[ WP ] All 10 billion humans in the world wear wristbands that display their rank in terms of access to global resources in real time . Yours just jumped from the middle of the pack to # 19 in a span of 10 minutes .

No, I did n't forget to take my wristband off. It's a keepsake. 
 
 If I were anything other than the kind of man who takes this chance, I would bring a picture of someone who means something to me, someone who ties me to this life. Since I have nobody, I bring my bracelet because it's the thing that has been with me the longest. 
 
 Right now it shows 2,892,679,112. A little higher than the average, but nothing special. I'm not in the big leagues. 
 
 People with low numbers: Millionaires, rich hospital patients, babies... and farmers. Turns out living in the open wideness of the middle of nowhere does wonders for your access to oxygen, food and water. From those almost three billions ranking above me, nearly two billions live in rural areas in semi-developed countries. 
 
 Remember that story about the Man of the Hole? Indigenous, last of his tribe, living alone in the Amazon rainforest. The loneliest man in the world. The Brazilian government set over 3,000 hectares of forest for his sole use. He never got a bracelet, but he probably would have ranked in the single digits. And he did n't even own clothes. 
 
 On the other hand, people in the bottom of the rankings live in the same kind of places: Slums. Favelas. Ghettos, gecekondus, taudis, musseqes, however you want to call them. Whenever too many people are together, the numbers are high. Whenever too many poor people are together... well, you do the math. 
 
 The numbers have shifted their meaning in today's world, though. A number in the hundred millions thirty years ago was way better than a number in the millions today. Only the rich have escaped that. 
 
 We're too many, that's the bare truth. 
 
 And that's why we're here. This is a test, our first of this kind. If we can do this, if we manage to achieve this freedom, no one ever will be scarce again. These numbers will stop meaning anything, because we will grab infinity with our hands. 
 
 Two... one... zero. 
 
 As the rocket soars to get in orbit, the first step towards the stars, I look around. Twenty five men and women, ready for the longest and fastest trip humanity has ever done. Twenty five people with whom I share this tiny little world. Who knows when we will be back. 
 
 If. 
 
 As the night embraces us like a long lost lover, I glance again at my bracelet, and I smile. 
 
.19. 
 
 My lucky number.
