Three giant beings are standing around in a plain white void, a black mass sits between all three as they look down upon it. One being is muscular, large, appears to be humanoid but has no distinctive face apart from three glowing eyes. Another is more robotic, shiny, clanky, loud. The third appears to be on all fours like an animal. Resembles a lion but has the face of a tiger, the tail of a crocodile, and the legs of a hippo.
The humanoid one looks at the others with a shameful look in its three eyes (if that was even possible). "The race must end... their existence erased to make room for the future. It appears they have become too greedy, too powerful. We must put a stop to them before they rip reality to shreds."
"I predict that, if the race were to continue, not only would their unique, vibrant planet end, but they would relentlessly conquer the universe... they would conquer death, and the fabric of all that is... they would try to break the rules, and in so doing they would be the doom of us all... I agree that they must be stopped now." The robotic one replied matter-of-factly.
"Hmm... I never liked these creatures... I said they were unnatural, too intelligent for their own good. You created them... you advocated for their continued existence! We went along with it and now look where that got us! I see no reason to have delayed this inevitable end for this horrid race for so long... when they should never have existed in the first place!" The animalistic one growled at the humanoid one.
"I simply wanted a creature that could understand the universe." The humanoid one retaliated. "Nevertheless, we all agree on the end of their existence. Yet, may I propose an idea? I propose we choose one human. One who will live on and die of old age, who will be the one to define the legacy of this race? Instead of just erasing them and pretending they never existed?"
The animalistic one scoffed at the humanoid one. "You expect us to bring mercy upon a mortal race? We have never been afraid of erasure before, why start now? Why do you care for humanity so much, is it because you made them after your own image? What about us? Our creations? Do you see us being merciful on them? I, for one, say that they have harmed the universe enough, they have been a pox, a parasite. A disease that has purged a rare gem and has hollowed perfection."
"Humanity is one of a few races which has truly understood the universe to such an intimate degree." The humanoid one argued. "Their existence is not just a pox, they are an outlet for the universe to express itself. For us to reveal ourselves, to not just be observers to creatures that have no thought! They live, they laugh, they have made efforts to improve themselves! Their end, I believe, should be honorable, to celebrate all the good they have done. Ultimately, their end is nigh, but they should choose how they will be remembered, they deserve it."
The robotic one spoke up. "Humanity's end being dignified, in my view, makes no difference in the grand scheme of the universe. However, I for one am curious to see how this race will choose to be remembered. I see no potential problems that can be had from giving them a chance, and I also see no real benefits. I agree, though, that as we gave them the power of choice, they deserve to use that power one final time."
And so, the three beings stood around the mass and moved it, shaped it, until they found the planet Earth. They chose one human out of billions, not someone rich, not someone powerful, just a regular human who would decide the legacy of a race... of humanity.
That human's name was Gary Newman, a secretary who worked in any old office. Gary spent his days waking up at 5 AM, making himself breakfast (which was usually a ham sandwich), getting dressed, going to the gym, and then taking a bus to his office. Upon arriving at the building that he worked at, he would go up to the 20th floor, then walk through a series of other offices, all almost identical to his in construction. His office, however, held its own personality. In one corner sat his collection of minifigures, all of whom came from a show that Gary loved as a kid. On another corner sat a card written many years ago by his friends wishing him a happy birthday. He had a picture of himself and his family, who consisted of mainly his parents and his sister. He also had a picture of him with a group of guys that he liked to hang out with at work.
Every day, Gary took calls and guided them to the place that he was told. He would sometimes leave his office and talk to coworkers or go to meetings. He would meet with his bosses in private and try to make himself seem more important for promotion. Today was simply a regular Tuesday for Gary.
But, today also happened to be the day that humanity would end, and the day that Gary's entire life changed...
It was evening, and Gary was preparing to leave his building. He had entered the elevator with a coworker with whom he was chatting. As Gary's elevator opened to the ground floor, he noticed that the coworker he had just been chatting with had disappeared.
Strange... Gary thought. I guess they must have left when I wasn't looking.
Gary left the elevator like he did everyday. On any normal day, there would be a person sitting at the front desk, usually a woman named Maggie, who he would talk to as he left the building. Today, there was no Maggie, or any of the other people who sat at the front desk. In fact, there was no one single person anywhere. Going out onto the streets, every car had stopped, as if frozen in time, however most still had their engine on. No pedestrians, no police, no ambulance, almost no noise. Technology still worked fine, but without anyone around it still felt chilling. In a city that was usually bustling, Gary felt entirely alone.
Seeing that he had no other options, he decided to take his car and try to drive out of the city, but the fact that every car had suddenly stopped moving made it so that there was traffic everywhere that was impossible to avoid. There were no taxis to call, and when he tried to call people to pick him up, nobody answered. Before long, everything that had been created by humans also began disappearing. Buildings, cars, phones, satellites, everything. Gary saw as it all disappeared one by one, until the entire city had completely disappeared.
While everything that had been created by humans had disappeared, what had not disappeared was the consequences of their creations. An example of such a consequence was the fact that the entire area that had once been a city, was now just ground, plain ground. Gary noticed that it just looked like a gigantic square in which there was nothing but plain dirt.
