[Short-Short] Overpopulation (1,722 characters)

Waa, waa.

A woman has just become a mother, and the population on Earth has increased by one.
There are now more humans living on Earth than one could ever imagine since the dawn of humanity.
If the population continues to snowball like this, places will overflow with people, and it will become difficult for everyone to get enough food to eat in a day.

Heads of state and important figures from various countries, taking this situation seriously, held a meeting.

The head of Country A spoke.
"The population of our country and others is increasing rapidly. Of course, people die, but it is far fewer than those who are born. I think it may be inappropriate to say this, but I would like those who are overweight, elderly and unproductive, or anyone who places a heavy burden on the Earth even by themselves, to die quickly."

The head of Country B replied in a grave voice.
"However, if people die, graves are needed. A grave is like a mark that an individual lived, and having many of them serves no purpose. Graves of people who have been dead for many years are sometimes removed in the form of 'grave closing' to secure space. However, it is not something that can be done easily, and it costs money. Ideally, it would be better not to build graves and instead scatter ashes in the sea or forests, but perhaps because many people think they cannot reach enlightenment otherwise, there are actually many people who go through grave procedures and purchase land before they die. Since the government cannot just go around destroying graveyards, it is a troublesome matter."

"I have a proposal."
The head of Country C stood up.
As the gazes of the participating leaders and high-ranking officials gathered, he began to speak in an impassioned tone.

"How about sending randomly selected elderly people and others to other planets? That way, we can regulate the population on Earth."

The head of Country A countered.
"If we do that, wouldn't it be a violation of human rights?"

"I have thought about that.
We can distribute lottery tickets for free space travel nationwide, and make it look like those we have chosen were 'lucky enough to be selected in the lottery'.
Everyone will be happy to go to other planets."

No one opposed the opinion of the head of Country B.

The spaceship, loaded with plenty of food and secretly packed with the tools and materials necessary to develop a planet, departed for a suitable star.

After a long journey, when they landed on the new world, a surprising sight unfolded.
Aliens had somehow built a civilization and were living meagerly.

The passengers sent from Earth tried to turn back, but since the spaceship was set to automatic pilot, they did not know how to return.

Since there was no point in just sitting there, they stepped down onto the planet, and an alien with a language translator spoke to them.

"Why have you come to this planet? If you intend to settle here, please leave immediately. We were sent to this planet in the form of space travel, but we realized it when we arrived. We were sent here to be gotten rid of because the planet we originally lived on was bursting with too many living things. This land is not large either. Even if the reason we ended up here is the same, we are the ones who lived here first. Please return to your original place."

The people who had been sent replied with troubled expressions.
"Even if we want to return, we don't know how to operate the spaceship, so we cannot."

Those words were automatically translated and reached the ears of the aliens.

"Is that so? Fortunately, we are aware of the existence of a planet called 'Earth' and have been researching the lives of the people there. So, I think operating the spaceship should be no problem."

The aliens put the people on the spaceship and tinkered with the onboard machinery.

"There, now you can return to Earth. Please tell them when you arrive safely: 'We would like you not to send anything to other planets without confirmation.'"

Thus, when the people returned, the very people who had sent them were surprised to hear the news.

When they met the people they had sent away to ask what had happened, they said this in an angry manner.

"You deceived us well. The aliens at our destination told us: 'We would like you not to send anything to other planets without confirmation.'"

Hearing this, the heads of state were surprised and, at the same time, troubled, and thought this:

--Perhaps humanity's greatest mistake is that it has prospered and multiplied too much.