The Aspen and The Fox

Prologue

The world you know is long gone.

Humans left long ago. They didn't die, but rather, migrated. Travelled to another planet. Their nearest neighbor, Mars. Anyone who was considered prodigious or potentially salient to a new world was taken. That included all minors with ample education and anyone with an IQ above 150. The rest of the people -- the ones deemed unimportant -- were put into a stationary, coma-like state and left adrift in self-defensive pods with just enough supplies to keep them alive if they were to crash-land on a distant planet. Anyone with a record of crime was put to death almost immediately. Once all of the budgeted pods were occupied, the same was done to the rest of the population. Meanwhile the imperative ones, called the "vitals" were loaded into transportation modules along with abundant supplies they might need to embark on a new journey. New world. New life. One could only speculate why.

The reason behind all of this was a total fluke. However, this wasn't a situation where they could return to their previous homes and lifestyles if it turned out nothing was wrong. They were on their way to another planet now. This trip would take months, easily. They couldn't just turn around. Besides, no one even knew their predicted "end of the world" never happened.

"Based on recent records, scientists are predicting an asteroid impact in just a few months. There is evidence behind this impact triggering a worldwide fallout. The governments are collectively making a plan to save the population by transport, but officials say it isn't possible to protect everyone," a news reporter announced over live television. "Only an approximate four billion pods can be made aside from the advanced modules created for our selected vital members. The government has yet to release how the selection process will be executed. Please stand by for further notice."

Only three weeks later, tests were published and sent to all validated families. These tests would determine exactly who qualified as a vital. Within the next month, modules and pods for transport were constructed and perfected. Vitals were gathered, and the rest of the population fought over the pods. There were those who succeeded in obtaining a pod, and those who, simply put, did not. Procedures were effectuated. Earth was abandoned by the entire remaining human race. All that was left were plants and animals deemed unnecessary. Fortunately for them, no asteroid ever struck. No fallout ever transpired. And so, these organisms were left to live.

To grow.

To populate.

To evolve.

To thrive.

To dominate.