The DNA of world leaders, great scientists, and those most physically fit among us had been collected and stored deep underground in nuclear-grade bunkers. The machines needed to reinvent life on earth, along with detailed instructions of the process, were also safely kept in these underground, top-secret laboratories.

 

When the time came, those charged with reconstituting the planet with living souls jumped into action. The barren, desolate landscape yearned for these giants of the past to roam its surface once more.

 

The biological blueprints of great men and women were placed in Petri dishes. Then those precious souls-to-be were locked inside the thick inner chamber of the molecular incubator before the keepers of life pulled the lever into the on position.

 

Out of the incubator walked full-grown men instead of babes. Names from history marked their ranks, including Einstein, Thatcher, Gandhi, and Reagan. Not only were these reincarnations devoid of their originals’ life story or contextual situations - the environments that prodded them to greatness - but, they walked into a life where survival of the fittest was essential. Aggression and malfeasance won the day and ensured those who practiced them outlived those who did not.

 

The “iron lady”, Margaret Thatcher, stood with an appearance from her prime years, and a firm jaw. But her will was not like the seedling she represented. She was weak and timid. Too scared of the wrecked world to survive. She lasted a week and then succumbed to starvation. She had withered away while hiding in a small abandoned cavern she’d found for refuge. Thatcher 1.0 might have conquered all, but her genetic descendent did not.

 

Einstein’s character was formidable. He championed several attacks into enemy territory, the camps of those other greats from the past. Unfortunately, his intellect did not match his tenacity. During his last military engagement, he engaged the neutron grenade he was holding, but never threw it. Moments later Eistein had disintegrated at the hands of his own formula, E = mc2.

 

Gandhi, the peacemaker, was a ravaging warmonger. His fierce aggression against any foe sent fear throughout this new world. He took no prisoners and offered no mercy. Gandhi was set on a trajectory to become ruler of the world, only to be gunned down by the sole reincarnated leader more savage than himself - Ronald Reagan.

 

Ronnie and Nancy adapted well to their new surroundings. Soon they had created weapons and plans - plans befitting a former Hollywood actor and his bride, plans to ascend to the highest office in the land, yet again. But this time, it would be the supreme commander of the world.

 

Nothing remained of those wisps of inspiration recalled from the 1900s other than their looks, and even that wasn’t so precise considering Nancy sported a blond bob hair-do. They possessed an avarice matched only by their desire to rule. Ronald replaced his predecessor’s ponies with steel stallions that could race through the skies. And he traded his friendly, hometown grin for a face marked with battle scars, thick as leather. The New Reagans waged war until they reigned with uncontested power.

 

The lesson seems evident. You can plant a seed in the ground, but you cannot determine its growth. You can educate a child with your best life lessons, but you cannot dictate his future. And you can attempt to repopulate the world by cloning the best and brightest of the past, but you cannot promise a repeat performance.

 

In the end, it wasn’t a global disease that destroyed humanity. It wasn’t environmental decay. It wasn’t a rogue super artificial intelligence. And it wasn’t even the improbable cataclysmic event that actually occurred. No, it was our own cleverness coupled with hubris. We thought we could reinvent the giants of our past and trust them to save us. But we couldn’t account for a toxic rebirth that led to our ultimate extinction.