The year is 4028. Planet earth died out 2000 years ago. In the year 2028, a scientist known as Dr David Pilcher gave a presentation at a conference on climate change. His key findings were that humanity would cease to exist in a few centuries time, and unless human beings made the necessary adjustments to the way they lived, the world as they knew it would disappear. The participants at the conference laughed at him and most of them walked out. Undeterred, Dr Pilcher continued to work on his theory and research. He came up with a plan, similar to the biblical story of Noah and the Ark. He worked on an experiment that would put thousands of people in hibernation (including him) for thousands of years. This would ensure that should the worst happen, the world would continue to exist with human beings in it. His bold plan worked, and 2000 years later he woke up with all the people he had programmed to sleep. He had been right all along. The world had ceased to exist. Planet earth was wasteland. Nothing could grow anywhere, except for within the new Garden of Eden he had designed with his co-survivors.

This is the plot of Wayward Pines’, a science fiction TV drama in the United States inspired by a trilogy of the same name by author Blake Crouch. It turned out that human beings had not completely died out. They had evolved into terrible creatures known as ‘Abbies’, short for aberrations. Abbies were blood thirsty, violent, rabid carnivores who hunted in packs and fed on anything that moved. They did not need to be provoked, they were relentless aggressors. They were always on the prowl for something to devour. The creators of the new paradise called Wayward Pines had to erect a massive electric fence round the town to keep the Abbies from destroying what was left of the human race.

As I watched the series, I thought to myself, ‘This is not a story for 4028. This is 2016 and Abbies exist right now, we are living side by side with them’.

Let us take a good look around us. In Russia, a newlywed woman murdered her husband and hand fed pieces of his body to the family dog. In North Carolina, USA, a woman sold a freezer containing the dead body of her mother to a neighbor for $30. In South Africa, a deranged Pastor feeds his congregation with snakes and orders them to eat grass. Not to be outdone, another Pastor in the same country happily poses for photographs of him buying litres of Dettol disinfectant for his befuddled congregation to drink and wash away their sins. In Nigeria, a little boy has his eyes plucked out for money rituals. I have not bothered to go into those marrying their dogs or snakes in various parts of the world. Nor will I dwell on the mobs who descend on accident victims to loot and take selfies instead of helping. We do not need to wait 2,000 years. We already have Abbies amongst us. The rate at which we are going, psychotic and aberrant behavior will become the new normal. The shrinking economic opportunities in our societies continues to tear at the social fabric that binds us as we all engage in a deadly battle of the survival of the fittest. All around the world, the gap between those who have and those who don’t, those who are hungry and those who are overfed continues to grow. How can we minimize the chances that we might one day evolve into vile creatures that cannot be described as human beings? We live in a world that has been blessed with the greatest scientific and technological advances of all time. How is it then possible for us to still have people who place their lives in the hands of a fellow who orders them to drink a bottle of disinfectant?

We could start with affirming our own humanity. Most of what makes us human is our compassion, love, and care for others. Our willingness to protect the weak and encourage the meek. Our capacity to forgive and the humility to seek forgiveness. Even animals can show love and compassion, but as human beings, we have a responsibility to use our treasure, talent and time to improve the world and not engage in acts to destroy it. We should be thirsty for knowledge and hungry for justice. We need to be our bothers’ and sisters’ keeper, and learn the fine line between eccentricity and full blown madness before disaster strikes. We need responsible servant-leaders and not ruthless looters to pilot our affairs and envision a future free of fear and danger. All these and more will hopefully ensure that we stay human, and raise a generation who can in turn pass on these values to others. To other human beings.

I belong to a WhatsApp platform of classmates from high school. One of my classmates sent me a text message a few months ago. I did not respond because I was busy at the time and had a lot of pending messages to attend to. A few days later I went on a trip and forgot all about the message. This happens a lot, sometimes I do not respond to messages, even though I would have every intention of doing so. Something would come along to distract me and I would not get round to it. Last week, my classmate called me out on the WhatsApp platform for ignoring her message. I was angry. I wanted to take her to task for embarrassing me publicly. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I was at fault. I was the one who had been disrespectful and had provoked her into being rude. I sent her a message to apologise and ask for her forgiveness. She sent a graceful response and we are meeting up for lunch soon. There is always something to be gained from wanting to be a better person. We can never be perfect but we can try. I want to love more, care more, give more and learn more. I will not normaIise mean, rude and insensitive behavior. I do not want my descendants to evolve into ‘Abbies’. How about you? What can you do more or less of to stay human? Have a great week.

Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender Specialist, Social Entrepreneur and Writer. She is the Founder of Abovewhispers.com, an online community for women. She can be reached at BAF@abovewhispers.com