Chapter 1: The Doomsday Device

In recent developments, Russia has revealed plans for a terrifying ‘doomsday’ device, a weapon designed for catastrophic retaliation in the event of nuclear conflict. This device is a specialized submarine, the Belgorod, equipped with six nuclear-powered torpedoes known as Poseidon, each capable of delivering a 100 to 200 megaton warhead. The deployment of such a weapon could lead to the extinction of life on Earth by detonating it near the ocean floor to generate a tsunami and release widespread radioactive devastation.

Following the U.S.'s decision to suspend a treaty due to Russian violations, Russia has indicated it will also discontinue its ban on developing and deploying intermediate-range missiles. Both nations seem to have their motives for this withdrawal, which remain unclear. Additionally, Russia claims to be rolling out hypersonic missiles that travel at speeds beyond interception capabilities, a technology that is similarly being pursued by China and the United States.

Recent reports indicate that since September 11, 2001, the U.S. has allocated over $6 trillion towards military engagements, leading to the loss of more than 500,000 lives, predominantly among civilians, including many children. This military expenditure is supported by a network of over 800 bases spread across more than 100 countries, which serve to reinforce American dominance globally.

Despite our insatiable appetite for defense spending, Congress has recently approved a staggering defense budget of $1.37 trillion for the fiscal year 2020, with further increases expected in 2021. To put this in perspective, the combined defense budgets of the next ten largest spenders do not match the U.S.'s military expenditures. However, this raises a crucial question: What value does this hold if our primary rivals, China and Russia, can counter or exceed our capabilities?

During a recent G7 summit, where wealthy nations convene to establish policies that often favor their interests over global equity, the current U.S. president notably skipped discussions on climate change. Instead, he proposed the dubious idea of detonating nuclear weapons to disrupt developing hurricanes—a notion reminiscent of adding fuel to a fire.

Meanwhile, global temperatures have reached unprecedented highs. Atmospheric CO2 levels now exceed those from eras when palm trees and crocodiles thrived at the poles. In July, Alaska and Sweden recorded temperatures surpassing 90 degrees Fahrenheit north of the Arctic Circle for the first time, while Greenland's ice cap is melting at an alarming rate, releasing billions of gallons of water daily. Sea levels are rising, and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe.

Even more alarming is a study indicating that nearly one-third of the insect population has vanished, compounding the already concerning decline in bee populations linked to pesticides and habitat destruction. Simultaneously, the Amazon rainforest—often referred to as the lungs of the planet—is ablaze. What we lose in these ecosystems is irreplaceable.

Humanity embodies a peculiar duality; we possess remarkable intelligence that enables us to create and manipulate our environment, yet we often lack the wisdom to wield this power responsibly. We remain entrenched in primitive superstitions and beliefs while possessing the capacity for nuclear destruction and space exploration.

On October 13, 1994, renowned astronomer Carl Sagan made a poignant observation regarding our plight as a species during a lecture at Cornell University, reflecting on an iconic photograph captured by Voyager 1 from six billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles) away. Sagan stated:

“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals,