They tell me an epilogue is a good place to answer questions. Perhaps I should use this opportunity to tie up loose ends and make an effort to leave you, dear reader, feeling satisfied. I should inform you of the fate of our main characters – the 10 species – perhaps telling you where they are now and muse where they’ll be in a decade. Well, the truth is – I have no idea.
I could have fun crafting a sweet nirvana for our planet, where fossil fuels are gone, insects resume in their victorious clouds, the oceans heave with life, and everything has (at last!) returned to equilibrium. Or, I could spell out the extinction of humankind and the death of the planet as we know it. Both futures are possible – we just have to decide which one we would prefer.
These 10 species have taken us on quite the ride, and yet we’ve barely scratched their surfaces. I think I might prefer it if, after reading this book, you are left feeling dissatisfied. I would prefer that you feel fidgety – a little restless. Maybe, like me, you’re seeking closure and wanting more answers than ever? As you’ve seen, we’ve got incredible, smart and passionate people seeking those answers as well. Over the next decade, we’re going to arrive at more crossroads. We’re going to have to make tough calls, and we’ll need to lean on science like never before. We’re going to have to help nature help us.
Taking inspiration from our 10 lead characters, we’re going to have to rise to these challenges and adapt accordingly. Each of these species has been doing this for millions of years, so we’d be wise to pay attention. The good news is that, in most cases, we know exactly what to do. We should have more faith in ourselves! So, in my hunger for us to be braver, I’d like to leave you with two questions:
What do we want from the world?
And what does the world want to be?