They called it Limbo. In the past few weeks it seemed nobody seemed to notice the huge spaceship hovering above the world, but there they were: A couple of hundred people in front of a vast curved window, staring dumbstruck as they saw the world blow up in front of their eyes. It was probably the safest place to be on the entire planet, later judged as the best place to watch the world go up in flames.
Many of them said they saw it all coming, or that it was inevitable — “Everyone had it coming anyway”. Even now, people thought of themselves or criticised the present. It was always easier to criticise the present than to think about how people got there and where they were going.
Some did realise the weight of the situation, of course. Even though things were bad before, at least they had something: a roof, health, education, relative comfort, some people resembling friends, maybe a bit of self actualisation, that sort of thing. They were alive, but there they found themselves inexplicably on a giant hovering spaceship, with all the possibilities of modern life removed. Any ambition or interests rendered infinitely more meaningless. Of course these people did not speak, although one person laughed heartedly.
In the end, it seemed nobody could have prevented the world from burning up, but it certainly was a spectacle. Photos were taken with no filters applied.
A few days in, most people had begun to realise they were now devoid of purpose: no more money to make, no more numbers to enter, no more websites to build, no more properties to manage, no more branding campaigns to make, no more cash registers to sit behind, no more lobbying or protesting, no more weapons to make, no more dystopias or utopias to envision, no more civilisations to study, and no more lingerie to model in.
Then there were those that felt that they failed: All the teaching, healing, preserving, donating, defending, whistleblowing and saving, it did not make a difference in the end.
In the end, thoughts and prayers also didn’t seem to have helped.
So there they were, a couple of hundred people in a room, waiting for a punchline.