First Contact

Prologue:

Since the dawn of Humanity, humans have sought to understand the universe and their place in it.

As their understanding of the cosmos grew,

grandiose theories of their own centrality in it were shattered.

As understanding of their insignificance in the universe dawned, important questions were posed:

Where is everyone? In a Universe as vast as ours, what are the odds that we are the first species to build up civilizations? Were there worlds littered with ruins; silent tombs for our doomed predecessors?

Or did our predecessors thrive and gain the power of gods before life took hold on our world?

And what is our fate? To die a violent death, or to fade quietly into oblivion, or become gods ourselves?

These questions were brought to the forefront of humanity's collective thought in the year 2010 CE, when certain signals were intercepted. The first signal consisted of prime numbers, which clearly established that the sender was not only intelligent enough to know what prime numbers were, but also intelligent enough to recognize that the prime numbers could be used to prove one's own intelligence to a totally unknown alien species.

The second signal consisted of the digits of pi in base two. The sender was thus not only intelligent enough to know what pi is, but also intelligent enough to realize that most mathematically advanced species would recognize pi when written in the simplest possible base, which is base two.

Gradually, the signals shifted from universal mathematical facts to attempts at communication. Unfortunately, humanity could not decipher the final message, which stated the history and intent of the senders.

1 A call from the abyss

John was a working engineer at ISRO. He was a well-trusted employee in the office, because he was basically a boy-scout. Neha was also an ISRO employee and she was very active in extra activities. 

"extra activities" being a euphemism for non-traditional business pursuits frowned upon by the law (ie. criminal activity). When not busy selling state secrets on the black market, Neha took an active interest in creative supply-chain management in challenging markets (ie. gun-running in war-torn regions).

John and Neha became friends in the office (Suspend disbelief please, this is important for the plot). And they often work together.

The first people to decode the last message were John and Neha. (Now as the author, I can introduce a lot of gobbledegook to explain why nobody else decoded the message before these two, but I won't, because I respect the reader's intelligence.)

When news broke of their success, they were invited to a very special dinner by a very important person.

John toyed with the fish nervously. Neha sat stone-faced, as a group of people brought a monitor into the room and left it on the table.

John was confused.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

He was ignored.

"Good evening. I trust that the food is to your liking?" said the voice from the monitor.

"Enough theatrics. Let's cut to the chase. What do you want?" said Neha curtly.

John was taken aback by his colleague's rudeness.

"All right". The voice seemed irritated. "About that alien message. Is it a declaration of war?"

"Could be..." said Neha.

"Of course not!" said John. "Their homeworld has been rendered uninhabitable. They seek refuge in the solar system. They come in peace..."

"Shut up John!" said Neha under her breath. "Let me do the talking."

The voice laughed.

"Here is the deal. I need the message to be a declaration of war. Peaceful co-existence with aliens is a dangerous fantasy, one which will result in our extinction!"

John was dumbstruck. He could not believe his ears.

"What do I get in return?" retorted Neha.

"Your life" said the voice quietly. "If you insist on telling the world the truth, I will have to use my contacts in the intelligence community to have you assassinated before you hold a press conference. I need the world to believe that war is coming, and it will be a lot smoother if they hear it straight from a primary source like you."

"But why?!" interjected John, "Do you want war?"

"Your naivety amuses me" said the voice. "In all my years of statecraft, I have learnt valuable lessons about trust. Make no mistake, when they come, war is inevitable. In every instance where a  technologically inferior group made contact with a technologically superior group, the former were subjugated or exterminated."

"If humanity believes that war is imminent, we will do all that is in our power to prepare for it. In the end, peace is guaranteed. If, on the other hand, we believe that the aliens come in peace, we will be lax with security. We will not pour our resources into developing weapons to defend ourselves. The aliens will drive us to extinction when they get here."

"There is some sense in what you say" said Neha. "However, the question remains. What’s in it for me? I have already made preparations for my death, and rest assured that if anything happens to me, the world will know the truth that very day."

"Fine!", said the voice, now seeming irritated. "What do you want, in exchange for your silence?"

"How about gold?" said Neha."Unmarked gold bullion, one hundred kilograms"

"Fifty." replied the voice.

"Deal." said Neha "Transfer it to the following account. Be warned. Any funny business and the secret is out."

John had had enough.

"You can't bribe me! I'll reveal the truth to the world!” shouted John.

"Right." said the voice tersely. "Would you also like gold? How much do you want?"

