Dismal Discovery

[Notice: The following story is fictional. I confess that I fabricated it. Nonetheless, something like it could happen some day—so maybe the reader could consider it as a science fiction warning to human beings: that they may be blithely headed toward catastrophe.]

In the year 2050 a spacecraft departed Earth for the planet Oasis, which orbits the star Alpha Centauri—a little over four light years distant. Back in 2025 Oasis was discovered, and it created great excitement, because it seemed almost like a twin of Earth. It was about the same size, in the same comfortable temperature zone, and exhibited an atmosphere very similar to Earth's.

Subsequent examinations of Oasis, with new telescopes and analysis tools, confirmed the theory that it was likely to harbor life. Yet no electromagnetic signals or other signs of advanced technology were detected coming from the planet. If life existed on Oasis—and all indicators suggest it might—maybe it was in a more primitive stage, and had not yet evolved very far.

By 2050 the climate of Earth had become very dangerous for its biological inhabitants. Humans had thoughtlessly continued their damaging behavior, until it was too late to rescue the planet from incurring atmospheric tipping points that flipped the environment into severe conditions. It was like returning to a climate situation of millions of years before, when hellish circumstances would have made life miserable for most of Earth’s current animals.

The spacecraft that left Earth in 2050 had no humans aboard, because their presence would have called for a much larger and complex craft—in order to include enough provisions for the 50-year journey. Thus, it was a robotic mission that arrived at Oasis in 2100. It orbited the planet, to confirm the data that had been acquired from Earth (which it did), then sent down a lander, to examine conditions on the ground.

The findings were shocking. Oasis had once been inhabited by technologically advanced beings, but all signs of that developed life had vanished ten million Earth years before. It became obvious that something on Oasis had caused all advanced life to become extinct, and now the only life forms there were extremely simple—and appeared to be once again evolving towards more complex life. Something catastrophic had happened long ago on Oasis.

When these findings were transmitted back to Earth, in 2100, it caused much anguish and soul-searching. Many decades previously, a few cautionary scientists had registered their concern that humans were transforming Earth into a polluted place that could cause many species to expire—including Homo sapiens—and that it would require millions of years for the planet to recover. Conditions on Oasis seemed to substantiate that fear. Was it now too late to rescue Earth and save many of its species—including humans?

If so, the dismal truth that had been shown by Oasis could occur on our precious planet: our damage could be complete and decisive. Earth's life forms could take a ruinous hit, and it would require millions of years for life to recover and begin again. That was devastating news for humans in 2100... they were staring into annihilation. 

For Earth-the-planet, however, the prospect was of minimal threat. The planet had been through several previous extinctions and would endure the current nasty conditions and eventually recover. There were yet hundreds of millions of years over which Earth would continue to evolve—quite likely without presence of destructive Homo sapiens.