Earth at the Interplanetary Conference

A Story for All Ages, by Aaron McEmrys

Once every five-thousand years or so, all the planets in our little solar system get together for an inter-planetary conference. They roast marshmallows in the warm glow of the sun, gossip about the other solar systems and generally have a good time.

This time, however, the meeting was much more serious than usual because Earth was very upset.

“They used to be so cute and friendly”, she said with a sigh. They used to be so gentle and always used to thank me for everything they took – for the plants and animals they needed for food, for the rivers full of fish, for the gentle rains that watered their crops and for the great trees they used to build their homes. They used to sing and dance to thank me and sometimes I would sing with them – oh we all had so much fun back then. I used to love to watch them. So clever, those humans were, so full of invention – I used to just wait to see what they were going to do next!”

“Well,” intoned Neptune in his eerie-deep voice, “what’s the problem then? They sound rather delightful to me.”

Earth sighed deeply, and huge waves crashed against the shores of a thousand beaches, and great forests bent and swayed in a sudden violent wind that swept across continents. “I said they used to be cute and friendly and polite – but no longer. Now they just take and take and take – they tear me up looking for gold and oil that they burn until my very skies are black and smell like burning. Sometimes I think I’ll never stop sneezing and coughing! They eat all the animals and bulldoze everything to make room for their great poisonous cities. And you wouldn’t believe how messy they are – they make so much garbage and then just throw it in my oceans or leave it laying around in great heaps – and they always want more more more – and they are never satisfied no matter how much they take.”

She stopped for breath, and a single tear fell from her face, splashing into the Indian Ocean, where it quickly turned into a hurricane. “The worst part is that they don’t sing to me anymore – and they never, ever, say thank you. I just don’t know what to do with them!”

All the planets were silent, while Venus, ever the lover, held Earth close as she cried, murmuring, “There, there, Earth. There, there.”

Mars, the mighty orange planet was the first to speak. “Earth, as you know I have some experience in these matters. You may remember the trouble I was having with those little green creatures that used to live on me – you know, the ones who called themselves Martians? Well, they did the same thing to me, their greedy tentacles grabbing everything in sight – and I gave them several opportunities to straighten up – but they didn’t listen. So I sucked all the air and water back inside myself and let the sun turn my skin into a giant burning desert. Those ungrateful Martians are all gone now, and good riddance. Tough love, I call it. If you want my advice, just shake ‘em off like the fleas they are, freeze them with an ice-age, drown them in floods – you’ll soon forget they were ever here,” Mars finished in his most warlike tone.

Some of the planets nodded, especially Saturn, who always seemed to be in a sour mood. But two of the planets just looked sad. Earth saw their distress and asked, what do you think, little ones?”

Mercury, who is much more shy than you would think, simply blushed and smoked in the crackling heat of the Sun, which was his closest neighbor, but tiny Pluto, tiny icy Pluto spoke up in her soft voice. She said, “Oh Earth, I am so sorry for your pain. They way they are treating you is terrible. But look at me. I float alone in space, just a big block of ice. I have no one to talk to, no one to warm me up, and no one has ever sung to me. As I drift along through eternity I dream that someday I will be able to share myself with others, I dream that one day I will be needed, that I will be able to feed creatures of my own and watch them grow and thrive. But it seems that is not meant to be. Not for me. But you, Earth, you have all of this – so many creatures depend on you, even if they forget. Maybe they can learn. Maybe they can grow up. Maybe they have forgotten how to sing to you, forgotten how to say thank you. Please be patient for a little longer, Earth – I don’t think brother Mars is as happy as he pretends,” Pluto continued as Mars gruffly wiped away a big red tear, grumbling, “I’m not crying, I just got a bit of space dust in my eye!”

“But what do I do?” asked Earth, “I can’t take it anymore – I can’t wait forever for those foolish humans to start behaving themselves!”

“Sing to them.” Answered Pluto in a voice so soft that Earth felt her words more than heard them.

And so Earth began to sing, to sing as she had not sung for a very long time. It was a song of creation, of love and promise, of warm earth and cool water, of fresh spring grass and deep forest. She sang of buffalo and beaver - of Fern and Sage and Willow. She sang of dolphins and mountains and people, yes she even sang of people – of the humans she still loved so dearly.

The Earth sang and every living thing swayed and leaped and sang with her. But the humans could not hear her song.

Except for one little girl, who lived with her parents in Santa Barbara. She was digging with her mom in their garden when she heard the Earthsong as if it were coming from someplace deep inside her body. She heard the Earth singing, she could hear the song of the trees, the flowers and even the whales in the ocean, and suddenly she felt like singing too. She sang with a strange smile on her face and her mother said, “What on Earth has gotten into you?!”

“Mom, I don’t think we do a very good job with our recycling. And I don’t think I need a ride to school anymore – I think I’ll start riding my bike.”

“What brought all this on? Maybe you’ve been in the sun too long.”

And the girl, still humming to herself as she planted some more strawberry seeds, said, “I just remembered something very important.”

Earth smiled, and everyone in the world suddenly felt a warm breeze lifting their hair and touching their faces, as gently as any mother’s hands.