Begin Again - The Discovery - Prologue

Earth – 2615

         The Earth as we know it is in ruins. The air is so dirty we need breathers just to go outside. Our homes have air filtration systems which clean the air to make it breathable, same with places of employment. The animal population down to only a few 1000 left of each type. Food is now grown indoors as the air and soil are poisonous. The fossil fuels we depended on so heavily are now gone. Mankind is even now in danger of becoming extinct. The Earth is completely uninhabitable and it's our fault.

         By 2575, the number of people inflicted with asthma increased by 50%. As the years went by the number rose drastically. Scientist finally figured out, it wasn't asthma, it was the very air itself. Slowly the amount of oxygen decreased. This led to people needed breathers just to be outside. Soon that led to needing filtration systems in our homes as well, if you could afford it. The ones who couldn't afford it, had to make due with make-shift systems that didn't work very well which resulted in many dying from lack of breathable oxygen. The governments of the world tried to help with the costs for those who couldn't afford it but greed got in the way and many went without and died.

         Around 2481, scientists noticed that specific animal populations were down in numbers. Many had only a few 1000 left remaining. Again the governments of the world stepped in and large zoo's were created to preserve what was left. We only lost a few species but their DNA was saved in hopes of recreating the species later. The animals used for food were specially housed to ensure the continuation of our meat sources. Some later said we cared more for our food, then mankind itself, but it was beneficial to all to save these animals in order to save mankind.

         In 2454, we began to notice that plants were not thriving as well and further studies showed that the soil lacked the proper nutrients to grow in. In some places the soil was poisonous which resulted in the poisoning of our food. This too was handled by the governments of the world in huge factories where all manner of plants are now grown. We could clean up and fix the soil inside these factories but we couldn't fix the outside. Believe me, we tried.

         Lastly remember how in the 21st century scientists claimed we'd run out of fossil fuels and our governments claimed that was a falsehood? Well they were wrong, we did run out. On September 21, 2414, the last of our coal was mined. No more could be found in any corner of the world. Some time before and after that all other fossil fuels ran out as well. We tried to turn to wood but the governments saw what would happen and outlawed that but not before too much damage had already been done to our forests. We used to worry about deforestation, now we know what it really looks like and it is an ugly truth. We did finally turn to renewable energy but as they say, a little too much a little late. We had ruined our planet and we didn't know how to reverse it. We tried but nothing seemed to help. The young always had ideas but nothing seemed to pan out.

         In 2014 the Earth's population was just over 7 billion and counting. By 2615, we were down to around 500 million. How does a growing population go from rising so fast and so high to dropping so low in just 600 years? We had the greatest technological advancements, hell we could travel to other solar systems now, but we couldn't save our planet. We could now cure pretty much any disease but we couldn't cure our home. We were doomed and we knew it.

         Then the most wonderful crazy thing happened. The very idea was so far out there many wondered if it was a hoax. An archeological team was searching in Antarctica after a huge tectonic plate shift that caused the south pole to shift greatly. This was cause for alarm as well but in light of the rest of the worlds problems it wasn't a major concern so this team was only checking things out to assess the impact it would have on us as a whole. What they found was not what they expected to find. What they found just might very well be the answer to saving earth-kind. What they found would change the course of history forever.