The gas-mask felt uncomfortable around his neck. Heavier than it ought to be, somehow.

"Mr. Forthright, you're on in 10...9...8..."

He licked his lips nervously. What was he going to say when that camera turned on? No scripts this time; he and his retainers barely had time to make it to one of the last protected areas left on the increasingly toxic Earth. Writing out phony words for a phony message to deliver phony hope was simply not in the cards. No, Shelby Forthright was going to have to record his image for all time admitting defeat, admitting that their homeworld was beyond saving, and condemn untold billions of people to spend the rest of their lives in outer space, and he didn't even know how he was going to say it.

This was not how things were supposed to happen. This was not the future he'd envisioned when he'd taken over Buy 'n' Large, pushing it up and up and up until it had become the largest multi-industrial corporation in human history. Things were supposed to get better. Everyone would have have everything they had ever wanted, needed, yearned for, dreamed of...and he'd be there to shake their hands and soak in their praise. Instead...instead, all THIS had happened.

"...7...6...5..."

It wasn't his fault. He'd been a good leader, he just knew he had, so it couldn't POSSIBLY be his fault. Somehow or other, though, everything had just...gone wrong. Shelby had thought...hoped...he could fix it. Project: Clean-Up had seemed so perfect. While the robots cleaned up the mess, everyone else would get to relax in the safety of the stars. Only it had failed. Miserably. No matter how much trash the WALL-Es cleaned away, there seemed to always be more, and worse, the Earth's environment was choking to death on it faster than anyone had anticipated. It wasn't his fault, but Shelby felt very sorry anyway.

"4...3...2...1. And..."

"Buy'n'Large
Super Store
All you need
and so much more!"

That loathsome little jingle...Shelby'd always hated it. "Turn it off, just...just turn it off!" he snapped.

This was it. He had to let the auto-pilots know not to come to Earth again. Ever. He'd done everything he could do to fix the problem. Now it was time to just try and survive. Putting on his best smile, Shelby looked into the eye of the camera, into the eyes of all the people who would never know what he was about to do to them, and gave the order.



"Stay the course."

END