On a routine patrol flight
In the Milky Way Galaxy
I discovered on our space-sensors
An unidentified planet careening wildly
In an eccentric solar orbit
I ordered an immediate investigation
And with much difficulty
Manoeuvred our ship for a temporary orbit
Upon beaming down to the planet's surface
All I could see were ruins
Ruins of some type of civilisation
Crumbled buildings
Deserted streets
Charred vegetation
All covered with a thick layer of dust
Which our scanners indicated as intensely radioactive
I proceeded to make a through survey of the area
According to my calculations
I could tell that some recent phenomenon or holocaust had occurred
And destroyed whatever advanced civilisation had existed on the planet
I found no sign of life
As I made my way back to the ship
I heard a sound
It came from a cellar, in one of the nearby buildings
Carefully and slowly
I found my way to the source
And discovered a human being
Or rather what once was a human being
A scarred, disfigured man lying in the rubble
When I questioned him
He told me this had once been a great world
They had abundance and plenty
Intelligence
Beauty
Love
There was enough for everyone who lived there
But the inhabitants were never satisfied
They wanted more
They wanted everything
And they started to quarrel amongst themselves
They could not live in peace
And they tried to destroy each other
In doing this they destroyed everything
Their abundance
Their plenty
Their own intelligence
Their beauty
Their love
He told me that
So far as he knew
He was the only living thing left
But that he knew he was dying
When I asked him the name of the planet
He replied
'We called it Earth'