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[Short Story] The Last Breath On Earth


A bug is a computer anomaly that is generated usually because of developer’s ignorance or environmental factors. The former is more prominent in computer programs. The term debugging means to find the cause for the bug and fixing it. The term debugging has a humorous origin.
In 1947, Grace Murray Hopper was working on the Harvard University Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator. On the 9th of September, 1947, when the machine was experiencing problems, an investigation showed that there was a moth trapped between the points of Relay #70, in Panel F. The operators removed the moth and affixed it to the log.
The word went out that they had "debugged" the machine and the term "debugging a computer program" was born.

As the technology progresses it advances towards perfection and minimizes its flaws, unfortunately, this was not true for computers. The bugs and errors increased exponentially with the advancement of computers. What earlier was a mere moth trapped in the points, became complex lines of code.
Computers were our future, since the day Charles Babbage invented the abacus machine we always prophesied a brighter future, more and more systems came online. I cannot definitely say what went wrong, but maybe it was the 2nd world war that made armies put defense control on the computer, or maybe it was the creation of virus by hackers. 
Today, I sit here on the threshold at the end of humanity. Everywhere I look I see nothing. Void. I cannot tell you what day it is because all the time is gone, the entire calendars dissolved into nothingness.

I don’t know what actually started it, maybe it was the developers fault or maybe the testing was not proper, whatever it was now, there is no way of finding it now. Maybe it could be prevented, maybe not, it was a simple bug. A simple bug.
The guided nuclear missile program relied heavily on the computer. It was built with maximum precision and minimum errors. They were programmatically locked into a button so that if someone accidentally fires the switch there was a fail-safe program to prevent the holocaust. Somehow they missed the find the computer bug.

There is no way of knowing what actually happened, maybe the code went wrong, maybe the computer intercepted a command wrong, maybe it was a virus or maybe a simple bug. A simple bug.
The missiles took flight before anyone could actually understand what was happening. It was all over in a matter of minutes.

The ocean level rose to an enormous proportion, the wall high tsunami drowning half the planet in one splash. Japan never stood a chance, as the boiling ocean drowned it completely, neither did Australia.

India and the sub-continent were vaporized like placed in a giant microwave. Every bit of matter liquefied into the atom. The oceans evaporated superheating the atmosphere, creating a globe-spanning firestorm that destroyed the atmosphere.

The rest was drowned by radioactive water falling from the sky as the ocean came down as an endless downpour. No dogma could prevent this, no sacrifices for the sins of humanity could prevent it, no law could justify. Noah could not even build his ark. Manu could not save anyone.
Everything simply was destroyed within seconds.
Nothing remained just the traces of humanity in the form of the dead.

Humanity perished.

Except me.

I was working in the international space station at the time it happened. I saw the whole destruction of the planet with my naked eyes. I tried hard to maintain contact, but nothing worked. After the long day ended and the radioactive dust settled, I decided to come back and find out if any life is left here.
I came here last month and what I see is horrifying, piles and piles of dead bodies. Everywhere I see is destruction, no trace of mankind. No trace of any lifeform. I wonder had God prophesied this before? Was it planned or unplanned? If it was unplanned it was a big flaw on his part. If it was planned, here I was, a flaw in his plan.
But some part of me tells me, this was all planned. He, the almighty, planned all this. Well, that must be the religious part in me. All the boundaries, religion seem distant shadows now. No preacher, no believer.

I slept under the poisoned sky for the night, for the first time, I do not am not afraid of anything. I am not afraid of monsters under the bed, not afraid of robbers robbing me.
I am pretty sure the radioactivity in the air has entered my lungs. I am going to die of radioactive poisoning soon, but today I have decided to muster the courage to travel.
Travel to see if there is someone alive other than me. If all those religious dogmas were true then my perfect half must be somewhere, or maybe I will stumble upon the almighty on the way.

I do not know where this journey will lead me, nor do I know how things are going to shape up for me. I do not know why I have survived the holocaust, but there be some purpose in my life.
I am keeping this note, in hope that maybe someday; someone will come across this and learn what happened here. Maybe some alien species will send an expedition on the planet.
Today I commence my journey into nothingness; I commence my journey into the void, in search of a company and to find the purpose of my life.

