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Once CERN had announced that it had successfully created a small but stable wormhole and were able to position its terminus wherever they chose, funding flooded in. It wasn’t long before the US muscled in on the technology. It scrapped all plans for a manned spaceflight to Mars and co-founded UWRI, along with Europe, Russia, China and Japan. Soon after that came the so-called ‘biggest event in human history’. A stable wormhole link to Mars. To some, the moon would have been the obvious choice. The scientists, however, wanted more glory than that. ‘We’ve been to the moon’, was the obvious argument, ‘lets make history two-fold’. And so it was.
While the world was celebrating in its triumph, steadily the environmental issues such as global warming, global dimming, depleted rainforests, etc. were steadily being sidelined. Everyday in his studies Tim saw the effects of global warming. Each week a different species was being added to the endangered list. The state of many of the world’s coral reefs was slipping beyond restoration.
Protests from environmentalists were falling on deaf ears across the globe. An overwhelming sense of elation that science-fiction had become science fact in the biggest way since Yuri Gagarin first left our atmosphere. Yet Tim couldn’t throw this unexplainable feeling of imminent doom, and, for the first time, he’d found like-minded people to share this with.
“It isn’t too late.” Aide had told him, one evening after a few beers in the students union.
“It feels like it.” Tim replied, staring into his pint like a man who was about to be hung the next day.
“No. You mustn’t think like that. We can help people see their mistakes.”
“You reckon? How do we do that then?”
“We have to get their attention.”
“And protesting every weekend isn’t doing that?”
“Do you think you’re getting their attention when they walk past you in the street and smirk at you and you silly chants?”
“Hang on, you urge us to go to these fucking rallies!”
“Yes, yes I know. We need to support our friends, don’t we? All I’m saying is that it isn’t the way to make things happen. If we keep doing what we’re doing now nothing is going to change.”
“So what then? How do we, you and I, change the world?” Tim could now hear himself slurring. He knew standing up would be a bad idea but he desperately needed to piss.
“We have to make some of their decisions for them…” Aide was talking in riddles now and this really wasn’t the time. Aide didn’t appear to be anywhere near as drunk as Tim did.