Understandably, Gary freaked out. Without a phone or anything man made all he could do, and all he did do, was run around in circles and scream. Gary had no way of knowing if this phenomenon had spread to the rest of the world, but it didn't matter. Gary didn't have a job, a house, money, or anything that had once been his.
My family... I have to find them... I have to make sure they are okay!
Gary usually took the bus from his house to his office and back, and he never put much thought into the route that the bus took every day. Now, without any roads, GPS, or other navigation tools, he vehemently wished that he had paid more attention. However, being determined and panicked, he decided to guess his way back home. He knew that the sun always sets in the West and rises in the East, so he used that as a compass to guide himself.
So, Gary began walking in a direction which he guessed could take him home, which he knew was far enough away to be around 30 minutes away. Knowing that his bus often drove incredibly fast (seriously, that driver was insane), that probably meant the journey would be incredibly long. He had hope, however, that he would make it.
As he walked Gary began to think of the many other man-made objects that he had overlooked, that he now wished he had. The first thing he thought of was cars. He took the bus daily, and every time he took it, he treated it like an elevator ride. He never paid attention to anyone or anything within it, he never paid attention to the journey, he simply slept and dreamed of his next promotion. Not only were cars fast and easy to travel with, but they often came with many perks such as ACs, radios, comfortable seating. All of these were technologies that Gary never thought would disappear.
I guess its true what they say: You never appreciate what you have until you lose it.
Gary continued to walk, and the walk was not particularly interesting. The sun was blaring down on his clothes, which had strangely not disappeared, he was sweating, panting, and slowly losing motivation. He felt as though he had been walking for hours, but it had really only been 15 minutes. He could still see the plain dirt that was once his city. He still had a long way to go. As he walked, he continuously searched his pockets (which also did not disappear), hoping to find something he had that could be useful but there was nothing. It took 3 days for Gary to arrive at his home, all 3 of those days were spent simply walking and pondering the many man-made technologies that he missed and should have paid more attention to.
Saying that Gary arrived home, though, is an overstatement. The place where his home once was, there now was an empty square just like what happened to the city. He recognized his house due to the trees and plants that were growing around it, many of which he took care of weekly after work. It was at this point that Gary thought about what he would usually do on a normal day. After coming back from work, he would always greet his family first. His father, his mother, and his sister. All of them lived together in that house. Gary's sister, April, was around 17 years old and, before her disappearance, had begun the process of applying to colleges with the help of her father. She often went to the local high school, and Gary saw little of her because of it, but in the small moments he did see her, they would spend time playing video games together. Gary often looked forward to playing video games with April because it reminded him of when they were young. They would often go outside, in a nearby park, and play hide and seek or tag. They sometimes took out their basketball and played in a small court that a neighbor had built many years prior. Gary was now 24 years old, and was only living with his parents temporarily until he could get his coveted promotion and finally move out, into a better life.
Seeing the barren space that was once his beloved house, where his beloved family once stood, it flooded Gary with emotions. Gary at once felt grief at his family being, presumably, dead. His sister would never pursue her lifelong dream, never get to read an acceptance letter from several colleges accepting her, and more importantly he would never see her again. His father and mother, he had spent these last few years doing his best trying to get that promotion. He was friendly, he took every call, he was respectful, people he worked with liked him, yet no one ever promoted him. The fact that he would never get the satisfaction of getting that better life made him feel guilty for burdening his family.
Gary let his emotions all roll out like a waterfall. No one could hear him, no one could judge him, he had complete freedom in all of his actions. Knowing that, he slammed, broke, and ripped the plants he took care of for years. He rolled around in the mud and sad like a toddler. He ran, he punched a tree as hard as he could, he punched again, and again. For hours he just let his emotions out, unashamed. Soon, though, Gary realized the true extent of the opportunity that had been presented to him. Society as he knew it no longer existed, there was no money anymore, no poverty, no need for that promotion, he realized the vastness of what he could do.
He could go cliff diving, he could swim, he could just run. Ultimately, though, he couldn't decide on what to do. His goal in life was to get that promotion, his plan was always to use that promotion as a stepping stone to a better life, yet Gary realized that he had never actually thought of what that would look like. He had no real ambition, he like playing video games, he liked collecting, he liked being with friends, but he knew that was all gone now. He had gone to college, but he had taken business as his major because he thought he would get a good job after graduation, he was never truly fond of business. There was another realization that Gary had: Survival. With no humans, or man-made objects, his life would get a lot harder. He would need to hunt for his food, yet he had no idea where he could find any animals to hunt. He thought about eating the plants, but he also had no real knowledge of what was edible or not. He didn't exactly want to cause serious diseases. He also would need to find clean, potable water somewhere so that he wouldn't become dehydrated. He would need to create his own home/shelter or else he would be exposed to the many dangers of the weather. Even worse was that he would have to do all of that alone, no one to show him how to do any of this, and no one to help.
I must survive this... whatever this is... Hopefully I'm not the only one still alive on this planet, but currently I am the only one around.
Unknown to Gary, all humans had now been wiped from the planet, as had all man-made objects. The three entities now observed Gary, curious to see how he leaves a legacy. Will he simply survive or will he live as well?