“It’s the year 2078. My name is Derik. I am the last living koala on this planet, once known as Earth. Why ‘once known’ you ask? Well, it doesn’t really exist anymore, at least most of it. Until a few years ago, the Earth was divided into several continents. Not anymore. The planet never stopped warming. The ice caps never stopped melting. Soon, the ferociously rising ocean swallowed most of the dry lands. After they were submerged, the majority of land animals and the so-called rulers of this planet, the humans, perished. It was a quick death for most; the sea is not very merciful after all.
Speaking of mercy, the humans didn’t show much of it either. They exploited nature so much that it broke. Refer to Human History Recording (HHR) Unit C20-D2-743-19. You will find records of 2019, when the Amazon forests burned to ashes. Refer to HHR Unit C20-D3-751-20. You will find records of animals howling, wailing, and begging for mercy as they are engulfed by flames, in a land once known as Australia. The universal translator is already turned on, you will understand their unmistakable cries for help.
You must have seen the image of two koalas above.
The bigger koala, that was me. The other one was my son, Blake. His mother died in the fires and all we could do was run. We tried to escape, but the flames were everywhere. It has been 58 years, but the shrieks of my son burning before my eyes as I lay helpless, stuck underneath a burning tree trunk, still haunt me to this day. That day, a particularly kind canine named Bruno pulled me out and saved me. But Blake didn’t make it. Neither did any of the other animals in my forest.
The humans speculated that it would take a century for Australia’s wildlife to recover from the fires that blazed across the continent for weeks. They were wrong. Australia’s wildlife never recovered. Neither did the animals in the rest of the world.
Bruno’s owners were scientists. They nursed me back to health. I was grateful for their care and kindness. But then one day, four men came. They took me away to a genetic testing facility. They attempted to extract my genes in order to preserve the species, as only a handful of my kind remained on the planet. But they failed. Instead, their fancy chemicals altered my genes and granted me partial regenerative abilities.
I am alone on this planet. I want this to end. I’ve been dying slowly and painfully for five decades. Until now. Today, something feels particularly wrong. My limbs are getting numb, my heartbeat is slowing, and my memory is fading. I presume that my time has finally come as well. Thank you, HHR Unit C20-D7-274-78. It was nice of you to keep me company during my final d–.”
Transmission ended. Unit transmission complete. Shutting down. Hibernation mode activated.
