Fading Hope

   Dr. Aaron Faust hadn’t slept in days, not that it mattered anymore. The numbers never changed. The equations he had run, the simulations he had run, the countless hours spent in the lab; everything led to the same conclusion. Earth was dying. The atmosphere was failing, the oceans were evaporating, and soon, fire would consume everything. He had known this for years, yet now, faced with the weight of it, the truth felt heavier than ever. One year. That was all they had left.

   Dr. Aaron Faust is a man burdened by knowledge. In his mid-thirties, stress has aged him beyond his years; dark circles linger under his sharp green eyes. The constant workload causing his eyes to falter, so much so that he needed constant glasses. His jet-black hair, once neatly kept, now falls in an unkempt mess somewhere between short and medium length, a reflection of his ever-growing exhaustion.

    Unlike some of his colleagues, Aaron is not a prodigy, nor a revolutionary thinker. He works tirelessly, despite his serious and pragmatic nature, Aaron is not heartless. He genuinely cares—not just about the science, but about the people. He struggles to secure a future for humanity

   The man’s office was a mess, files scattered all over the floor and desks, multiple electrical devices turned on at the same time, with completed equations of humanity’s doom 

   Frustrated, dr. Faust stood from his desk and walked to the window, it was supposed to be winter yet the heat was unbearable .Dr. Faust took the AC remote ,lowering the temperature by a lot. After a few minutes the room becomes cooler and slightly bearable. Taking a sigh of relief, he looked out the window

   Outside his window people were going about their day, children running after each other in the now dead playground, friends taking a stroll gossiping amongst each other, young teenagers pranking each other and enjoying life; were they really that delusional ? Earth was at its final, this was it for humans, why were they all so carefree? 

   Then it hit him, the news was a secret within the top scientists obviously the citizens had no clue about it. Regardless, why weren’t they panicking due to the extreme rise in temperatures, due to the sudden deaths caused by heat strokes? Perhaps they simply chose to ignore the dying planet hoping it was a time that could pass.

    He just sighed in frustration yet again.

   Slumping back into his chair, his attention darts back to the last simulation he had run; furious he slammed his Pc close and just sat there. He sat still, face in hands, contemplating whether or not to make the news public.

   “You seem quite stressed.” Dr. Minerva Blitz entered Dr. Faust’s office awfully cheerful; she leaned on Dr. Faust’s desk nonchalantly. “Finally the cold air” She hummed as the freezing air hit her face

   Along with being Dr. Aaron Faust’s work partner Dr. Minerva Blitz is also his best friend. 

   Dr. Minerva Blitz is a prodigy in the field of astrophysics and engineering, a woman whose intelligence is rivaled only by her unpredictability. Standing at 5'8", she possesses a striking yet youthful appearance. Her long, dark blue hair flows past her shoulders, often tied in a loose ponytail or left in a chaotic mess depending on her mood. Her light blue eyes hold a mischievous glint, reflecting both her sharp wit and her tendency to playfully disregard authority.  

   “These insolent fools…” He said rather sternly

   “Aww, you’re being bitter.”

   “Bitter?” dr. Faust replied enraged “What is up with these people , I know we haven’t made the news public ,but still how could they not see the condition that the planet is in .Everything is dead, the plants , the animals even humans.”

   “Hope is a strong faith you know.” Dr. Blitz gave a quieting grin

   “…” Dr. Faust stared at Dr. Blitz dumbfounded “Hope…?” he sighs “yeah, you have a point.”

   “Exactly and we will be shattering that hope into a million pieces by telling them the truth: The Sun hates us and wants us dead.” 

   “I guess that cheerfulness won’t last long huh.” 

   “Yep”

   “So, how is the situation with the ships?”

   “Readier than ever.” Dr. Blitz snatched the AC remote off Dr. Faust’s desk ,lowering the temperature even more” All that’s left is to load the rations and choose the people lucky enough to board the spaceships”

   “Any clue how we are supposed to do the selection?” Dr. Faust offered her the chocolate bar in his front pocket

   “Nope.” Dr. Blitz took the chocolate bar, grinning 

   “Hey, Minerva …”Dr. Faust simply sighs at the other’s childish behavior “You are a grown woman you know”

   “And?” She asked while the shoving the chocolate in her mouth.

   “Quit acting like a child”

   In response she sticks out her tongue at the man.

   “What did I just say?” Dr. Faust takes off his glasses massaging his temples at the other’s foolish actions.

   “Hey Aaron …”

   “What now…?”

   “You know, since Earth is at its final stage and everything and we humans have no actually confirmed escape plan, I say we should live these final moments to the fullest; no being stressed and absolutely no bad moods.” The woman stated, yet again in a childish demeanor.

   “What are you going on about, it’s not confirmed whether we will be selected or not.” He said, his voice glum

   “Oh we’re selected alright. “ 

   “How do you know that?”

   “Because I threatened the investors that if they didn’t let either if us on the ship I would mess up the ship’s electricity.” She gave a victorious grin  

   “You did what?” Dr. Faust jolted up from his seat in shock

   “Secured us a spot in the spaceships.“ repeated Dr. Blitz 

   “By threatening the lives of a large number of people.” 

   “You gotta do what you gotta do to survive.”

   “You got me a spot too?”

   “Mhm”

   “Thanks”

   “You’re welcome “

    Dr. Blitz decide to pass the time on her phone while the other went back to running more simulations with newer inputs , the room filled with complete silence except for the Air conditioner’s stoic hum .

   There was a knock on the door.

   “Come in.” replied Dr. Faust

   Another scientist entered the room calling the two for an emergency meeting, the three made their way past the humid halls and to a giant conference room full of people, politicians, journalist, scientists, engineers, military personnel, some rich people and at the head seat there sat the united nations’ leader.

   The two took their designated seats and the meeting began. The chairman opened up a slide, showcasing a temperature graph for the past few months

   “So …” began the chairman “As you all may know our planet is nearing its end with its ozone layer rapidly depleting due to the Sun’s massive solar flares targeted right at us.” The whole room was listening intently “As a countermeasure we began a project of building spaceships that would take us to the nearest habitable planet, mars. Prior to this we had already sent rovers and humans to make the planet livable for humans, we succeeded. All that is left to do is to load food rations and decide who gets to board” The room had predicted what he will say next “The problem is, we currently have 2.7 billion people ,but the spaceships can altogether only uphold 44.000 people ; and another ship that will hold us “

   “How about we make selection tickets, hide them in random places and the lucky people that find them will get to board the ships “ a cocky politician who went by Asahi Tatsuya spoke up

   “That’s absurd!” Dr. Elysa Evren stood up

   “Miss Evren, please.” The chairman shot her a glare .reluctantly she sat back down

   “I hate to admit it but that seems like a good choice given our circumstances “Dr. Faust included. Since he was the head scientist everyone took his decision as the final

   “With that being decided I have duties for everyone” the head turned back to the table “journalists; you are to record humanity’s progress from the early times till we depart. Military personnel, when we depart, you will be guarding the departing stations, allowing entry at the spaceships. News reporters you are to publicly announce everything tomorrow and

 broadcast it worldwide ” he stood up “that is all “