“Your destiny, please.”

The synthetic voice, female to most who hear it, had been asking this question for hundreds of years.

The voice had been programmed to wait 10 seconds before asking again. Most who hear the voice respond quickly, as each person has had a lifetime to think about their answer.

Only a few choices are available, on this planet that the off-world colonists call the Pale Brown Dot. Earth had been off-limits to the colonists for 1,500 years, when the seas turned fetid, the land was covered in filth, and the air became misnamed.

Those remaining on the planet found, within the shrinking Survival Zone, that recycling was the only option.

“Dr. Green, your destiny, please.”
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