Extinction by Stupidity
Here is my contribution to this week’s Friday Fictioneers 100 word challenge, ably hosted by the talented Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by Doug MacIlroy.
To read the other contributions, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright Douglas M. MacIlroy
Marvik and Grvox, father and son team from “WorldRenewals Inc” stepped onto Earth, freshly scorched and ready for new inhabitants.
“The flamers did a good job on this one,” said Grvox. He pointed at a charred skeleton. “What d’ya suppose that was?”
“Some sort of marine mammal, son.”
“And what about over there? Looks like the remains of a… city? Built by those Hoomans? Da, we’re not allowed to flame worlds containing intelligent life!”
“Son, you’ve read the report on this world, same as me. Plundering your planet’s resources to exhaustion to make ‘shiny new things’ isn’t a sign of intelligence.”
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Friday Fictioneers
draliman on life 
Ain’t that the truth!
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Yus 😦
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Nice take on prompt!
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Thanks, glad you liked it 🙂
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Absolutely. Our standing as an intelligent species is highly disputable.
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WorldRenewals Inc would agree.
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Wait there’s intelligent life here? Good read, nice angle.
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Apparently there’s no intelligent life here 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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I think we are doomed.. either by ourselves or by aliens..
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I think so too 😦
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Spot on. But I’d hate to be Renewed!
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Me too, it sounds painful.
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You know, Ali, he might have a good point there. 😀 If the earth was scorched, they must have brought everything they needed on their ship. Sounds like one of those mother ships. If they needed to steralize our planet, they must be a very different form of life,.but able to breathe our air. They better watch out for the bacteria in the air ala WAR OF THE WORLDS. Well done. 😀 — Suzanne
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I reckon the bacteria has all been scorched too. Though, maybe not. It’s quite resilient!
I’m glad you liked it 🙂
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They still shouldn’t have sroched the earth because humans are only one of many species..the marine mammanls are more intelligent than us …however hard it’s to believe 🙂
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I get the feeling that their definition of “intelligent” allows them to scorch quite a few planets.
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Wonderful message.
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Thanks 🙂
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Great take on the photo prompt, really original, very clever, and you’ve hit the nail right on the head.
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked it! I like to pop in a little social commentary now and then 🙂
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Oh definitely, it’s one of the perks of being a writer surely?! If you fancy turning your prompt-interpretation talents to another challenge, I’ve just launched a new flash fiction event, it starts next Wednesday 😀
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I’ll take a look! I admit I have enough trouble keeping up with Mondays Finish the Story and Friday Fictioneers, but I shall stop by 🙂
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I know what you mean, it can get rather overwhelming to keep up! I’ll be running it weekly so there’s no rush, but fingers crossed you get the chance to get involved at some point!
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When will we ever learn?
DJ
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I don’t think we ever will 😦
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That does seem to be a constant problem. I love their names and their accents. Nice one, Ali!
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked my little dialogue! I finally came up with names that aren’t “David” and “Tom”… 🙂
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If a form of man was using tools 3.3 million years ago, I wonder how many times man has replayed “this” scene?
Thinking there is a lot we don’t know.
Great story Aliman.
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I agree with EvilSquirrel,
I didn’t have courage to say it!!!
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🙂
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Indeed, this may not be the first time! I’m glad you liked it 🙂
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Who needs intelligence when you have SHINY NEW THINGS!!!! ❤ ❤
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Exactly. Priorities!
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Da, we’re not allowed to flame worlds containing intelligent life!
I think this says it all. Well done.
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked my story!
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“We can only hope there is intelligent life out there ‘cos there’s bugger all down here on earth!” Monty Python.
Great story and entertaining as usual. Commenters crack me up too! 😀
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Thanks, and nice quote! Glad you liked it.
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This is great Ali and sadly could be a sign of things to come. Will we ever change?
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I doubt we’ll ever change to any great extent, but hopefully enough…
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I hope so too.
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Absolutely true! which intelligent animal destroys its own habitat. The hoomans are destroying not only theirs, but also of all species.
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Yep, we’re equal opportunity destroyers. Nothing is safe.