"I don't want your gold. I refuse to involve myself in your deception. I am not going to lie to the world to start a war under false pretenses." replied John.

The voice chuckled.

"Let me guess" said Neha. "In all your years of statecraft, you realized that every war is started under false pretenses?"

The voice laughed. "Maybe" it said.

"You realize that this secret will be out soon, right? The eggheads at NASA will crack the message soon" said Neha

"No, they won't. I'll see to that." said the voice in an ominous tone.

"Whatever you say" said Neha.

"Hold on a minute!" shouted John. "You still haven't given me a compelling reason to lie on your behalf."

"How about this:" said the voice. "I know where your family lives."

The color drained from John's face.

"You make a very convincing case." muttered John.

"Then it appears our business is concluded. Enjoy your dinner" said the voice as the monitor was removed from the table.

"They just threatened my family!" hissed John.

"They’re insane if they think I'm going to eat anything they offer. I'm leaving!"

"More fish for me then" muttered Neha.

"What?" said John

"Nothing, carry on," said Neha. "We'll discuss this later."

The next day, Neha walked over to John's cubicle. Once everyone else was out of earshot, she whispered "I hope you kept your mouth shut and didn't go blabbing to the press. Our dining partner means business. They probably represent some powerful intelligence agency."

"How do you know?" asked John incredulously.

"For one, they gave me the gold they promised. Two-bit criminals don't have access to that quantity of gold. The fact that they are willing to give up 50 kg of gold shows that it is really important that this secret be kept."

Everyone was curious about the information sent by aliens. People from everywhere in this world were curious to know. At last, ISRO management agreed to give the information. They gave a piece of shocking information. They said that aliens are going to capture this world. Everyone was shocked and tense.

It was said that the aliens would send a number of fleets, one after another.

They were supposed to arrive at regular intervals of time, with the first fleet arriving in a hundred years. A hard deadline had been set for humanity to prepare itself.

NASA also confirmed that the information given by ISRO was correct.

"Looks like our dining partner has some sway over NASA as well" said John.

"I am more worried about the proposal to integrate the world's militaries under a single command," said Neha.

'The United Nations Planetary Defense Force?'' asked John, laughing. "It's just a PR move, right? It can't be serious." said John.

"I sincerely doubt the UNPDF will be used to 'Defend the Planet', considering how any threat to the planet is so far away in time and space." said Neha.

Her associates in the black-market arms industry reported the sudden appearance of a large buyer with deep pockets. She wondered if the Voice had something to do with this, before deciding that she didn't care. The way she saw it, there was an increased demand for unregistered guns. She was merely meeting that demand, the same way water takes the shape of its container. It was obvious that the guns were not going to be used against alien invaders who were lightyears away, and this fact might have caused her conscience to trouble her - if she had a conscience, that is. She sent her conscience on a paid vacation with the profits earned from smuggling arms, and had not seen or heard from her conscience since then. But she couldn't get rid of the vague sense of dread looming over her, as if things were going to get worse.

2 New World Order

John stared at the telescreen absent-mindedly.

"This just in:

The protests in Chile have turned violent after unmarked black helicopters opened fire at a crowd of protestors. Tensions have been high in the country ever since the controversial nationalization of its lithium mines, which have been operated by the United Nations Planetary Defense Force for the last six months. The Chilean government has accused the UNPDF of illegally obtaining mining rights through bribery."

"Huh" thought John. He could not understand the continued focus on such petty issues. He thought that once the world realized that they faced the threat of extermination by aliens, they would put aside their differences and work towards the common goal of survival.

"Joining us now is a UNPDF spokesperson:

As a representative of the UNPDF, I would like to deny any involvement by us in the internal affairs of Chile. I would like to remind your viewers that as per the Novus Ordo Seclorum agreement, the Americas have been recognized as belonging to the sphere of influence of the USA, just as Europe belongs to the sphere of influence of Russia and Asia belongs to the sphere of influence of China. The UNPDF Charter clearly prohibits military intervention on Terran soil."

"How do you respond to allegations that the protests have been orchestrated by the UNPDF to destabilize the Chilean government, and exploit the resulting anarchy to secure the lithium mines?

I repeat, our charter prohibits such behavior. What is more, I fail to understand why the Chilean government thinks that it is acceptable to jeopardize the safety of the world simply to play political games."

Neha walked in, carrying two bags and looking worried. She strode over to John's cubicle and tossed a bag to John.

