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Camera drones skimmed the surface of the new world and the crew could see sunlight glittering off serene rivers and tranquil lakes, and seas laced with silvery backs and blue fins; grasslands grazed by placid ruminants, and meadows bright with multi-colored blooms; soft breezes rustled the leaves of the trees and flocks of songbirds wheeled overhead in exuberant arabesques.
"It's perfect!" No one disagreed.
And the Captain spoke.
"Recall the drones. Withdraw to standard operating distance. Arm the devices."
Two hours later the planet glowed red with unnatural blooms.
In total, there were more than ten thousand such missions.
Until finally it could be said, without contradiction, that Earth--broken, polluted, diseased--yes, that Earth was the galaxy's fairest world.
The End
This story was first published on Thursday, February 24th, 2022
Author Comments
Reading about a wartime incident triggered this story. In August 1944, realizing that his forces were about to lose Paris, Adolf Hitler ordered the city to be destroyed (von Choltitz, his commander in Paris, disobeyed the order). It's a nasty little human trait, not exclusive to dictators - if I can't have this nice thing, I'm damned if you're going to--and one senses
that it's not going to die out any time soon.
- Chris Bailey
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