Marvelous tales Contest #19 - The Last Natural Human

Life is like a film strip and the scenes you don't want in the movie of your life, those are the ones you should try to avoid. These were the words resounding in Biba's mind and heart as she was trying to maneuver through life. It became more and more difficult as she enjoyed true nature very much, yet the nature was turning into something artificial day by day for a very long time.

The sky had no natural clouds any more to soothe her soul and rest her eyes upon. The mountains and hills were barren. Natural trees were long gone as they couldn't resist the messed up weather and nano air. The very few plants that still existed were on life support. The very few animals that survived the 6th mass extinction were on life support too, as the food chain was broken. What remained of nature was so depleted and devastated that the holographic virtual reality decorations were the only enjoyable sight.

Almost everything was artificial, even Biba's remaining two friends. One was Barnie, the pure android robot and the other was a cyborg Nino, who was about to go on an expedition to Venus as an assistant. They were having a farewell party in an exquisitely decorated Red Star Lounge, where they could choose their virtual surroundings on demand. The holographic virtual reality decoration gave them the calming impression that they were sitting in a carefully tended, beautiful Zen garden.

They were friends for years. Biba had no other friends as the natural humans became obsolete. They were too slow and too rebellious for work, they asked too much, they got sick and tired too quickly as they didn’t care for their bodies properly, and they demanded salary and all sorts of benefits and insurances. Robots were far more reliable and undemanding. And, regarding the travelling beyond the Earth's orbit, the human bodies were really not suited for. They needed food and air, to say the least. So, the only thing they could do was to stay put on the very planet their predecessors desolated. But they were disappearing one by one for quite some time now. And it was only a question of time when Biba would disappear, too. She was the last natural human still existing on Earth, after all.

The three were rejoicing their time together, enjoying each other’s company, and the ever changing scenery of virtual reality around them which could be changed on demand if the guests would get bored. It could be their last time together as Nino would be departing soon. He promised he’d contact his remaining two friends occasionally and tell them about his whereabouts. Having a natural human as a friend was something quite unique in those days, so he asked Barnie to care after Biba while he’d be gone. Perhaps his request was a bit selfish. Though, he couldn’t help himself – natural true Biba was much more fun for a company and as a friend than it would be any holographic virtual Biba.

Only Biba knew she won’t last for long anymore, her time will be up soon, maybe sooner than Nino would return from his expedition. When her time will be up, she’d disappear just like all the rest of the natural humans before her.

This is a story for Marvelous Tales Contest #19, prompt words: star, red
https://steemit.com/marveloustales/@playfulfoodie/marvelous-tales-contest-19-announcing-winners-and-the-next-contest