It was the day of the first launch, chaos was still engulfing the world, but that didn't stop anyone from watching the launch. It was the only thing to determine whether or not humanity would be able to continue existing within the vast universe.
Lachlan and his family were all sitting on the couch, watching the news to see the launch, everyone was on the edge of their seat, staring at the TV. Outside in the world was the same, people were all watching the launch, it was the only thing keeping a majority of the population from joining the chaos.
Granted, his father wasn't with them, it seems the chaos engulfed the airport, as such, it's difficult to get over from Adelaide of Alice Springs in a short amount of time. Not to mention the amount of rioting on the streets, it's a death sentence to go to the centre of large cities without protection.
Outside the window, the planet coming to destroy them was already visible. It is a giant red planet, like Mars but many times larger, to the point where I blocked off the sun and cast a dark shadow across the lands. Lachlan thought that maybe even flying to that new planet was possible.
Unfortunately, even if they were to fly to the planet, with the impact caused between Earth and it, there's a high chance of both planets mutually destroying each other.
The launch was about the begin, everyone was quiet and focused on the tv, the tension was high, almost sliceable. On the screen was an enormous white rocket with large letters across it, spelling ARK, it has large boosters emerging from under it. Its exterior painted a platinum white.
This ark will be the one that will preserve humanity. The countdown was starting, everything was set to go and clear.
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1, lift-off"
The Ark began its takeoff, smoke engulfing the surrounding area, its large red flames could be seen blasting towards the ground before turning into an intensified blue flame.
It began to lift off and soar through the air, everything was going smoothly, everyone moved closer to the TV to get a better look. it pierced the clouds, causing a visible hole to be left in the air. Everyone was cheering, until...
*Boom!*
...
In an extremely large room, there would a few dozen scientists in front of computers. Everything was being confirmed before launch. The tension was incredibly high in this room, there had to absolutely no errors as the fate of humanity lay upon this operation.
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1, lift-off"
The thrusters were good, no problems, the weather was clear, and the wind was safe. Everything seemed to be perfect. Until errors started to fill the computer screens, the scientists were panicking before they could even do anything the Ark exploded, a fiery cloud lit up the skies. Scraps of metal fell towards the ground causing dust to rise up.
A man with a large figure, short grey hair wearing a black suit that seemed to be in control of the room frowned, "What happened?!" his voice filled with anger as it echoed through the room. He was in charge of this operation, meaning he'll get the entire blame.
Even if he wasn't going to live for long, he didn't want to live the last few days of his life in shame due to his incompetence. He needed to figure out the issue fast.
One of the scientist closest to the man stood up, "Sir, it seems that the thrusters were unable to lift the Ark out of the atmosphere in time and overheated, causing the explosion."
"WHY!" The man was angry, wrinkles formed on his forehead as he clenched his hands so tight his nails began to split the skin. He smashed his fist against the wall, the noise left the room in silence.
The scientists in the room didn't know how to respond, they had already double; no triple checked everything, and nothing was abnormal.
"Gravity?" The voice sounded uncertain as if asking a question, however, it set the scientists in the room into a frenzy. They did all the calculations, checked the weather conditions a hundred times, checked and monitored the ship's condition. However, the only thing they didn't consider was the changes in gravitational forces.
It was a rookie mistake that shouldn't have ever happened, especially not at a time like this.
No one was sure who said it but every scientist started scrambling to their computers to see if there had been any changes with the Earth's gravity or magnetic fields. Aside from the sounds of typing keyboards, everyone was deadly silent.
A scientist stood up and broke the silence, "Sir, the Earth's gravity has tripled." The scientist's eyes were wide open from shock as though they've discovered the impossible. It would be one thing if the gravity lessens due to the gravity of the other planet; for it to triple was an outcome they never expect.
"What! How is that possible, I need an explanation now!" The man shouted towards all the scientist below him, his eyes widened from disbelief, he felt his strength sapped from his body as he knew they were too late.
If it was just a slight change in the gravity they could attempt multiple methods, they've prepared. However, against the Earth's gravity tripling? They were hopeless against it.
