Why Me?

  Why Me?

Year: 2059

Prime Minister Megan was reading a file with intense concentration.
On the first page of the file was a list of 100 names, and on the following pages were the details of each individual.
She must have read this file at least a hundred times already. Yet, every time she read it, her anxiety only grew.
Her hands trembled. She felt the enormous burden of responsibility weighing down on her shoulders — the burden of deciding the fate of humanity.

The future of humankind on Earth had come to an end.
Soon, humans would go extinct.
The Third World War that began ten years ago had destroyed the achievements of humanity built over thousands of years.
When North Korea nuked New York, America retaliated. China and Europe joined the fray, and the entire world descended into chaos and destruction.
Only India and a few neighboring countries, which remained neutral, survived to some extent.
Then nature added to the misery — massive floods, famines, and tsunamis devastated the remaining lands.

It became inevitable that the human race had to look beyond Earth for survival.
Small men in positions of great power had led humanity to this crisis.
That very thought made Megan feel crushed by the weight of the decision she had to make.

Three months ago, Megan decided to select and send 100 people from India to Mars so that humanity could continue.
She had entrusted the task of preparing the list to her former assistant Dev.
The first list, however, contained only the names of the rich and politicians.
Without a second thought, Megan threw that list into the dustbin under her desk, along with Dev's resignation.

A new list was prepared by her new assistant, Nithin.
It contained the best experts in science, engineering, arts, sports, politics, economics, and medicine — selected with balanced gender representation.
Megan was eagerly waiting for Nithin's arrival to discuss this list.

Nithin entered the room quietly after knocking, along with Chandran, the Chief Scientist of ISRO.

Chandran: "In two days, the spacecraft to Mars will be ready."
Megan: "Can either of you tell me about the existing inhabitants of Mars?"
Nithin: "Currently, there are about 5,000 people living on Mars — 3,500 Americans and 1,500 Chinese.
In the early 20th century, only Americans and Russians showed interest in space exploration.
By the early 21st century, humanity had stopped dreaming big.
Entertainment-based technologies became more popular among people.
Russia withdrew from space research in 2021, followed by NASA in 2023.
It was then that David Musk, an American businessman, began his ambitious plans.
He firmly believed that humanity's survival depended on colonizing Mars.
In 2025, he successfully sent the first spacecraft with 10 humans to Mars.
Later, using terraforming techniques, he turned Mars into a habitable place, akin to Earth.
Subsequently, many Americans migrated to Mars.
Four years ago, David Musk himself moved to Mars and became its leader.
Meanwhile, China too developed the technology to send its people to Mars.
Thanks to ISRO's relentless efforts over the past ten years, we have now achieved the capability to send humans to Mars."

Megan: "It is vital that Indians too become part of humanity's future history, along with Americans and Chinese.
We cannot afford technical issues.
This is our last chance.
Our intelligence agencies confirm that a nuclear attack from neighboring countries is inevitable within a week.
There is no guarantee we will even survive another month.
We won't get another opportunity like this."

Chandran: "All experiments and tests have been conducted carefully. There is no chance for failure."

Megan: "Good.
How will the Americans and Chinese on Mars receive our people?"

Nithin: "The population on Mars is still small. But their plans are huge — they want to build a new world from scratch.
They will surely welcome our people with open arms."

Megan: "Inform all 100 people by tonight. They must be ready to leave for Mars by tomorrow night."

After they left, Megan felt emptiness in her heart.
It was 6 p.m.
She went to a nearby park — a beautiful pond with a walkway around it.
The setting sun painted the sky with vibrant colors.
The water in the pond gleamed red with the sunset's reflection.
Megan sat on a bench near the pond.
Beside her was a dustbin.
By rule, the park's garbage must be cleared exactly at 6 p.m., and it had never been missed.
Even that day, two people were sorting waste carefully, which made Megan feel proud.
She took it as a sign that, no matter the circumstances, her governance was running smoothly.

The moon slowly rose, and stars twinkled.
Fishes of all sizes jumped and played in the pond.
But Megan's heart was clouded with darkness.
Her thoughts circled only around the list of 100 people.

Was the selection criteria really right?
If "wealth" was the wrong criterion, could "talent" be considered correct?
Is talent something gifted by birth, or developed through human effort?
Why hadn't she selected 100 poor children instead?
Would she feel proud of saving 100, or guilty for abandoning the remaining millions?
Could she ever free herself from this guilt?

She felt that her analytical approach, which she always considered her strength, was now her weakness.
Humans need faith in something — especially belief in God.
After making a decision, one could leave the rest to God and find peace.
As night embraced the sky, Megan returned home, had dinner, and drifted into deep sleep.

The next morning at 6 a.m., the doorbell rang.
Nithin stood there with a worried face.

He explained the situation.
Last night, after informing the 100 selected people about the mission, they had gone to pick them up this morning — only to find a shocking scene.
All 100 had committed suicide.
Each of them had left a note, written in unison:

"Why me?"

The news had pushed them into deep depression.
They had been plagued by the thought — "Why am I the one chosen? What makes me better than the others?"
They viewed escaping to Mars as an act of grave injustice to humanity.
That guilt had driven them to end their lives.

Megan stood frozen.

Nithin: "What should we do now?"

Megan: "Select 100 poor children, aged between 10 and 15.
I need their names within the next two hours."

After Nithin left, Megan read the intelligence reports for the day.
A neighboring country's nuclear attack on India was confirmed for the following week.
The army unanimously wanted to strike first.
Megan felt utterly powerless.
Decision-making felt like an unbearable burden.
She wondered if it would be better to just dissolve into the flow of events without taking any action.

Nithin returned again.
No one, whether child or adult, man or woman, was willing to go.
Everyone had the same question:

"Why me?"

Both of them went to the nearby park.
For a while, neither spoke a word.

Finally, Nithin spoke softly.

Nithin: "Please don't be angry if I say this.
Maybe we should just go with Dev's original suggestion — send the wealthy and politicians.
We don't have enough time."

Megan didn't respond.
Her eyes were fixed on the dustbin nearby.

That evening, for the first time, no one came to clear the park's trash.

Suddenly, Megan heard a faint cry.
It seemed to come from the dustbin.

She rushed towards it.

Inside, a newborn baby was crying, abandoned.

Megan gently picked up the child in her arms.
The baby looked at her, smiled, and waved its tiny hands.

Megan's face lit up with hope.

Suddenly, several thoughts struck her.
She turned swiftly towards Nithin.

Megan: "Find 100 such abandoned newborns.
Only those who have been discarded by the world shall go to Mars.
Also, select 10 caretakers to accompany them."

Tears welled up in Nithin's eyes.
He took the baby in his arms and, after getting Megan's permission, left.

A gentle breeze blew.
Birds chirped melodiously.
Night fell.
The Earth, awaiting a beautiful dawn, fell asleep.