I am the sole survivor of planet earth.

The last breath of humanity.

Photo: Creative Commons. http://stocksnap.io designed using Canva.com

Comments

  1. wow! it was nice to read something diffrent!

    :)

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  2. A purrfect blend of technology and humanity..reeaally something different(tomato ketchup)

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  3. That is seriously a professional hazard.

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  4. Hey Sid! I like reading your blog, but I hardly have time. I make sure to read you whenever I can irrespective of whether I leave a comment or not.

    I just wanted to point out that your blog homepage is cluttered with too many posts. Your background etc are really attractive, just that one thing I wanted to point out!

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  5. hey sid..love your new blog template, especially the new header :)

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  6. Ravan,
    That was a fresh take, you the only survivor on Earth ? Ek dude(tte) bhi nahi ? :-) .

    Loved the intro, Babbage et al (guess why ? I drown in J2EE Architecture), par ek baat se naaraz hoon . "It is ALWAYS the Requirements' fault. Never the developer's, so what's this developer’s ignorance stuff ?... :-) ".

    Jokes apart, loved the fertile imagination. Hatke post..

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  7. and now that you are the sole survivor on the earth....time to make new creations....would like to read more...:)

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  8. Whoa, Sid! So much info. Never knew so many things. Good post.
    All the best for Batom!

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  9. You are the only I guess blended technology in the what-if post. And that makes it different from the rest. I am looking forward to read your online novel! good luck man!

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  10. Nice! Very Hollywood style...you could sell your script! ;) Enjoyed the story....

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  11. Whoa! I don't understand this Blog-a-ton thing. But it sure leads to some awesome posts!
    Very well written Sid. Loved it! :)

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  12. Dark and abrupt.. It was a really good read.. Good luck for Batom! :)

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  13. Wonderful post...the description of how the holocaust happened was nice...and the last para a very nice one...it reitrates the message that humanity will survive

    Shahid

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  14. Developer aur Bug ka to choli daman ka sath kya karen :D... waise are you sure you are alone I mean you have no bugs to accompany you :)

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  15. U planning to bag all votes this time? Man, this is awesome!!

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  16. Ahhh Super cool. Sid's imagination or what!
    You are getting better and better at story telling..:)
    Oh btw...bug ka kya hua?? Its not late now yet..isnt it? :))

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  17. Hello There,

    First let me introduce myself, I am ARJuna a young blogger from Mumbai. I have been reading all your blogs for quite some time now.

    I am sending this mail for a reason. I am turning 20 years old on 11th February, Thursday. This isn’t just any other birthday. It’s a coming of age of sorts and more importantly it is the day I cease to be a teenager. I pass on from being a Teen to an Adult.

    I want to take this opportunity to connect with teens and adults alike who share my love for blogging. I want to know their views on the teenage and teens.

    If you are interested to do a guest post for my blog, please make a note of the following:

    1. Send me a reply on this e-mail address as soon as possible so that I know you are interested.

    2. As soon as I receive your mail I will add you as a member of my blog until 15th February, Monday.

    3. You can publish your post anytime in that period though it would be preferable if you could post on or before 11th February, Thursday (so that it can coincide with my ‘coming of age’)

    4. I have given a few pointers below to give you some food for thought about what you can blog about in your post.

    The guidelines for your post are as follows:

    1. What does ‘teenage’ or ‘entering teenage’ mean to you?

    2. What did you think ‘being a teenager’ and are you living up to those expectations?

    3. Your experiences – good and bad - as a teenager that you face/faced.

    4. What kind of trials & tribulations, internal conflicts, successes and failures did you face/ are you facing?

    5. Any precious piece of wisdom you realised as a teenager?

    These are just guidelines; you can choose to adhere to all/some of them but remember your style, creativity and opinion are more important.

    Looking forward to your reply

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  18. loved your post, quite different from all of us and very interesting.

