It’s 2100, the Earth is not how it used to be, and you can trust me on that because I have devoted my life to the study of American history. In the 1980’s, the Earth started a very destructive path down a road that ended in nuclear detonation, the Middle East gone. In 2025 it came out that we could now settle the ‘final frontier’, space, and thus began another colonization race. China completely relocated, taking over the entire planet of Mars. Most of Europe has relocated on various moons and planets, leaving the EU (European Union) in charge of the remaining population. Enough of North and South America has left that the United States government is now in charge of the two continents. After China left, North Korea took their land, and scared away most of Japan and South Korea.

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One day, when I went to work at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., I was met by a couple of suits that said they needed me to go with them. I thought that maybe my tendency to pry with the government for confidential information had finally come back to bite me, and this thought I was sure of when we drove through the gates to the CIA headquarters. I was taken into a room, where I found about 50 other people, some of which I had recognized from various conventions. Once we all settled down, the room changed into a holographic auditorium where I realized people from all over Earth were gathered for this meeting. The United States was going to relocate; at least that’s how I understood it. North Korea was getting too strong, and the government felt it was in our best interest to leave. But before America was going to even announce this new information, they wanted to bring in historians from around the world to give us some heavy orders: save humanity.

Save humanity, what a lofty task. They explained it to us more, each of us were to get our own ships and can save 4 things from the pending destruction America thought would happen once we left. We each had to put together a proposal to give to a board, on what we will save, how we will retrieve it, and how we will display it. Each ship was to be its own museum, and will eventually settle on a planet or moon. The proposal was difficult for me to start on, I met with my assigned team of archaeologists and immediately started asking what they thought should be saved. I felt it would be selfish to save things I believed should be saved, because I am not humanity by myself.

The proposal ended up as follows:

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Men and Women of the Board,

After weeks of careful thinking, self-reflection, and research, I have come here to propose to you why we should save 4 very different items from Earths history. While there is a lot I want to save, I will have to trust in my colleagues to make un-selfish decisions themselves, as I hope I was able to personally achieve.

First, I will like to save Martin Luther’s “95 Theses”. The “95 Theses” and all subsequent works and trials of Luther are completely relevant to represent the Renaissance, as he is credited for starting the Protestant Reformation. He promoted being your own minister, meaning you can talk to God directly. He also believed in everything in scripture, and felt that things not in scripture shouldn’t be part of religion; which was a direct slam to the Catholic Church. Luther ended up being excommunicated, and never reconciled with the Catholic Church. This work is important for future generations because it shows that if you believe in something enough, you can spark major changes. Retrieving the works of Luther and the trial notes will require missions to both Germany and the Vatican. The “95 Theses” will be displayed by putting the original is a display similar to the Guttenberg Bible at the University of Texas at Austin. I was to put as much information on the changes Luther sparked as possible in the room, giving the visitors a chance to really feel the inspiration and passion in his words. The room will be designed as a German street, with a chapel door in the middle with the main work under it.

Second, I will like to preserve the French Castle, The Palace of Versailles. The Palace was important for several reasons. One, the Palace is the best example we have of the government system of Absolutism. Built for the royal French family, King Louis the 14<sup>th</sup> (also known as the Sun King) changed the Palace into what we all know today. The vast rooms, theatres, and gardens all represented the power that the king and other nobles had at the time. The Palace is important for future generations because it is a beautiful piece of art that you can both admire and also look at and understand how much power governments at one time had. As far as retrieving the Palace, I am not proposing the saving of the actual building. But I will make a trip to France for pictures, paintings, and furniture from various rooms, as well as a wall from the Hall of Mirrors. I would also like to get ahold of blueprints, which will be changed into an interactive map that will allow people to look through the blueprints. The room will be designed as an ornate ballroom, similar to that of the one in the palace; all of these things added together I feel will make up for not being able to take the actual building itself.

Third, I will like to propose the saving of Puccini’s Opera “Madama Butterfly”. Puccini’s opera should be saved for a few reasons. First of all, the Opera represents the opening of the Eastern World to the Western world, showing the mistreatment and exploitation the East experienced. Second, the Opera is still the most performed opera in The United States of America. This is important for the future generations because it gives people an opportunity to see what happens when things get taken advantage of, with a thrown in history lesson on American-Japanese relations at the end of the 1800’s. Receiving this Opera may be a little tricky, as there are several different companies, traveling and stalemate, which perform this opera. I would like to get music, sets, and outfits from various companies. This will allow visitors to see the different interpretations, as well as see how monumentally popular this show is. I would like a big room with the sets all combined to house this exhibit, with music playing and holograms acting out scenes that the visitors themselves can chose.

Lastly, I would like the board to consider saving Andy and Lana Wachowski’s “The Matrix”. This movie is important because it symbolizes the information age, and the popular concern that technology will eventually overpower humanity. This movie, made in 1999, is still relevant to this day as technology controls more and more of our lives and is important for the future generations as a lesson. Retrieving this movie is simple, as a product of the information age almost every movie collector owns this movie. Although, I would like to stage a trip to Old Hollywood, and retrieve old movie props and character outfits. Displaying the movie will be the fun part. I want the walls to have the green numbers falling, making you feel like you are inside the Matrix. Before going into the room, I want a dispenser of Cherry, Cinnamon, or Strawberry jellybeans to represent the red pill you have to take to enter the Matrix. I want this to be the most interactive display since it is about technology, and while I do want the movie to be screening I also want to make sure people also get an opportunity to learn about the psychology behind it.

Thank you for your time and considerations.

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After receiving the all clear from the board I went on adventures of a lifetime. I traveled the world attending performances of “Madama Butterfly”, and retrieving artifacts from each show. We stopped in France for an extended period and were able to get blueprints, as well as 7 pieces of art, some chairs, a fireplace, and a wall from the Hall of Mirrors. We skipped over to Germany where we got a Cathedral door and the court documents from Luther’s excommunication, as well as the “95 Theses” itself. The best part of the adventure was going to Old Hollywood where we were able to get ahold of everything still left behind from “The Matrix”.

After setting up the museum, we took off. This was my first time in space; my job had kept me grounded. It was remarkable, life-changing really. We did a tour of most of the colonies before finally settling on our assigned plot on one of Mars’s moons where most of England had relocated to. When the United States announced their departure, the EU left as well. The planet is now controlled by the North Koreans, or as we refer to them now the Earthlings. While they have torn down a lot, they did save some wonders, although nothing that I thankfully saved. The world, well the universe, is completely changed now that it’s 2100; but my new life, my museum, is something I wouldn’t trade for anything.