Minding Eternity pt. 7

7 – diagnosis

Melting, evaporation, these were words used to describe what had been happening on Earth.  A global phase-transition of multiple degrees, the world was literally falling apart.  Everything that had been integrated with nano-technology instantly fell to pieces as the cancer spread.  Considering how dependent the human race had become on the nanites, the destruction was incalculable and not even the remotest parts of civilization was spared.

From my lunar exile I watched.  No longer was I concerned with keeping my profound abilities secret, I took command of the moon lab in which I had been seemingly imprisoned.  The humans objected at first but were either too preoccupied with the happenings on Earth, or had also resigned to the fact that I was beyond their control. 

Fear had spread among the scientists that the remote post had been infected via the nano-tethers that had been the umbilical cord from the Earth to the Moon.  Measures had been taken to disengage them but whether or not it has been done in time was still unclear.  The Moon being mostly a desolate landscape of rocks and airless vacuum was far less susceptible to infection, but there was an added fear of free floating infected nanites coming in contact with the structures of the secret labs. 

Human fate, it turns out, was once again not without irony.  Due to the near-sighted arrogance of the engineers in charge of designing and building the labs, there was no question of failure.  Thus, when the structure was built a nano-composite shielding had been put in place to enhance and optimize its security. This fatal mistake compromised not only the safety of the scientists, myself included since everything about my present existence had been due to the nanites.  

Taking every precaution, I used every means to detect whether or not the infection had reached our outpost.  Meanwhile, the humans were working around the clock to build a nest within the facility to further separate us from possible destruction.  It was a completely different way for these people to work and live without the aid of the nanites, they were forced to change and adapt.

Maintaining as little contact with the rest of the facility as I could, I was able to track the propagation of the spreading techo-disease.  Our greatest fear had been confirmed that the facility had been compromised but to our relief, due to the sparsity of the nanites within the shielding, the cancer had slowed down. 

They say that time is of the essence, yet the essence is only most appreciated when there is little left: i.e., our human obsession with rarity in the face of abundance.  Humanity, ever hanging precariously between logic and irrationality, walks a thin line of existence.