255 Sols

Five sols before the morning when Ann made a run for it, in the long-forsaken lab, two researchers were still frantically working to find a way to save humanity. The main driving factor behind their work was not solidarity for the species, but an impending sense of doom, as both of them were on the verge of having their time run out.

Increasing fertility, completely erasing the virus, and creating clones. They had tried every possibility, yet not a single one worked out.

"I guess we failed, huh?" said one of the researchers while sitting on the floor.

"Don't say that yet. We will find something for sure."

"Will? Do you hear yourself? What point is there in talking about the future now?"

"Come on, there's no way tomorrow is the last day, right? I lost count long ago, but we must have something left."

"Haha...right...if you say so. When it all ends, I wonder what the last thing I see will be. I wonder if I will feel anything."

"Man, you sound really depressed today...come on, cheer up a bit. You have a friend right next to you. Let's let out a good laugh.

"A friend. If only I knew your name. The name of the last face I will see."

"What are you talking about? Names? We left that thing on Earth. We have numbers, and that is enough."

"Numbers?"

"Yeah. Are you ok? You are acting weird today."

"What is your number?"

"What?"

"What is my number?"

"Yo, man. Don't tell me."

The next second, the pessimistic researcher let out a loud scream.

"Get yourself together. What is wrong with you? Wait, don't tell me..."

"Who are you? Get away from me!"

The man suddenly got up and , with no warning, jumped on the optimistic youngster with whom he had spent his last sols together.

"Hey! Stop that! Get off! No way this is how it ends."

In vain did the optimistic researcher try to defend himself from the attack of the crazed one, as the latter pinned him down to the ground.

During their fight, the crazed man's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at the arm he was holding pinned. The pinned-down researcher, noticing the stare and the way the lips of the aggressor made way for the tongue to come and wet them, realized he was about to live through a nightmare he couldn't wish on anyone.

"DON'T YOU DARE. SNAP OUT OF IT, NOW!"

But it was too late; the pinned-down man could just stay and watch as his former partner gave in to his instincts and sunk his teeth into his arm.

"AHHHH!!! GET OFF!"

With a final push, he was able to get off the man who had now thrown away any form of humanity and stayed there on all fours.

The next moment, the crazed man launched another attack, but this time his partner was prepared.

"I am sorry. I never thought this is how it ends."

While looking the other way, the sane man, pointing a finger gun at the monster, let out a ray of light from his index finger. Once the ray reached the target, the crazed man with a hole opened up in his leg fell on the ground. He let out a scream full of agony, and then, as if replaced with a block of lead, his head hit the ground, never to be raised again.

"To think you were the one who made this gadget thing for me."

After confirming the death of his former partner, the man turned around and never looked back. He did not waste any time handing in his researcher card and getting out of the research facility.

From within the facility, a robotic voice could be heard. "All researchers have left the perimeter. Olympus Project will start immediately."

The researcher could not hear that voice; he was already running away from the facility.

"No way this is real. Is this how we all go? Is this what happens when they erase our memory? Do we really have to lose our humanity before we collapse?"

The man felt the rage welling up inside him.

"And they want me to do their bidding? After treating us like this? No! The human race may as well die out for all I care. I am not going back there. I have to live my life. I have to go back and meet them. Meet my wife and kids on Earth.

He suddenly froze in place.

"Wait...wife? Kids? I am not even married. Am I?"

And as if the very world around him started burning, all he could see before him turned foggy.

"Wait. What was I doing?..."

Before he could think of an answer to his question, sudden pain enveloped him, and all he was left able to do was scream.

...

"I must have misheard that. Or maybe I've made a mistake with his program? I'm supposed to have double that number."

"You and me both. Here until the last sol. Soj, can you calculate that again?"

"Recalculating. Remaining sols until complete memory wipe: 255 sols."

"What's the logic behind this? Any explanations?" The lady who received the name of Ray showed a rare hint of unease when asking the robot she herself repaired about her remaining lifespan.

"Explanation: Olympus Project has started. Displaying information."

Facing empty space, the robot prepared his holo-projector, ready to explain the reason why the remaining time of humanity had been halved. Only the projection did not reach the empty space in front of the robot and instead appeared as a ray of light projected right into the eyes of 1441, who was standing next to Soj.

"Unexpected error detected."

"..."

"What? Don't look at me like that. It was hard enough to save the guy. I've never said everything is in place."

Moving aside, 1441 made way for the projection. Out of thin air, the image of the most hated man on Mars appeared.

Although long dead, the bringer of bad news stayed not before the three of them as he stood before the whole colony when first declaring the start of the final countdown for humanity.

Dear people of Mars! My humans! My very hope for a bright future, listen to me! For the world as we know it will be no more!

If this message is ever seen by anyone, it means the Olympus Project is here at last! It means you, my dear subjects, have failed to show your worth. It means you have failed to save humanity. It means you decided to shorten my life instead of trying to find a way to save your own.

Once the last researcher gives up on saving us, humanity has no reason to keep crawling around. Humanity will never bow to anyone! Humanity will never be less than it is today! Humanity will reach the apex, or die out and be forgotten when it is at its highest. That is why, my dear traitors, your life doesn't have any meaning anymore. That is why, my dear killers, the time you had left has now been halved.

Do not despair, for it is not a sad thing. The lives you were wasting will serve a higher purpose now.

Gather, my survivors. gather on Olympus Mons. Gather here and witness the greatness of humanity. Gather here and see what I have created! Gather here as you have no other purpose in life! Gather here to seek salvation, if any is left!

Come, my treacherous subjects. I will wait for you here.

...

Humanity never grows past revenge. The foul beings that once ruled the Earth had long since learned the error of their ways, but that never stopped them from repeating the same things over and over again. Some would call this insane, but if this is what human nature dictates, wouldn't revenge be the sanest thing to use for your self-satisfaction?

At the very least, this is what the people on Mars were going through. A well-thought-out plan that would shorten their lives for every step they took away from the will of the ones who hold the power. And humanity didn't hesitate to show its teeth from either position.

"The worst scum to roam the world. Rich or poor. Smart or stupid. Kind or harsh. We'll never amount to anything, never to look back on what we have done with pride."

That's what 1441 thought about humans, but the current events didn't discourage him. On the contrary.

"Ha...Hahahahah!"

1441 laughed, for he was no different. He laughed because that reminded him he was still human. He laughed because humans are short-sighted.

"255 left. Let's make them count!"

He laughed, for he remembered what he cared for. He laughed because nothing but your final moment counts.