How long will the bullets last? The battered guns? The knives grown dull and rusty? How long until we return to good old clubs? And stones of all shapes and sizes… Give or take, we are talking about a century at most. Or four generations, to make sure everyone can follow the story. And then the world will return to the biggest. The strongest. The fastest. The world as it was meant to be from day one. From day zero, as a matter of fact. Unjust to its very core. Brute and ugly. Red in tooth and claw. But as real as real can ever get. Real to the point of absolute if somewhat painful clarity. Beautifully real, to make the long story short.

Addendum (October 11, 2016)

As it turns out, I am in agreement with Albert Einstein, who predicted quite a while ago that sticks and stones would be the weapons of choice following World War III (“Sticks and Stones,” June 14, 2016). It is always a joy to be on the same page with a man of his ilk. Perhaps the only difference is that I see beauty in the rude future of mankind. At long last, humans will be back to where they belong, and where they will feel at home. Real home, too. All the pipedreams of yesteryear will be reduced to mere myths, where they also belong. As for the next chance at so-called civilization that the species will get in about a hundred-thousand years, chances are that it will be squandered once again. Alas, even the best among monkeys are nothing but monkeys still.