Something, something, responsibility… Something, something, power.
Somewhere on Earth
We are an intergalactic alien species and we are here to cleanse this planet of humans, a disembodied voice is heard in every human language across the world. Hearing this, the world’s greatest super heroes from all around the world gathered together to fight the invasion. Much to their surprise their enemies have joined them as well. We might be bad, but what’s the point in all of that if we die and there’s no one left? A voice representing the evil doers reasons with a smirk as they ally with the heroes. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, rationalizes a hero as the villain next to him thinks it’s the smartest thing he has heard. Thus, the fight against the invasion begins. It was something from legend. Gods trying to protect people from an extinction level event. The fights were hard fought, many casualties on both sides. And after three days, and three nights, a hero seeing the destruction, the death, the toll it took on everyone put a pause to it all. We need to stop. We can’t keep fighting like this. They seem intelligent beings, why don’t we try to reason with them? asks the brave hero. Why should we? They’re trying to exterminate us, responds another hero that runs really fast. I want to know why. What did we do wrong? asks the first hero. There’s no point in asking why. You don’t look at an invading nation and try to go ask them why, you fight back, says Hootab Man as he pulls out his hootmobile with a hootremote. Fine, I am going to swing there on my own, says the Brave Arachnid.
The Brave Arachnid makes his way through the city and our towards The Mothership. You don’t have to do this, Brave Arachnid. You can just ask, and we will answer for all to hear, says the disembodied voice. Wait, how did you know? asks the Brave Arachnid. Each of you have a phone, or some sort of transmitter and receiver on you. We are beings able to do intergalactic travels. We as you can imagine have also access to all those transmitters and receivers, thus access to every bit of knowledge and technology you posses, explains the disembodied voice. Then why didn’t you launch or detonate the nukes? ask the Brave Arachnid. It seems we were not clear in our communication. We are here to hurry the extinction of the human race and its silly little super off-shoots. Not every race. Thus nuclear or other such heavy weapons are not to be used. Which is why we have locked your leaders out of every single system that could do untold damage to the environment, explains the voice. So, you want to conquer this place and get rid of us? asks Brave Arachnid. No. We do not wish to conquer this planet. We wish to get rid of you. That is all, explains the disembodied voice. As every human and hero listens, the fighting stops as they are all bewildered by the responses of the aliens. And all had one question on their mind…
But, like… Why? asks Brave Arachnid. A loud sigh echoes throughout the world. Your planet is no value to us. The resources it has, are at best primitive. The technology you have is rudimentary. The human philosophy, morality and action is still prehistoric in our view. There is not much value to this planet or this race for us in order to do anything but liquidate humanity, explains the disembodied voice. But why? We’re humans, sure, we all have our faults, but we’re really trying and not all that bad, says the Brave Arachnid. Are you not that bad? You produce more food than you need, yet you have starving people and everyone knows of them and sees them. You have space and resources for shelter, yet there are people that have none. You have the technology and knowledge to change that, yet you torture yourselves at the behest of the richest humans. You have the capacity for morality, yet you choose to selectively enforce it or ignore it. We have watched you for the past two thousand years. The changes have been incremental. The brutality you have been treating each other has become more cunning. You have the treatment for most of your diseases, yet you decided that not everyone deserves to get access to it. You have nothing but killed this planet and have done untold damage to it and its environment. Every single time there is a threat to the status quo, you and your other so called heroes rush to defend all this. All this? Really? And they are the bad guys? You and others like you walk amongst people like gods stepping next to ants and you decided that with your powers, instead of changing the world for the better, you are upholding and enforcing this world upon others. That is cruel. So, please do remind us. How are you not all that? asks the disembodied voice.
Give us one more day, says the Brave Arachnid as the questions from the aliens echoed throughout the world. If you need the threat of punishment to do the right thing, then you are no more, no less than a mindless drone with no value to us. While we appreciate that you came to talk to us, we can not in any good conscious accept this following result as anything positive. Morals, love, respect can be thought, that much is true. Yet to enact these one needs to understand what they are doing wrong, that they are bad, what their privilege is and what work needs to be done. Thus we have decided that it is time for a new start.
To be continued…