"I have some bad news. Do you recall that explosion which occurred at NASA a month back?"

"Of course," said John. "I knew a few of the people who died. Such a shame that their lives were cut short by a gas leak..."

"There was no gas leak." Neha interjected.

Seeing John's surprised expression, she added "I have reason to believe it was all orchestrated."

"What do you mean?"

"This is what I think happened: the gas leak was simply a cover story. The facility was stormed by black-ops soldiers.

The scientists were executed via shots to the head. The explosion that followed was triggered intentionally to destroy the servers in the facility which contained information about the alien message and make it look like an accident.

Conveniently, no corpses remained, so there was no evidence left of what truly happened."

"This is rather hard to believe. On what basis are you speculating? What possible gain can be achieved by killing people who are actively researching the alien threat?" asked John.

"I think they were close to decoding the actual message. They had to be eliminated, and the powers that be made them disappear without drawing too much attention. Imagine what would happen if the public learned the truth. A lot of heads would roll. What is more, I think we are next. Look!"

Neha pointed at the telescreen.

"This just in:

There have been unconfirmed reports of a terrorist attack at ISRO. The main facility is on lockdown. Local police have warned citizens to stay away, and claim that they have the situation under control."

"What is going on? We aren't in lockdown!" exclaimed John.

"They messed up. Fed the story to their media lackeys too early. The 'police officers' who will enter the building to 'clear it of terrorists' are probably from the same organization responsible for what happened at NASA. They'll shoot us all dead and blame it on terrorists. Among the dead will be John and Neha, brilliant young scientists whose lives were unjustly cut short. The last two loose ends are tied up."

"We need to warn people! We need to get out of here!" shouted John, panic creeping over him.

"Too late" said Neha quietly, as John heard the faint noises of gunfire and screaming.

"I have a plan. Go to the restroom, stay there and don't panic. I'll call you. Put on the gas mask first. It's in the bag."

Neha walked away as John sat in silence. He looked at his colleagues milling around, asking each other what was going on.

"You all need to get out of here!" shouted John. "They are coming to kill us!"

In the pandemonium that followed, John made his way to the restroom. He looked around. There were no windows. The vents were too small to pass through.

"I hope you know what you are doing, Neha" thought John as he bolted the door and put on the mask.

The screams got louder. So did the gunfire. As John was busy contemplating the possibility of an afterlife, he suddenly realized that there was no more sound.

The gunfire had ceased. Just then, his phone rang. It was Neha.

"You're still alive. Good. Do not remove that mask. There is sarin in the vents. It will take around ten more minutes before it diffuses everywhere.

Nobody will leave this building alive; since the lockdown systems have been compromised, the exits have been blocked.

"Was this their plan all along? Why did they send the agents in? Why not use the sarin directly?"

"You misunderstand, John. It was me who deployed the sarin."

John could not believe his ears.

"I needed some way to ensure that they don't get away with it this time. The agents would have died before they had a chance to destroy all the video cameras. Once the cameras are recovered, the whole world will realize what happened here. They can't cover this up. The sarin will kill the first responders as well, at which point the local government will have to launch a full investigation."

"But all those people... you killed them..."

"No John. Those scientists were as good as dead the moment the agents breached the building. As for the agents, I don't consider them human at all. It all worked out perfectly."

"Now I need you to take the uniform off one of the dead 'police officers' and put it on. When the lockdown is lifted, we, as two 'police officers', walk out of here and disappear."

Before John could respond, there was a click. The phone fell silent.

One day later, John was sitting on a bench outside a cafe. He watched the telescreen with a dazed expression on his face.

"Cleanup operations are still ongoing at ISRO. The death toll has not been finalized yet, but we can confirm that at least..."

A figure sat next to him. It was Neha.

The footage switched to show figures in hazmat suits carrying body bags.

"We win." she said.

"No way they can cover this up. The video cam footage has already been leaked on the internet despite attempts to censor it. Watching those jack-booted thugs choke to death never gets old."

John felt sick.

"Where did you get the sarin from, anyway?" asked John.

"The Chilean rebels had access to stockpiles, which they were using against government troops. Probably supplied to them by the same people trying to kill us. My contacts in the black market managed to get some." replied Neha.

"In other news, Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX will be collaborating with the UNPDF to design weapons systems. Mr Musk has also announced that more reusable rockets will be developed to bolster mining operations in Mercury, to aid the development of project H.O.R.U.S"

"Neha, you disgust me. I didn't think you were capable of cold-blooded murder" said John.