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I like/don’t like the movie Matrix’s definition. Humans are like a virus. An eye-opening wee story. 🙂
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If you think of the world as one huge organism we are kind of virus-like 🙂
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Entertaining as usual, and I agree about how an intelligent animal tries to preserve its surroundings rather than destroy them.
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked my story and the message!
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What an interesting and absolutely truthful main point. A great story with a message to the human (or hooman) race! 🙂
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Thanks! I thought I’d do another of my (slightly hypocritical – I like shiny new things) soap-box stories this week 🙂 We hoomans have to shape up!
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The trouble is that we all like shiny new things. 🙂
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Mmm, shiny.
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Hihi, great story, made me chuckle. These intelligenter aliens… do what we’ve done through the ages: judge, dismiss, destroy. Humanoid nature, it seems. 😀
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Such an attitude is rife throughout the universe, it seems!
I’m glad you liked it 🙂
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Who are these aliens to judge us when they destroy civilizations themselves? Seems like a circle of entropy to me.
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I’m guessing they viewed us the same way as we view animals. Shame about the pandas, but we need the space for building on…
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i tend to disagree witn marvik. the hoomans had actually been too intelligent or smart for their own good.
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Not smart enough to have built a massive orbital defence system unfortunately 😦
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An entertaining take on a very serious idea. The best way to get a message across.
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Thanks, I think so too. Slip the message in while the reader is engaged with the story 🙂
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Excellent! This is brilliant.
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Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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Dear Ali,
I read somewhere that if sense was common we’d all have some. There’s intelligence and there’s…
Good story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
I like that, about “common” and “sense”. I’m glad you enjoyed my story 🙂
Ali
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We’d better not tip over and fall as a species…for sake of at least retaining proper pronunciation of ‘humans.’
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Precisely. “Hoomans” is how the Ferengi pronounce it, and we can’t have that!
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No, sir! No… tortellini-eared aliens…should never see them—have to see them.
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🙂
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And pray that there’s intelligent life somewhere up in space,
‘Cause there’s bugger-all down here on Earth.
–Eric Idle, Galaxy Song
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He knows his stuff, does Mr Idle.
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“Hoomans”
I laughed. But certainly hope we “wisen up”. Good message in an entertaining story!
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I hope we “wisen up” as well. I’m glad you liked it!
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All rules are built around a loop hole. Great theme.
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And they’ve exploited it to the max!
Glad you liked it.
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Hoomans…yes, an inferior race for sure.
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I feel sorry for all Earth’s other recently charred species. Poor monkeys 😦
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A great take on the prompt. 🙂 Those ‘hoomans’ rarely show any signs of intelligence!
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Sadly they don’t 😦
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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you’ve gone deep this week, good job 🙂
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Thanks, I like to slip in a little message now and then 🙂
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Loved this story!
I recently read that the best proof of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, is that they (the intelligent aliens) haven’t wanted to visit us 😄
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That sounds about right! I think someone on one of the blogs I follow recently posted a little comic with much the same sentiment.
I’m glad you like it!
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Dear Draliman, Great story and I don’t know if it was intelligence or not. But we have destroyed resources often, so I guess we could be considered thugs who have trashed this planet. Although, we have done some beautiful things to the it. Good job! Nan
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Dear Nan,
Yes, I think the aliens were a little harsh in their judgement. Maybe the bad currently outweighs the good.
I’m glad you enjoyed my story!
Ali
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Great story with some relevant commentary on our present world. I like father-son conversation here.
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Thanks, glad you liked the message and the dialogue!
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There’s truly no hope when the aliens can’t agree on our intelligence.
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No. It seems in this case they took the path of least resistance/greater profit and just torched us.
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Gruesome.
Reminds me of Hitchhiker to the Galaxy. Least resistance, but for a different reason.
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I only hope it was a quick end.
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Eventually, I think it was.
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..and how right is that…Stoopid hoomans 😦 Pawkisses for a better world 🙂 ❤
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Now, if cats were in charge… 🙂
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Loved it!
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I’m glad 🙂
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Truth from the mouths of…. aliens?
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Yep. Clever chaps, these aliens.
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