…
The Ark's destruction was the final tipping point for many individuals, as though humanity's glass was just overflowed and shatter, all hell broke loose. It would be one thing if they succeeded; however, the failure meant the end of existence as they knew it, none of them cared anymore.
…
Lachlan's mother sealed up the house with wooden boards, there's no telling what type of people will come to their house and they certainly don't want to find out. They spent the rest of their days living isolated from the world.
They received a call from their father, however, it was only bad news. Apparently, the situation where he was worsened considerably, people were dropping on the streets, being killed ruthlessly by those that have lost their mind.
Everyone continued to watch the news, something to help them stay sane and connected with the rest of the world. But it only left them sadness, as they saw the chaos in the streets. People were being attacked or even murdered.
Jack stood up and went to go peek through the wooden boards, the rest of the family followed. Through the wooden planks appeared a very quiet world, isolated from disturbances. It did make sense, they were on the outskirts of a large town.
It was currently summer as well, the sun was scorching the ground and making it unbearable to even walk on without shoes or sandals.
Adam looked towards Chloe, "Mon, is it safe to go outside?" he questioned curiously. Just like the others, he too was tempted to bring about chaos in the streets, there wasn't anyone stopping him, nor was there any consequences.
"I'm not sure, it looks safe but that's all there is to it, looks," Chloe replied while slowly walking back to the couch to continue watching the news. "Come sit down, there's no need for any of you to join in on the chaos; rather, that'll put you all into a very dangerous position, who knows what kind of whackjob is out on the streets."
Jack came over the Adam and patted his shoulder. "Come on Adam, there's no need to go outside. We have food and water that'll last us the five days easily." Of course, what he mentioned was a sad reminder of how much longer they have left.
Jack strolled over to sit next to Chloe and continued to watch the news, their eyes were glued onto the screen. The chaos seemed all to unrealistic, to the point where it just seemed as though they were watching a movie.
Adam and Lachlan joined not long after. There wasn't much happening on the news, countries with large populations were struggling to keep it under control, China and India were having it the worse, with their large populations. Crime and chaos continued to spread intensely across the globe.
It had been a few hours, they stopped watching the news and instead switched to Netflix to watch movies. Lachlan was beginning to get bored, he stood up and walked to his bedroom. He laid in bed and got his iPhone before turning it on and going on YouTube, watching different parts of the world go into chaos.
As he continued to watch video after video, he came across one video in particular, that stood out among the rest, titled: "Planets are organisms too." He laughed at the idea before letting his curiosity get to him and clicking on the video, it was a fairly normal video and had decent arguments. But that's when Lachlan got the idea to try it out.
Looking at an image of the Earth on his phone, Lachlan quietly mumbled, "Analyse"
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Name: Earth (Celestial Body)
Age: Ancient
Species Characteristics: Life Support
Potential: 1st Grade Potential
Current Condition: Undergoing Evolution
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Lachlan didn't know what to do with this new information, it was like a truck just rammed into him with the screens confirming the theory, he started at the potential for a while before continuing to read the rest.
1s Grade Potential. Lachlan could almost say for certain that this was the highest grade, there's no way a small insect's potential would be higher than the planets. Granted, he also couldn't understand how something like a sperm whale could even be compared with an entire planet.
He felt his body shiver when he saw the current condition, as it could only mean one thing. Something was forcing the planet to evolve, Lachlan didn't have to think too hard before looking towards the large red sphere above. Through the small gap between wooden planks sealing his window, he clenched his fists before confirming his theory.
"Analyse"
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Name: Celestial-Grade Evolutionary Stone
Species Characteristics:
1: Able to force celestial bodies it goes past into a slight evolution, the longer it takes to go past the more the planet evolves. Life on the plant will evolve to adapt to the new gravity and environment, but not evolve physically.
2: Able to force celestial bodies it collides with into a full evolution, all life and the planet itself will undergo a massive evolution. All life on the planet will undergo full mental and physical evolution, partaking in the growth of strength and intelligence.
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Lachlan stared directly at the large incoming planet and only one word was able to leave his mouth, "Shit". He flopped back onto his bed, bewildered by the screen in front of his eyes. He couldn't believe it but was also relieved by it.