What if extinction wasn't forever?

Noor thought about the Anthropocene, and how it was destroying the world. Just last week, he had heard of another species going extinct. There was going to be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. It made him want to punch a wall.

He was very eco-sensitive. He didn't care if he was homeless or poor or ill. He cared about the natural wonders that grow around him from the near indestructible Tardigrades to the volcanoes that spit cartoony lava, and his favorite ocean current, the East Australian current. But most of all he cared for the fungi, plants and animals that called the planet his home. It was their planet technically. The human virus as he called them, had only been around for a blip the whole time the earth had been around.

He remembered as he cried with joy when numbers of Kakapos doubled and with sadness when the number of Northern White Rhinoceroses plummeted to just two females.

Extinction is actually normal and natural he thought to himself, but not at the pace that say the asteroid did to the dinosaurs. Also normally another species will fill in the ecological niche of that species or there will be similar species left. Except now, humans were the asteroid.

A lot of people thought he was strange. Why care so much about the environment. Also some people pointed out that some shows like Extinct or Alive had found certain individuals of some species and taken them into protection. And the fact that more and more new species were being discovered each day.But that didn't excuse that they were being killed off in the first place. And lets say your own relative was presumed dead, but then one day found alive and well, would you also not be happy too?

He was also annoyed by the fact that some claimed that DNA can bring back extinct species. Those species were a vanity project that no longer had space on earth and had died out due to non human activity. And they needed a closely related modern day species to help them "come back". Like a mammoth can use an elephant. But what about when whole orders or families were extinct? What about those species? Additionally most species marketed by organisations like WWF were actually not endangered but ones that could sell, like pandas. What about ones with only one or two members left who weren't sell-able?It just made his blood boil.

So, it had come to this. He had put his life savings into a contest that they say will give someone the chance to manipulate time. He waited everyday for a chance to do so. He knew what he was going to do; He was going to go back and bring back live breeding specimens. Then he would create his own "extinct species park" and slowly release them back into the wild. He could also bring back seeds and spores so that plants and fungi also can be resurrected .

Suddenly the phone rang. It was even rarer than winning the lottery to pick up this particular phone call with the very special news,and that which he had been hoping for. He had been selected as the special few to alter time! He jumped for joy for a few minutes and then let it sink in. He had some serious work to do.

But then, very abruptly, a scary thought passed his mind It was almost as if he could hear a voice in his head saying "There is nothing more dangerous than good intentions". It was some economist person who had said that, he couldn't remember the name.

Noor waited as he thought out the consequences. These animals had not been alive for centuries. What if they brought disease with them that would contaminate today's world ? What if the species today are no longer immune to the old viruses? What if there was no habitat for them, just like the vanity species some scientists wanted to bring back?What if they became like invasive species to modern species, in the same way that they themselves had been the victims of invasive species?The thoughts were endless.

He then knew what he had to do.

He decided to bring them back after all, but only via DNA samples, seeds and spores. The exception was species that didn't have closely related relatives. For which, he would bring back breeding populations. This way the plants and fungi could survive, and those with close relatives will benefit from fresh DNA, not DNA found in archaeological digs. Finally all species which didnt have a closely linked relative could now survive. He would store them in a lab that was extra secure and make sure there were no leaks.

On the day that he was chosen to change time, he was both nervous and estatic . He went up to the time machine and stepped through. His first stop was the Dodo. He had seen a dodo statue at Durrell's Jersey Zoo and it had reduced him to tears. Then he was going to go back for all species eventually.

He just hoped for the best, because some times all you can do is hope, regardless of how ineffective that might be.