“There was a time when rivers ran free. There were tall plants, we called trees. The ground was brown and covered in solid patches of grass…” Grandpa Julius pauses, pulls off his fishing hat, adjusts in on his head. “You see at your age we had a wireless libraries. Lights powered all night long.”
Abraham looks at him with big eyes of a six year old.
“One day, the President had this device called a mouse. With one click, the war started. No-one knows why it happened. Some day maybe you’ll see a light, fake sun in your room” his voice falters.
Coloring Outside the Lines 
Oh yes, this makes a very good point in addition to be very well written. Well done.
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Thank you so much. It seems easier destruction would be possible with technology
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It isn’t but it is, that simple.
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Utter destruction is always easier than building and maintaining. Human nature to start over from a new place. Thanks for the comment. You know it the little things.
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This starts out so innocently with grandpa reminiscing and ends in pure horror. Great take.
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He’ll I started out innocently and look at me now! 😉 I liked using grandpa like that. It gave a different feel. Thanks for kind words
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Didn’t expect dystopia to come from the picture of an innocuous mouse. Loved how you took it there. Perhaps, the President or the ‘clique’ should click, and humankind obliterated and the Earth should be returned to Nature.
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There are a few that agree. I think nature is better than civilization on most days outside January and February
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What a great reminder of all the various horrible things that can result from a single click of a mouse.
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Thanks for the kind words. It’s always the simple things that get you.
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No trees and no technology…now there is a dystopia no one would want.
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There always someone who would want it that way. Trees would be a tough thing to get past. We always have a form of technology. It would be a different wireless. Thanks for comment!
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Yes that is true.
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yes needs only a click…sigh…
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If we use the word “click” as a term for a group of insiders’ it a worse thought. That occurred after I wrote it.
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How long before a plane gets shot down in Syria because of shared intelligence? Viva Jeremy Corbin: won’t push the button, no matter what.
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It’s the accidental part, I would question when it happens. There’s a lot of people who would do both. If they made an instrument that was so obvious, the dog could do it.
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Scary thought that (and too close to reality!)
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Beyond reality. You know to hide something put it in an obvious spot, and make it plain
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For sure!
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Atleast bedtime stories lived on 🙂 Nice one.
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That’s the last thing we have, the story tellers. The person who seen what we only could dream of. Thanks for the kind words
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That’s a frightening thought that our world could end with a click of a mouse. Great story Mark.
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There was a time when “we invaded” Cuba to check on missiles. The Soviets had orders to launch if communications were ever severed. It could happen. .. thanks for the kind words, my dear.
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Did that happen when President Kennedy was in office because I remember something going on between the US and Cuba that had something to do with missiles/bombs.
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Yep, the KGB had the world war II phones in the field. After the Soviet Union feel, agents said they were ready to launch if they lost contact with the homeland. There were so close to Miami, the thought was an attack could cone within thirty minutes and no way to tell why communication was lost. That’s a scary story
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Yes, that is scary! I remember in school we had to have drills (almost daily) where we would get underneath our desks. Everyone was scared to death bombings were going to happen.
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I just remember Reagan and ground penetrating missiles, and arguments about whose weapons where more accurate. No-one cared we all would be dead.
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No kidding!
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Its funny thinking of the fears of terrorism are out there, but world annihilation was passe at the time
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I was thinking about that earlier, there was terrorism even back then.
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The perspective was different. It was a handful of people at a time. Always overseas. We were safely isolated. World news doesn’t get good coverage on tv here. So world problems stay over there.
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Oh yes, it was much different times back then, for sure.
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One click is probably all it would take… Good one.
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The president with a briefcase with launch codes is outdated. The mouse seems harmless. Imagine the IPad with the same capabilities.
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Very The Road.
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