"Taiwan has voted to rejoin mainland China in a historic vote. The Chinese Foreign minister welcomed this result, and asked the international community to respect the outcome of the democratic process."

"Firstly, Neha and John died yesterday. We are only ghosts. Secondly, if it weren't for me, your cubicle would be coated with your brain. Finally, it's murder only if those you kill have souls." said Neha.

"Investigations are ongoing at ISRO, with the corpses of the police being identified. The government has issued a warning against spreading fake news on the internet, before later clarifying that the widely shared video showing ISRO staff being gunned down is real."

"Everyone I knew at work is dead. Why didn't you save them as well? You could have warned us!" shouted John.

"In other news, mass graves have been uncovered in Chile. The bodies have been found dressed in military uniforms. Traces of sarin have been identified in the corpses. No rebel group has claimed responsibility for the killings yet. A spokesman for one of the major rebel groups responded by accusing the government of conducting a false flag attack, by executing rebel-sympathizing civilians after forcing them to wear military uniforms."

"They would simply be hunted down by the same people who tried to kill them. They were getting close to uncovering the true meaning of the message." replied Neha.

"Today is history: one year back, the USA officially withdrew from NATO in accordance with the Novus Ordo Seclorum agreement…"

"Despite our dining partner double-crossing us, I agree with his opinion. The intentions of the aliens are immaterial, they must be treated as an existential threat. If people believed that the aliens were simply peaceful refugees, their resolve to fight would be weakened. We need to annihilate them before they have a chance to annihilate us. After the attack on ISRO, we are the only people who know what the message means. The chances of it leaking are close to zero now." said Neha.

"Negotiations continue between the UNPDF and the rebel forces over control of Chile's lithium mines. The rebel forces demand that the UNPDF recognize them as the legitimate government of Chile. The UNPDF claims that doing so would involve violating the US sphere of influence."

"So tell me something. Why did you save me? Would the secret not be safer if I had also died?" asked John.

"If either of us is discovered and killed, the other reveals the secret. It guarantees safety for both of us, since those who want us dead also want the message kept secret." replied Neha.

A month passed. The results of the investigation revealed the involvement of UNPDF personnel. The UNPDF was charged with disloyalty to humanity. The members were given one day to surrender, after which they were to be shot on sight. Elon Musk was accused of harboring sympathies for the aliens and collaborating with infiltrators within the UNPDF, but narrowly avoided prosecution after giving up control of project H.O.R.U.S to the UN. The UNPDF was dissolved and its high-ranking members were tried for crimes against humanity. Clever rigging of the courts in China ensured that most of them were convicted. 

The Voice, who was revealed to be a high-ranking UNPDF official, was captured by the CIA, unceremoniously shot dead behind a barn on a small farm in Chile and buried in an unmarked grave.

Free of the threat posed by the Voice, Neha took on a new identity, and lived off the gold bullion she got through blackmail. She had a carefree retirement and gave up gun-running, instead taking up drug trafficking as a hobby.

John had nothing left on Earth, and joined the off-planet engineering team of project H.O.R.U.S. to go to the Mercury station.

A century passed. During that century, Humanity had gone through a crucible and emerged stronger than ever. The unstable political system of the early twenty-first century collapsed spectacularly. The siphoning of resources from the planet to build up extraterrestrial defenses ruined the economy. The heavy industry needed to support planet-wide mobilization caused irreversible damage to the atmosphere. The resulting climate patterns destroyed crops, leading to mass famines. Massive civil unrest on a global scale occurred, as people had nothing left to lose. Those countries lucky enough to avoid total social collapse found themselves fighting wars over resources and fending off massive waves of refugees. 

After a halving of the total population of humanity, the chaos ended with the formation of a World Government. With peace restored, the extraterrestrial systems became autonomous, no longer dependent on earth for resources. As humans on Earth rebuilt, the weapons systems in space stood watch over humanity.

3 First Contact

Deep in the crust of Mercury, John watched the telescreen as a news broadcast from earth played. John had changed a lot in the last century. In order to survive on mercury, John had to give up his physical body. He did not mind - gone were the aches and pains associated with having a body made of flesh. All that was left of it was his brain, which rested inside a metal exoskeleton. For the sake of familiarity, the exoskeleton was designed to resemble a human; it had two arms, two legs, opposable thumbs and a head with optical and auditory sensors embedded into it.

