Wars, Gods and Insects
History demonstrates people try to solve problems by blowing them up. At first clubs and spears were used, then war planes and tanks, then atomic bombs, then satellites and drones. The Gods were pleased. The Gods fought continually. Lesser Gods started wars and had to be kept in their place. The Gods had modelled humanity after themselves (who else?)
The progression of developing more dangerous weapons, and the willingness to use them, alarmed Stanley. A historian, Stanley’s life was looking into the past to learn trends in the future. What he saw these days was humanity racing towards mass destruction. It was unavoidable—at least, Stanley believed neither he nor anyone else could stop it. The problem was too inherent.
Survivors were the important issue for Stanley. How could he make their lives better after multiple local wars? After world wars? Who would survive?
Insects.
Wondering how he could help rebuild civilization, Stanley invented a device enabling him to speak to insects. Cockroaches were uninterested, but ants and honeybees became involved, engaging in extensive discussions. Termites and other colony insects joined in. Stanley helped them all plug into the internet and spread the word.
As the insects grew more powerful, the Gods were alarmed. The insects had grown sufficiently empowered to create their own God. The insect God met with the other Gods, who were all uncomfortable sitting around the table with a bug, decided their experiment had failed, and they all fled to Mars, where there was a small human colony to sustain them.
When the Gods fled, humans were freed from their influence. Wars abruptly stopped, arms production dropped, food production increased–except for insecticides, of course, which were banned, a negotiation with the insect civilizations which dominated the world.
The world was better. The bugs made better use of the internet, there was no pollution and no fake elections.