Kate stepped out of her apartment and walked to the corner. She knew it wouldn't be long before a tram came by for the short trip to the observatory. "What could Jack be planning for Earth Day and why there?" she wondered. She had never heard of a party to celebrate the event. Somehow, all things considered, it just did not seem appropriate.
The tram arrived and Kate climbed the three steps to board, dropped a token in the slot and took a seat. The tram moved away from the corner and gained speed. Soon, the tram was moving very fast on the throughway toward the western end of the city. Already, the great dome of the observatory could be seen at the farthest end where the lights of the city would least confuse the vision of any observer.
When the tram stopped, Jack was waiting for Kate. "Good. You made it," he said, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "The party will begin shortly. Nearly everyone it here."
"Who is everyone, Jack?"
"Oh. I didn't tell you, did I?" Jack said, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Nearly the entire faculty from the University. This is a special anniversary, you know."
"Special?" Kate asked, confused.
"Yes. It's been exactly fifty years today."
"Jack, I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Just wait, darling. You'll see. Professor Hewitt is going to make a short speech. It will all be clear to you then," Jack said, taking Kate's hand and leading her into the observatory dome.
Already, there were seventy people assembled under the brightly lit dome. Kate recognized a few of them from various University gatherings. Over there was Doctor Winn, the Environmental Engineer. Near the podium was Ann Regis from Chemistry. But most of the people there were unknown to her. "Who are these people?" she asked Jack.
"Most of them are from Ecology. That's Doctor Evers talking to Ann Regis. You know her. That group talking in the corner are Doctors Franklin, Blevins and Peters. They are from the Geophysics Department. Over here is Frank Reynolds and Justin Marsh. They run the air quality project."
Kate found this all too confusing. This didn't seem like the usual University gathering. She had been to many of those over the years. She hated those gatherings more than she could ever admit. Mostly she hated all the hotsy-totsy University big shots sitting around trying to make everyone believe they were far more educated and important than the next person. They had their pinkies cocked like a garden party, sipping green tea, while trying to act cultured. And it was all a fraud. Most of the men would just as soon have been guzzling neo-beer down at O'Neil's, while most of the women would just as soon been screwing each other husbands - all in the name of research, of course.
Unfortunately, Kate saw that old bastard, Dr. Ezra Hewitt, climb the podium set up at the back of the room. The old man was a perfect letch. His little, spindly legs could barely support his ugly, sagging body with it's disgusting, protruding "beer belly." Hewitt was the last of the founders and proud of the accomplishment, even though he had not done anything worthy of note since. It was whispered throughout the University that Hewitt was generally useless and a waste of good air.
Every time Kate had been in the same room with him, he had spent hours staring at her tits. Once he even had the audacity to try and cop a feel - all very "accidental," of course. But still, he had tried. "No wonder his wife left him," Kate thought.
As Kate watched, Hewitt tapped the microphone irritatingly. "Hello? Can you all hear me," he said in his cackling, nasal voice. Kate was glad to see everyone in the room ignored the old fart.
"Hello?" Hewitt said again into the microphone, followed by a loud screech of feedback.
Everyone stopped talking and looked at the old man standing at the podium. Hewitt shifted back and forth on his feet as if he was about to lose control of his bladder. Inwardly, Kate was laughing hysterically at his obvious discomfort, but outwardly her face showed nothing.
"Okay. Let's get started," Hewitt said. "I've prepared a little speech for this occasion." The old man reached for the breast pocket of his cheap and worn jacket. He pulled out a pile of note cards.
"We are the best that mankind has," Hewitt began. "We are what's left of a civilization. How did we come to this?" Hewitt peered out at the audience. Nobody spoke.
"Man is one of the baser animals of Earth. He makes war. He is so egotistic he tries to tame his environment. He even lords it over those species he sees as lesser than himself.
"And what did it bring him? More war. Finally, a war to end all wars. And who won you ask? The answer to that is both nobody and us."
The lights in the room began to dim and the stars began to glow faintly through the clear, plasteel roof. And there, centered over their heads was earth. Kate could hear breaths being sucked in as the crowd stared at the home planet. Once Earth had been known as the "Blue" planet. It was home to all manner of species. The environment was warm. But most of all the planet itself and every living thing on it was protected by a thin layer of atmosphere.
But now, even to look at the home world was not done. Here, the survivors had found a new place - a new home.
Above them, hanging in space was Earth, a burned out hulk. It's atmosphere gone. The surface scotched by the atomic munitions of the last war. Now Earth was lifeless, hardly recognizable as the place where life had sprung forth.
The crowd was quiet. Nobody spoke. Everyone just stared. Fifty years ago some of them had walked on the Earth that was. All the others parents had done so too.
"How far have we come?" Kate asked herself. "And how far do we have to go? Have we learned anything?"
Hewitt continued from the podium, "We are the remnants. We founded a new home here on Earth's moon. Here we are protected by plasteel domes. Here we raise our food. Here we raise our families. Here we have made a new home. And I would point out that I was instrumental in creating an environment here that is designed to be optimum for our survival."
"But we have fallen into the same trap. Some want the weather in our little world warmer. Some want to change the light and dark periods. Others still want to pack up and move to another area and start their own colony. Isn't this how it started there," Hewitt said, his arm raised, pointing at the dead rock that had been the home planet above them. "All their whining would do nothing but upset the fine, delicate balance, I have created."
Kate felt a shudder as she stared at the planet Earth. "How could we have done this?" she wondered. She had seen pictures of earth before the end. It had been beautiful with its blue oceans, hazy clouds and green continents. Everyone, learned in school the history leading up to the great war, but now, looking at the burned out rock that once had been home, it all came crashing down on her.
Jack touched her arm and said, "Something is bothering me, Kate."
Kate turned to Jack. She could see an odd look on his face. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Old man, Hewitt got me thinking. I'm wondering..."
"Wondering what?"
