J M FOUQUET

DISPATCH: APRIL 2057

Dr. Shepherd, Assertive Genetics, has expired. Shepherd was recalibrating the CRISPR transistors above Lampyridae and Rhopalocera tanks. There was an explosion, preceded by an inhuman cry. Guttural. Primal. Thick smoke. Crisis Systems compromised; Sector 7 initiated override. C.O.D. appears to be blood loss from femoral artery. Assessment delayed: Giant Red Admirable, its wing chitin bioluminescent, guarded the corpse. Shepherd’s body was – deflating. A single, inch-wide, undulating wave of flesh confirmed an uncoiling and recoiling of the proboscis: the butterfly was feeding. Unprecedented mutations. Threat neutralized with liquid nitrogen.

Shepherd’s final report: ‘Deep enough in the Anthropocene, we all become decomposers.’

DISPATCH: JULY 2057

Field report: 70% desertification, latitudes 50° north to 50° south. Religion is a comfort: “Book of Exodus.” Escape. Hope, like Manna from heaven. Footnote: sap-sucking coccids (Coccidae) in ancient Sinai defecated sugary waste. Excrement, in biblical proportions, falling from the sky. Sweet as melons. Footnote: In 2002, emboldened by the letdown/relief of surviving the Millenium Bug, people mocked fears of the invading emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) while its ravenous larvae decimated habitat after habitat. Citizens joked it was chewing right down blacktop highways.

Mission control has halved our rations. Bored and disheartened, I survey the waste.

Nobody’s laughing now.

J M Fouquet is a certified naturalist, interpretive guide, and passionate teacher. He has a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies which he uses to further environmental education, advocacy, and stewardship in partnership with a number of conservation organizations. He teaches advanced composition and outdoor skills in his home state of Kansas.