[ WP ] `` To explore the universe , we had to sacrifice our humanity . And we did . ''

The capacitors whirred down, and the clamshell contraption noiselessly cracked open its mouth. The boiled air puffed through the widening seams in the sealant rings and rolled through the stagnant space between, washing over me in a sterile cascade. The compartment was empty; all that remained of her was the heat that tickled my skin into goosebumps. 
 
 She had been the last woman. I could have created a child with her, created a new generation together. She had been hope for the greatest of species. She had left me eagerly. 
 
 I am the endling. 
 
 The Ascender beckoned me with an indistinct chime. This machine would have no further purpose after it consumes me, none left for whom to chime. A clamshell as simply a discarded shell amidst a planet of skyscraper and highway carcasses that four years ago were the high-watermark of civilization. 
 
 The comet had cracked. Scientists had n't expected it, and the shrapnel would obliterate our insubstantial solar system. We had to get out fast, faster than human bodies could manage. 
 
 Two hundred and eighty-six thousand starships had already cast off with eighteen billion uploaded consciousnesses. They would be deployed in Mechas after safe arrival in the next habitable solar system, nearly thirty light years away. A new intergalactic species, self-evolved beyond the limitations of genetics. The final ship waited for my code. 
 
 No. My species would not suicide in a puff of heat.
