Time in the World

We have all the time in the world. But that’s not a lot, considering that the world is ending. All resources are running out. I contact my friend Emre, a genius inventor who is finding a solution to save the world. She answers immediately.

“Azri? What’s up?”


“Just wondering how your endeavors are going. Anything?”

“Sorry. Nothing.”


“Guess I shouldn’t hope. Don’t we wish that humans did something back then to save the environment? There were all the signs. But . . .”

“No one did anything,” Emre finishes. “Meanwhile, all we’re doing is trying  more solutions that will fail. I thought of creating a device that contacts the past to alert them to do something. Anything. Just to stop this world from dying off forever.”

“Will it even work?” I ask. “And if it does, will they even do anything? What if it’s useless?”

A scientist enters the room and calls Emre over. “Sorry, gotta go,” Emre says, and the screen disappears.

I spend the rest of the day staring at the ceiling. What’s the point of doing anything if it’ll all go to waste?

“Hey, Azri!” Emre’s voice wakes me up. I open my eyes and see Emre’s bright holographic face. “Guess what?”

“What? We have five days lft to live?” I ask dully.


“We’ve succeeded!”


Immediately, I sit straight up in my bed, my eyes wide. “You . . . did?” Emre nods, her mouth curved into a . . . smile. I haven’t seen anyone smile before.

“We did,” Emre breathes. “The invention I mentioned yesterday-”

“Contacting the past?” I ask.


“Yep! We’re going to test run it right now! Wanna come over?”

“Definitely! I’ll go now.”

I go to the lab, where Emre is waiting for me.

“Azri! You’re here! Come over!” Emre waves me over. “Look,” she says, pointing to a metallic box with a speaker. “We’ve already tested it, and we got a response! Programmed to the year 2024 AD.”


“I can say anything?” I ask. She nods. I lean in and say, “Save the environment before it’s too late. Remember, you have all the time in the world.”