Humans like to think that they have fooled gods and conquered the evolution. In my mind, i always saw the ones proclaiming such things as pitiful.


    When in 2051 re-bots were invented, it led to the third biggest breakthrought after the industrial revolution and microcomputer era. United States tried to cover it over, but as soon as the blue-prints went into the internet, no one could hope to get it out.


    As to what re-bots are and what they entail; they are small, 30 centimeters at the longest point, robots, with an ability to self-reproduce and use various tools. Basically a perfect 3d printer. Re-bots were capable of producing anything desired and from any material. If people wanted them to work faster, just tell them to make a few more re-bots. Economy took a drastic change and was never the same again. It makes everyone wonder to this day how no war occured at this time. It was even considered that the humanity''s mentality as a whole has evolved and we can be considered a truly civilised species now. But i knew that''s not true.


    As most of the jobs were taken away from humans, the overall wealth of countries spiked, making it possible for everyone to take intellectual jobs. That lasted till 2064, when the first multi-dimensional quantuum computer was constructed. It wouldn''t mean much for normal people, but it allowed for the implementation of next-generation artificial intelligence. Once again, half the population changed their jobs, but this time no one panicked. Food was dirt-cheap, and it really wasn''t compulsory to work anymore. Still, humanity persisted and didn''t halt their advancement.


    That was around the time I met Marie. We were the first batch of students at the University of Atlanta. The whole city was constructed atop an ocean crevice, for exploratory reasons. As the side-project, we designed the new generation hyperloop vacuum suspension drive, allowing for train speeds to top Earth''s escape velocity many times over. I don''t know why we bothered, since if anyone wants to go somewhere, they would just jump there with virtual reality, without the need to walk out of their homes.


    We got married and in 2066 Marie gave birth to a girl. We named her Rin, after Marie''s grandmother. We spend the next year in her hometown, Tokyo. I guess that would count as the happiest moments of my life.


    In November 2067, an event shocking whole Earth transpired. A collosal asteroid hit our moon and shattered it. Most of its pieces have missed Earth completely, or have fallen into the sea. Still, what was left of those, managed to annihilate many cities and mountains. The resulting tsunamis destroyed over half of the ocean countries, including the one where Marie had gone on an urgent business trip.


    34% of human population died, but it didn''t matter to me. The one and only person i ever loved. Gone.


    I''ve been what could be called a rarity nowadays – an orphan. I''ve thought that now that i had a family of my own, i wouldn''t have to face those feelings anymore.


    Thankfully, Rin was there. I forced myself to remain strong for her. I spent with her every second i could spar outside my work. Still, the thoughts that were crippling at the back of my mind didn''t give me a peace of mind.


    How come such a massive asteroid didn''t get detected? There should be thousands of probes at every planet of our sonar system. Was the asteroid too fast to detect, or it consisted of undetectable materials? Or maybe, just maybe… the goverment knew that the asteroid was coming. And they didn''t alert the population because they didn''t know where it would strike. No, that''s naive thinking. If even the whole humanity had hidden in the shelters, the casualties could be reduced drastically… Also, nobody would care about the cost of such an operation. All of the mundane needs are fulfilled to the fullest with just re-bots, we only work to mantain healthy mind and body.


    They didn''t alert the population because… it was already too late.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Once that hit me, i used all my funds to purchase private AI from underground channels. I guess black market will thrive for as long as humanity will exist. I reprogrammed it with one of the first AI systems invented, which i got from my friend. I did this to ensure that it doesn''t secretly send the data to the government. Then, i started gathering data.


    Extraterrestrial contact was established since over thirty years ago.


    We exchanged technology,


    negotiated peace,


    played dirty political games.


    And finally, in october 2067, the race called Ganders declared war on Humanity. None of our allies spoken up and we were left to fend for ourselves. I couldn''t find a reason for this war in the documents, but for me it didn''t really matter. Earth''s automated fleet of 20 million ships loaded to brims with antimatter were annihilated before they even detected enemies with their radars. After this, the goverment run away from Earth, hiding on politically neutral planets and leaving the Earth''s inhabitants for themselves. I guess they took anything of value with them.


