Just How Stupid Can People Be?
“Location, location, location,” is a marketing tool invented by real estate barons on the planet Earth to catalyze the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few.
For the planet Grehybou, its location at the precise center of the habitable Universe simply meant that it was the ideal planet for the headquarters of the Universal Census of Stupid People. For as long as people can remember, the words written across the gate to their sprawling campus, “Just how stupid can people be?” was a rallying cry for all Grehybou Bons, the class of inhabitants of this otherwise unquestioning planet who took on the essential census work.
Grehybou Bons, utilizing the latest in shape-shift technology, have visited nearly all planets known to host some form of life. Careful to avoid detection, they observe and report back to headquarters where data is compiled to determine which planets have Dangerously Stupid inhabitants, such that all other inter-galactic beings are advised to avoid contact.
Some planets are classified as having Stupid Lucky inhabitants. They, through ignorance, stumbled into peaceful existence. These are great places for a vacation. The local population is just plain happy and willing to spread that joy to visitors seeking rest and relaxation.
For a more energetically charged vacation, travelers often seek planets with Stupid Fun populations. A week on a Stupid Fun planet is exhilarating, especially so for young vacationers.
The planets with Stupid Talented people don’t get many visitors, but produce much of the art, culture, and technological interfaces used across the Universe.
There is a wide swath of planets, in every corner of the Universe, with Just Plain Stupid people. These planets attract teachers, healers, and mystics from the Wise, Insightful and Compassionate planets who know that Just Plain Stupid people can grow and eventually become respected parts of the Universe.
On Earth, the Grehybou Bons are at a very important location. Not necessarily a physical location, more a point on the time-space continuum where a determination will soon be made. Are Earthlings… humanity… to be classified as Just Plain Stupid, or Dangerously Stupid? Can the rest of the Universe feel safe enough to remain in contact?
You would think it an easy question to answer, since destruction of one’s own habitat is one of the stupidest things a species can do. However, on Earth, the Grehybou Bons have found an important subset of people willing to listen to teachers, healers, and mystics. So, the question for the Grehybou Bons becomes, can enough of humanity learn to live in wisdom, love, and compassion? Will this generation of humanity plant seeds of growth for the future populations of the planet?