A Solution to the Problem of Overpopulation

Adam walked out on to the High Street.  Scattered round were dead bodies and there were guns lying on the ground.  Other people were walking around, some sobbing, others with a look of disbelief as if they couldn’t quite believe it had actually happened.
  The mantra, which had also become a meme, both of which had been doing the rounds for the last couple of years had paid off:  “You’re clogging up the planet.  You oughtn’t to be here.  You’re clogging up the planet.  Die!".
  He turned right and walked along the pavement feeling rather dazed himself.  His mobile phone was vibrating with constant messages and updates.  After a short while he reached the Red Lion, walked inside and bought himself a pint.
  People were all staring at the television screen.  On the BBC reports from around the world were confirming that around half the world’s population had committed suicide- the numbers varied slightly from country to country.  Many people had opted to shoot themselves in the neck; others had simply taken a massive overdose whilst a few had jumped from high buildings. Reports were coming in of some hangings.
  Just over two years earlier it had been officially declared that the human population was out of control and that unless "something was done" it would be impossible for mankind to last a further forty years- that was the reckoning.
With plastic in the oceans, forests being cut down, animal extinctions (nobody could pinpoint the exact number of extinctions), the running out of fossil fuels, air pollution and ever increasing housing needs, there had- over the last decade- developed an increasing feeling of despair and uncertainty.  The idea, which had seemed unthinkable, even a few years earlier, that mass suicide was the only viable solution, had gathered momentum.  We were, after all, intelligent beings who knew, that like the dinosaurs, our day would one day come.  We had become increasingly aware that our species’ fate lay in our own hands.
  A day had been picked when this mass suicide would take place- though no-one really believed it would actually happen.  Now Adam and the other customers watched as pictures came in of dead bodies in cities and towns from around the world.  The television reporters themselves seemed unable to believe what they were saying.
  Adam finished his pint and headed home.  His wife, Rachael was listening, in stunned silence to the radio.  She hugged him when she saw him.  A few of their friends had been confirmed dead.

* * **
Five years later, Rachael and Adam were walking through the town with their dog, Petal.  The bodies had all been cleared.  It was a warm day and the birds were singing.  They came to one of their favourite places- a field on the outskirts of the town which was covered with daisies and dandelions.  Eight years before it had been earmarked as land for building a “stunning development of three and four bedroomed houses”.  Around three hundred houses had been planned but after that day five years before the plans were abandoned.
  Rachael opened a bag of birdseed and scattered the seeds around for the birds who had long called that field their home.  The nearby lake contained several species of fish and the two of them enjoyed sitting on a park bench and watching them.  They did just that later that day and then walked home along the half- empty road, formerly gridlocked road, Petal following a short way behind.

MDC