the fate of mankind
images and commentary by rebecca ryan
the world is vast, bustling with life, countless species across both land and sea, yet as I look up above me, the world begins to shrink, it starts to turn quiet,
until all that remains is the chill in the air, the moon and the stars in the nights sky, millions of little dots, burning bright above me, so beautiful yet terrifying, the smallest glimpse into a place which our minds cannot yet comprehend, to a place in which we live yet still know so little about
our world, our planet, the centre of our whole existence begins to seem small, so insignificant in the truly vast space of our universe,
suspended in our solar system, just a little rock, one of billions out there in space, and here I stand, on this little rock, curious,
curious about what's really out there, about time and space and the wider universe, about why we’re here, going about our lives on this strange little planet
the desire to explore, to learn, to travel and experience, is all so exciting, yet, as I look at the stars millions of lightyears away, I cant help but feel… afraid. afraid about the unknown, about what’s lurking in the shadows above us, afraid for the people, the animals, the life that inhabits this little rock we call home, afraid that after all this time, we might be nearing our end
the concept of the end, of death, is something that our minds cannot grasp, we will never know what lays behind the doors of death, until we experience it for ourselves,
as the seas start to rise, the storms roll in and homes get washed away, the earth fights to survive, fights against itself, against us, but as hard as it tries, everyday we inch closer to the end, to our fate
one day, our little rock, small and alone in the silent depths of space, won’t be able to fight for us anymore, one day, we may join the stars at which I stare at so fondly above me,
swallowed up by the universe around us, torn apart, until there’s nothing left,
nothing but the trace of our existence floating aimlessly through endless space, because we left it too late
too late to salvage the life, the beauty found on our home, too late to fix the damage that we caused,
too late… it’ll be over, everyone and everything gone, forever.
that is our fate, the fate of mankind, if we carry on our destructive path, everyday we lead ourselves to our own death, with little consideration for the severity of what we’re causing
so as I look up at the stars tonight, I look into our future, our destiny if we don’t make a change, I hope and I pray that this planet that I love will recover,
that the animals and plants will thrive, and that for many years to come, people can look up at the nights sky and admire it as I do.
the end.