    I tried to look for some kind of ship or at least space station to escape Earth, but anything even close to being secret was being kept outside of solar system.


    The last bit of data i managed to scavenge was how Ganders planned to get rid of us. They decided it wasn''t worth wasting resources on bugs like us, so they just destabilised some planet''s trajectory to make it colide with Earth''s. Estimated time of collision – 17 of January 2072.


    I had less than two years left. I knew i have to do something about this. And i knew i could.


    At the day of the new year''s eve, i went with Rin to the shrine. It''s funny how even after all those years of technological advancements, religion only futher solidified it''s position in people''s minds. Still, there weren''t much people here, in Tokyo. After all, most of Japan got submerged in water after the lack of moon destabilised the climate. People prefered to walk around virtually in the streets that they recognized, rather than in these ruins. Still, i would say they have a certain charm about them too.


    As we stroll down the mountain that the shrine was placed at, above the city we can see the humongous object suspended in mid-air. Neptune 257, the planet that will kill 99.9% of humanity.


    First calculations were obviously wrong, and now there was less than a day left till collision.


    For the last two years, I''ve managed to get ahold of twenty kilograms of re-steel, which basically constists of re-bots the size of steel particles. Of course, the government had an access to better ones, but they aren''t here anymore. With the help of the AI, re-steel allowed me to construct a space ship of a new type. The starting point will be at the point of contact with the Neptune – Okazaki city. The specially constructed energy vel will intercept the energy from the impact of the planets and use it to accelerate the shuttle. The launching pad is the hyperloop voidtube that starts here and goes straight to New York City. I already instructed the re-bots to keep the other end secure.


    ?Dad, i don''t wanna!”


    ?Rin, you have to be strong.”


    What pains me the most is that i have to leave Rin alone. The shuttle i designed had an upper limit of 30 kilos at start. No matter how much i diet myself, that''s impossible for two people. The next most optimal design had 78 kilos of maximum load, but the chances of its succesfull start falls from 78% to below 0.3%. That''s because the hyperloop voidtube has got a set diameter. If i want to make the ship bigger, it will only get longer, which prolongs the most crucial moment of the start. After all, if the impact destroys the tube before the shuttle flies through it, all is in vain.


    I connect Rin to the virtual reality system and close the shuttle. Her memories will be supressed until AI deems her either mentaly adolescent and stable, or if she will start to remember it herself. She will be sleep-taught history, science, art and all the avaible self-defence techniques. The planet that i''ve choosen as her destination is the one where it''s inhabitants look exactly like humans. Located at the far north of the universe – AR-09. I hope that she can live a good live there. A live that i wasn''t able to give to her.


    Before i notice, my face is full of tears. I guess i really don''t want all of this to happen. All i ever wanted was to live together with Marie, away from everything. I hated going into virtual world, thinking it robs me of something important. Yet here I am, forcing my daughter into it. I don''t know what to think anymore…


    Ah, that''s right. Someday, she will regain her memories. I should write her a letter.


    To: Rin


    From: Dad


    There was just so little time left after you were born.


    I don''t know how much love I managed to pour into raising you after your mother died...


    But your smile kept me going.


    I would like to have come with you, but I couldn''t.


    I wanted you to forget everything and move on... I knew you''d be alright.


    But you''ll get lonely, and remember.


    I know you''ll grow strong, and read this letter some day.


    I really wish we could have spent more time together. I''m sorry.


    You were so young back then, too young to understand what they meant. So let me repeat…


    My final words to you.


    <hr>


    Fan tribute bytwgok13


    Original work by Porter Robinson ?Shelter”


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzQ6gRAEoy</a>0</a>


    Translation of letter – roughty and reddists


    https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/585a23/porter_robinson_madeon_shelter_official_video/</a>


    Explanation on hyperloop - linustechtips


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvKaaubZZh</a>A</a>