In the burning red of a rising sun, the barren landscape looked like the surface of a dead planet. A man stood alone on a hilltop, watching the sun slowly pour into the sky, filling it with light and fire.
A reminiscence hit him, a picture of the same landscape covered in living, breathing forest. It had been full of life, a wonder of evolution. He remembered touching the trees, feeling their rough bark under his fingers, breathing the fresh, moist air, occasionally picking a berry from a bush… tasting its sweetness, enjoying its texture.
Now, only stones covered the ground, all the soil gone, crumbled to dust swept away by the wind. As far as he could see, this landscape continued, endless deserts, all life purged, a paradise of pure geology.
As the sun climbed higher, a beeping noise alarmed the man. The sun radiation levels were rising. His gloved hands shielded his eyes against the angry rays of the sun as he took a last look at the sky, the slight shade of blue behind the red.