MULTIPLY Visual Aid #4: The Survival of the Fittest

Opening the window he saw it was evening again. There was no point looking at the clock, time no longer existed, nothing really existed as it was. The old play ground opposite used to be filled with children’s laughter and noise; but this was many years ago. A guilty feeling went through his body. He then worked night shift in the town sewers, making sure that everything was nice and tidy and clean. The noise of the children during the day would wake him from the sleep he needed and it annoyed him. He often opened the window and shouted for them to be quiet. He was known by the kids as old misery guts. Now, there were no children playing, there was no noise, children were a thing of the past. The park illuminations were still alive. They automatically switched on in the evenings, perhaps if time existed, he could measure it by the on and off of the lights. Even the green colour of the trees and plants were a remainder of the colouring programme used to convince the population that there was nothing really wrong, everything was under control.

“Time to get going” he thought and he got himself dressed. His waterproof outfit was a relic of his working days and he removed them from the cupboard. He pulled off his washed out blue jeans and t-shirt and put on the overall which covered him completely. A pair of heavy boots, thick and protective and a steel helmet and he was ready. They were waiting for him. The only entrance was through the garbage bin. Even that was not real, just a disguise. It glowed with an unnatural light and for some unknown reason had been painted blue. Perhaps to show what the sky once looked like before the truth was revealed. Just climb in and descend the steps. Below ground level there was another sort of life.

How he hated the evening excursions under their watchful eyes, but since they had taken over, he had no choice. Their powers of communication were above his level of thought, but they knew exactly how to operate. After the world had slowly died, they took over. Admittedly the humans tried to hide it all. “It was not our fault” the government said “it was the others”. The others blamed it onto the others and so it went on. At first things were patched over. With the abilities developed in the laboratories of the world, everyone thought the natural appearance of the planet was genuine. It was when people started dying from hunger, that the truth leaked out, but then it was too late. No-one knew how to put everything back to how it should be.

“Am I the only one left, that cannot be, there must be someone else” but he never met anyone else and so he gave up. It was then that the new powers took over. They were adapted to this new way of life and could survive, but even they needed his help. The only creatures that were indestructible seemed to be the rats. They could eat anything and everything and survive and so they multiplied and multiplied. Then one day they had a rival; almost as cunning as the rats and these rivals began to organise their selves and to take over. The new regime did not just kill the rats; after all they were the only source of food left after almost everything else in the environment had died. They farmed them, sorted them and kept them disease free. It was the only nutrition that he now had, but he had to work for his food.There were rumours of cows and sheep, but they were too far away and communications and transport no longer existed. If you could not walk there, then it was better to leave it.

He was now at the end of his descent and was received by the local chief. Words were not exchanged, the governing race could not talk. A blink of the staring eyes towards him and he knew what he had to do. They walked together through the stinking wet rivers of the sewers. He heard a noise and the master nodded. He took out his harpoon and fired. It was a sure shot and he had killed one of the new race. It was a rat as big as a dog. “The bastards are breeding bigger” he thought to himself. The chief nodded in approval and pounced on the dead body, calling other members of his race They tore the body to pieces but left enough for their human. He took what was given and packed it into his backpack. At least he would have something to eat when he got home.

So the night went on, he knew that nature always made its own choice and this time the survival of the fittest were those that were once pets to mankind. Now the cats had taken over.

Visual Aid #4: The Survival of the Fittest