    P.S: I'm eager to see what will your reply be to ARJuna

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  19. Hi! A very interesting and different take on the topic given... refreshing... best of luck!!

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  20. Awesome.. such a unique blend.. totally refreshing although a little bit scary.. I am scared of computers now :D

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  21. Sorry guys for late reply here. I have managed to stand up just now. I will reply to each and every comment in coming 24 hrs.

    keep smiling...:D

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  22. Awesome! felt like watching "I am legend"!
    slick narration!

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  23. Fantastic post sid. loved it :) I love such sci-fi stories a lot and you are too good at writing them :) The narration and the introduction was simply mindblowing. What if you win BAT7? :D I am sure you will. All the best! :)

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  24. science fiction, that too a well written one!! Nice change!

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  25. @Megha
    Hey thanks...does that mean u liked only last para...:O :D

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  26. @Neha
    Thanks....:D It is what if...:P

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  27. @Geeta
    err... good that you liked the tomato ketchup...:P :D

    seriously...tomato ketchup :o

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  28. @Pramathesh
    People like you and me are computer programmers, this is bound to happen....:P

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  29. @Niveditha
    Koi nai... i know u do read it.... d clutter on main page is deliberately created so that this blog gets a magazine look....

    :D

    ReplyDelete
  30. @JAL
    Thanks buddy....welcome to sidoscope....:D

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  31. @Ashwini
    the new header is a ambigram...glad u liked it...:D

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  32. @Madhu
    Unfortunately.... d last person on earth is also going on to hunt for his own dudette...:P

    now I am the business analyst who gathers requirement so i purposefully did not put this part in d post...:P

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  33. @Pushpee
    Keep following... we might get a sequel...:D

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  34. @karthik
    Vote for me for batom...:D

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  35. @Sureindran
    Sure thing.... i just thought something different for the event...:D

    See u on blovel soon...:D

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  36. @Pyshic Blabber
    get me a producer quick... i will sell it quick...:D

    ReplyDelete
  37. @Choco
    Hey the billi is back...:D thanks...

    ReplyDelete
  38. @Shahid
    Lets hope humanity survives!!!!...:D

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  39. Hai Sid How are you feeling now?
    Found some compnay? Got anything o eat??
    :P
    Well written!!!
    :~)

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  40. Wow!! That's the most different take on the BAT-7 topic!! Sci-Fi novel like feel this post had!!
    Interesting!!
    Good luck for BAT-7! :)


    PS: Posting this comment for the nth time since afternoon!! There sure is some error somewhere!! :(

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  41. Well fabricated....
    Whatever rises has to fall....

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  42. that was a dark sci fi... loved the ending... that reminds me of the bug fixes i need to do :P

    very well narrated... keep writing :)

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  43. error 666 : Armageddon
    solution : restart universe :P

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  44. @Dmanji
    No I am a bug free developer...don't ask me to develop nuclear program :P

    ReplyDelete
  45. @Dil
    puri duniya tabah hui...and u r asking about bug...:P

    ReplyDelete
  46. @Tamaya
    Thank thank you...vote for me pls...

    @the west wind
    Thank you...:D

    ReplyDelete
  47. @Murali
    I take ur word for it bro... i have not seen Legend....:D

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  48. @Avada and Swayanbhu
    Thanks folks...vote for me pls...:D i tried writing a science fiction...mustave succeeded...:D

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  49. :) No ..i like it all, but the last was touching ..

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  50. @Megha
    :D oh thanks...:D... i will re-read it to see...:D

    thanks for pointing out...:D

    ReplyDelete
  51. @Yemiledu
    no no... i am not alone now...keep following...will tell my next part...:D

    ReplyDelete
  52. @Shilpa
    Oops thanks...and sorry for the trouble ya... i will see wot can b done for it....:D

    ReplyDelete
  53. @Mahesh Kalaal
    thanks bro...lets hope end is not this way!!!


    @Rajlakshmi
    Hope u r not writing a nuclear program...:P

    keep encouraging...:D

    @Nανєєη
    Finally u came... yes that was what is in the sequel...:D

    ReplyDelete

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