The memorial is titled Tsar Bomba 2.0, after the Soviet hydrogen bomb that was first tested in
1961 and is also known as “the most power nuclear weapon ever created and tested.”
This story takes place in a society decades in the future, which is a world of desolation and
scarcity. After having had a Third World War with catastrophic nuclear warfare that involved all
the major global powers, there is little remaining habitable environment left on Earth. This
nuclear war has resulted in an immediate fatality rate of 98 percent of Earth’s population, with
many of those remaining alive falling ill in the nuclear winter following the war. The few healthy
people left after this almost complete annihilation have since relocated to the Moon and
created a space colony for the rest of the human population, with the help of an agency known
as Locust.
To remember life as it once was, the leaders of the lunar colony Cosmo decide to create a memorial to commemorate the significant cultural and technological artifacts of life on Earth before the nuclear catastrophe. This memorial would be titled Tsar Bomba 2.0 and would consist of three rooms, with the initial one being the entry room. One of the rooms will be an unchanging exhibit, with the goal of celebrating and commemorating a few of Earth’s key technological innovations, such as the first model of the Apple computer, a prototype model of an airplane, a landline telephone, an early version of the compass, and more. Simultaneously, this exhibition will also acknowledge the downfalls that were brought on by technological advances by showcasing weaponry such as rifles, machine guns, and most importantly, a model of the atomic bomb. The goal of this room is to objectively show humanity’s creations while also educating future generations on our history.
The other room features items on a rotational cycle, with the exhibit changing every two years.
This room will be filled with artifacts, cultural manuscripts, photographs, printed books,
childhood toys, jewelry that are of significance to the various cultures and peoples of Earth.
Because of the seemingly unlimited number of cultures around the world, this exhibit will not
have one specific culture on display, but instead will show pieces based on when a group of
people known as “The Excursioners” are able to erect them, as a select amount of people on
this moon colony will make biennial visits to Earth in order to scavenge for pieces of forgotten
and ruined regions and to observe the process of Earth’s natural restoration. The memorial will
also obtain pieces for the second exhibition room is through volunteers on the lunar colony.
The items chosen from the volunteers that apply for submission will stay on display for two
years, before being rotated out and beginning the cycle again. The items in the exhibition will
be represented in their “natural” surroundings, rather than in typical museum-style display
cases like in the first exhibition. For example, with jewelry that is chosen for the room, it may be shown in a jewelry box or stand, on a sort of vanity or dresser, surrounded by other objects such as makeup and hair accessories, to show life on Earth. The goal of this room is simply to
remember, honor, and celebrate the differences that made us human, and emphasize the simple beauty of personal items.
