what not. Or would you choose people who represent what being a human means, artists, philosophers, students, advocates (I mean we are talking humanity though, so…maybe not?), social workers, archaeologists, psychologists, unemployed people, I don’t know. Or maybe just random people but that’s just too big of a risk for this. Maybe best would be to mix them up a little, I would hate for only snobs to survive. Definitely people with the highest fertility rate (I don't think I need to explain that). So yeah who would you pick? Definite no to the old people because, why? And No politicians because, Just why? And what about other criteria? How many children, youngsters and adults I'm assuming half of both males and females. And LGBTQ+ people? (no offense, just confirming) I meant I'm not against it because someone worthwhile has to be on board. We obviously need some scientists, doctors and astronauts, right?
Also just mentioning even if it isn't the end of the world and we’re just gonna colonize another planet for the giggles, because let’s be honest Elon Musk would have done it by now if he wasn't busy buying twitter. This would still stand (largely). Now there are two essential questions: one ‘who are you to decide who would live or die?’ well who is anybody but let’s just say you can because god said so (Wow! This whole shit sounds like something schizophrenic or a stoner would cook up, was Noah delusional or high? Am I?, tsk tsk very existential, so another time, another conversation).
Another essential question, If I am not Noah…Would I be allowed on board? Maybe…Maybe not. This depends on as to who’s choosing. So what I'm trying (and failing) to convey with this crazy gigantic (utterly useless) metaphor is…a lot of things- like everyone is unique in their own way. You can’t let a person or a few decide if you are special enough to live, thrive or survive or join the 160, you should instead focus on the people who make you feel belongingness towards them, maybe if they get the chance (and I cannot emphasize on ‘chance’ enough), you might be the chosen one (of the 160). And I'm not at all trying to tell you to stop your personal growth and success. The fact of the matter is you can’t control who Noah is and nobody’s dying anytime soon, maybe tomorrow or today or maybe next hour or next minute, then enjoy every second, don’t let anybody tell you how not special you are… not even yourself, especially not family or people who claim to know you because ‘Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent’ - Eleanor Rosevelt.
So yeah what it means is that your worth can be measured by anyone through anything, it’s not in your hand. So it doesn’t matter if you become the biggest shit in anything and everything because some douche still might not like you, but it’s not about Noah or the arch, it's just a metaphor. I’m not saying don’t succeed just gain success for the right reason because wrong reasons just might not be good enough reasons. I mean I’ve heard money doesn’t bring happiness but I’ve got neither so what do I know.
All I’m saying is, sure, chase success, try to find the seat on Noah's spaceship or just die happily. What's the worst that could happen? (a topic of another time). Or something might happen to the vessel, like an alien ship might hijack it and make them all slaves to clean their washrooms and fight like gladiators in an alien arenas for the rest of their filthy, miserable lives.
Gee guys chill! I’m not bitter since I know I’m not getting in, this isn’t about that, I swear it’s not. I hope you digest it all. Even if I can't, I’ll leave you with this, “Atelophobia”- Phobia (fear) of imperfection and not being good enough. I had it, I still struggle with it (childhood trauma, the uzhe) but just wanted to share because I could be Noah or not be in the surviving boat at all, if it is what it is then chill. Peace out.