fond returns

In my web-travels today, I came across the term endling.  From Wikipedia:

An endling is an individual that is the last of its species or subspecies. Once the endling dies, the species becomes extinct. The word was coined in correspondence in the scientific journal Nature. Alternative names put forth for the last individual of its kind include ender and terminarch. The word relict may also be used but usually refers to a group that is the last of the species.

The article goes on to give examples of endlings, including the last passenger pigeon, Martha. Of more interest to me, though, was this photo of the last Tasmanian Tiger, Benjamin:

Also called a thylacine; a marsupial.

The photo struck me at once as incredibly sad.  The creature is lonely; he knows this, and tries to reach out to make a connection.  But he's doomed to fail -- all those he could have related to are gone, and he will spend the rest of his days staring dumbly at those he does not understand, and who cannot understand him in turn.

It's probably the most pessimistic way of looking at it.  Let's try again.

Here, Benjamin, the last of his kind, still stands proudly.  Although alone, he is well used to solitude, and looks with bemused interest at the animal kept in the cage adjacent to him.  All his life he has known competition, danger, and the loss of his friends and family; now he has the chance, finally, to relax, take a breath, and observe the world around him.  The playful beast on the other side of the fence would have once been a dangerous enemy; now, he is a playmate, and Benjamin will never need to feel lonely again.

I think endling is probably the best choice of word for such an existence among the three listed above.  Ender is strangely transitive, since we'd assume that such a creature would lack much in the way of agency, especially as far as the fate of its own species.  Terminarch just sounds sort of ridiculous, like the final ruler of a civilization, and seems to have a strange-feeling mix of Greek and Latin roots, besides.  The chief argument against the use of endling seems to be that it sounds pathetic, but...isn't that appropriate?

What if, some day, you find that you are the last member of some group that once mattered to you?  You look around and see that the memories you once cherished and shared have become a solemn albatross, circling endlessly around your ship, never finding a place to land.  You have won the great tontine, but your prize is bitter.  What's the right reaction to knowing you're the only one left?  Would you permit your history to fade to sullen black, and call it inevitable?  Or would you dedicate your remaining days to spreading the word about the dreams and adventures you and your friends once shared?

Think about it.  More than that:  assume that this is your future.  And with that assumption in mind, ask yourself:  "what stories will I have to tell?"  If nothing comes to mind -- go make some.  You're not an endling yet.