Mrs. Smith began the ceremony.
“Graduates, parents, family friends, those who are watching on closed-circuit television, the Internet, and distinguished others. We have an amazing graduating class. In a few moments, I will have the opportunity to shake all of the graduates’ hands and give them their diplomas and then hand out some special awards. Before we hand out the degrees, I have asked Dr. Thomas Burns, our guest speaker, and father of Sam Burns, to say a few words. Please let us have a nice round of applause for him.”
My dad, sitting next to my mom, stood up and went to the podium. He acknowledged the applause and then began his speech.
“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, Mrs. Smith, for all your hard work in providing an excellent education to all of our students. I am certain all of the parents here today are feeling just as proud as I am.”
Everyone stood up and applauded with a few whistles in between. After a moment of silence, my father continued, “I am here today to bring you some exciting, as well as some serious, news. First, I would like you all to remember some of the horrible past events that have occurred in the last fifteen years. In 2016, Donald Trump was elected president. Despite the effort of the Democrats, who called attention to the decaying environment, he won again in 2020. Mr. Trump did not believe in the preservation of our Earth. He ignored every environmental report including those from the government that indicated global warming and the consequences of neglecting these reports.
“As a result, our environment became worse and worse. We have had some terrible hurricanes higher than category 5 that have completely demolished our southern and eastern borders. Many of our beach cities no longer exist. Florida is almost entirely under water. Flooding in the Midwest, such as what occurred in Nebraska and Illinois, have devastated much of our farmland, leaving us with severe food shortages. You can see the tall buildings but not the roads. The Caribbean Islands have wholly disappeared.
“Cities such as New Orleans, Florida, and Houston are also entirely under water. Virtually every town in Southeast Florida has been impacted. In 2022, we had six major hurricanes hit the Florida coast. Obviously, the beaches suffered enormous erosion, with flooding, as well as in New York City. Nearly one million people have had to relocate their homes. This flooding has taken place all over the world and impacted every continent. The islands off the coast of Africa almost do not exist anymore.
“Remember the flooding of Mozambique in 2019? Over 100,000 people lost their lives. In 2022, the Seychelles Islands disappeared. Also, we have had some devastating fires that killed thousands of people. In the North, most of our snowcapped mountains and glaciers have dissolved. The temperature barely gets below freezing in Alaska. Many of our animals are now extinct. Around the world, we have seen one catastrophe after another.
“These disasters were part-man-made and in part naturally occurring as the Earth ages. However, it is clear, that we could have done a lot more to prevent this from happening. Politicians have been too wrapped up in themselves and interested in making more money instead of thinking about our future. They decided to do nothing about the environment. The air we breathe, and the water we drink, cannot speak. It is up to the people to speak for the elements. It is clear that our planet will soon become uninhabitable. By the time Trump’s presidency finished in 2024, it was becoming clear that there would be no more human race.”
As I absorbed everything my dad was saying, I thought about how everything that seemed innovative was being relegated into nonexistence as quickly as someone might drive into a hurricane to test the strength of their car, see if they might land with a few scrapes and bruises, and survive to tell their tale. Just to say, I told you so.
My dad continued, “This is why a group of great people has been working on a project for the past eleven years that will hopefully save some of us. I know everyone has prepared diligently for this day. Almost all of our students have parents that have been working with me for many years in secret to plan for the future. That future is now at hand.
“First, I would like to bring to mind some of the people who I have met on my road to getting to this very moment who have lost so much. They were some of the first to become climate refugees and have suffered incredible losses. Despite the fact that they rose to the challenge, they have had to completely change their lives. Please for a moment, send your good wishes to friends who have sent me updates throughout the years about how they have attempted to rise to the occasion when those in power have not, friends like Joyce and Hilde Scott in the Lake Ontario area, Jeff Tirortu on the island of Kiribati in the Gilbert Islands, and friends on the Tangier Islands.”
He paused for a moment as he brought attention to his dear friends and the devastating effects of climate changes they had faced—surviving but plenty upset at the lack of real sustainable solutions. Everyone paused with him, including me, concerned about the impact and grief these people had faced due to climate changes. I felt fortunate to have my father care so much. There were of course many solutions, but now he was excited to share his. I could see that as he lifted his head to share his dream. It was my graduation day, and I was pleasantly surprised he chose this day to share what his projects were with all of us, including all of my classmates and their families. I had been wondering about it for so long.
“Four huge spaceships have been built and will be ready to launch very soon we hope. Our starships are almost set to go. They have been put through every possible situation and test we can think of and there are future tests. Everyone alive on this planet will either be leaving or will stay behind. If you choose to remain, you and your children will probably die within a short period. However, we owe it to our descendants and the human race to try to survive. I know that my parents if they were alive, would encourage me to take my children and leave. We cannot let their sacrifices be in vain. The day we depart Earth will forever be a day that will be remembered by all of us and all the people that come after us. May God bless us all!”
My jaw had been dropping for the last minute or so. My mind raced with thoughts of Edgar Mitchell and my dream to fly better drones to create bigger ready-made forests. What was I hearing? My dad had been building spaceships?
Suddenly the silence of the ceremony after this nerve-wracking revelation that was only just settling into everyone was broken. Mr. Jack Simpson, whose daughter, Susan, was graduating with me, ran to the podium, pushing my dad away. He grabbed the microphone.
“He lies. Don’t believe a word he says. Stay here and fight! He is full of nonsense. Earth is just going through a phase. Listen to the president. Things will get better. We just have to work together to restore our environment.”
Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at him. No one tried to remove him from the stage.
Mr. Simpson looked at the crowd and said, “You are all a bunch of imbeciles for listening to this crap. If you go on this stupid spaceship, you will be dead in minutes probably. Our new president will save us all. You need to stay and make this world great again. Join me.”
Mrs. Smith gestured for the security person to lead Mr. Simpson away.
As she did so, Mr. Simpson pulled out a gun and pointed it at my dad.