The Hungry Robots
That chased the humans away
I checked the spaceship’s thrust and pressure and said, “Sir, we are nearing our destination. We should start feeling Earth’s gravity in two hours.”
Roger, the ship’s captain, said, “Good. I can’t wait to land on Earth. Who knows what we’ll find there. I hope it won’t contaminate us.”
“Sir, why did our ancestors leave Earth five million years ago?”
“According to legend, there was a mad scientist on Earth who was at odds with the government. He wanted to destroy the planet, and he found an ingenious way.”
“The hungry robots?”
“Yes. He created thousands of them. Their biology was similar to humans, but they couldn’t reproduce via sex. That didn’t matter since they didn’t have death. And they could eat anything and everything — humans, animals, trees, concrete, soil. Nothing was off their menu. And boy, were they hungry! They devoured everything on their path, becoming bigger and stronger. Within a thousand years, two-thirds of all humans perished. The remaining humans, our ancestors, left Earth and set up a colony in the exoplanet KN-186.”
“And all this happened five million years ago?”
“Yes.”
“And did you say those robots could eat the soil?”
“Yes, why?”
“Look at the window in front of us, sir.”
“I see nothing. It’s empty.”
“Exactly. We are supposed to see Earth there.”