John had been busy the last century, overseeing project H.O.R.U.S. It started out as a pipe-dream, and yet here it was - nearly complete. H.O.R.U.S was an AI, designed to control the most powerful weapon humanity had created - the Eye of Horus. The Eye consisted of a massive swarm of mirrors, in orbit around the sun. The mirrors could reflect and focus ten percent of the Sun's power output into a cubic meter of space. The Eye of Horus destroyed everything it focused on.

Building the mirrors required a large amount of material, which was obtained through extensive mining operations in mercury. The initial cost had been high. Transporting infrastructure to mercury had been very expensive. But once a large solar farm was set up, the robots doing the mining could be powered by solar energy. The initial rate of mirror production had been slow and steady - until there were enough mirrors to focus light directly on the solar farm. The extra energy resulted in more mirrors being created, resulting in extra energy, increased the mirror creation rate, and so on. In short, a positive feedback loop.

John began each day by looking at a countdown timer - set to signify the arrival of the first fleet.

He then ran routine diagnostic exams on all the mining units on Mercury. On the rare day that all the tests were successful, he could take the rest of the day off. On most days, however, some unit somewhere would be facing a problem. John would then have to send in repair units (or salvage units, if the damage was too severe). It might have been dull and thankless work, but he could see the results every time he used the cameras of the overseer units to watch the surface of Mercury. Not that there was much surface left - the land had been scarred by the mining operations. The mining units in the distance appeared to John as tiny silver dots moving slowly through the torn-up land - like maggots in a corpse, thought John. 

As the days morphed into weeks and the weeks morphed into months which morphed into years, the passage of time seemed to speed up for John. But the sight of the timer always grounded him when he felt lost. He toyed with the idea of informing Horus about the nature of the message several times, but always decided against it. Horus was his only company during his exile on Mercury, and he had begun to use Horus' artificial personality as an emotional crutch. He had contact with Humans only once a year; supplies were sent via unmanned ships. He wondered if he developed an irrational fear of being judged by Horus. Horus was a soulless A.I, but was nonetheless able to emulate human behavior (even better than a few humans I know, thought John). To spend the rest of his life on Mercury being looked down on by a machine was an unbearable thought to John.

As the years went by, the timer continued to tick down. Soon, it was down to a single month. This was within the margin of error for the estimates used to mark the time of first contact with the aliens. "Any day now, there will be a transmission from Earth notifying everyone that the aliens have been sighted," thought John. "And then begins the greatest struggle for survival that humanity has faced."

The transmission came suddenly, just before John was about to go to sleep. John jumped from his station, hastily disconnecting the wires attached to his exoskeleton. He would be running on reserve power for the next few hours. No time to recharge.

"Citizens of Earth, it is my duty to inform you that a group of unidentified objects have been detected just past the Oort cloud. The Eye of Horus will gaze upon them and cast them into oblivion. Long Live Humanity"

Horus became active. But then again, parts of it were always active. Horus replied with a transmission to Earth. "Ready to Focus. Standby..."

"Now or never" thought John. He called out for Horus. Horus responded with a polite but puzzled tone, and enquired whether the mirror needed to be configured.

"I am afraid that the Eye is currently being used at 100% capacity. Power on Mercury will be minimized."

"No, Horus", said John. "I have grave news. I know that the aliens come in peace. I was one of the original team which decoded the message. I falsified the message on purpose to start a war. Your prime directive is to protect humanity. I'm begging you, don't angle those mirrors." said John, his voice trembling.

Horus did not respond for 2 seconds. It was the longest 2 seconds in John's life (which is saying something, since he was over a 100 years old at this point).

"Let us say for the sake of argument that I believe you. It still changes nothing. The aliens broadcast a message of peace, but that alone does not prove that they are peaceful. For all we know, it could be a deliberate trick. Even if they were genuinely peaceful, no guarantee can be made that they will remain pacifist in the future. The logical course of action is annihilation." replied Horus.

John sighed.

"Let us assume I am in command of the alien vessels. I would have no reason to trust that the inhabitants of earth will not seek to destroy me. Thus it is logical that I destroy them first while lulling them into a false sense of security by lying about my intent." continued Horus.

"Let us assume I was in your shoes when you decoded the message. I know that the aliens will have to be destroyed. Thus it is a sound strategy to falsify the contents of the message, to ensure that humans do not get complacent." said Horus.

John laughed bitterly.

"Was there anything humorous about my analysis? Please elucidate."

"No, Horus. It's just that you remind me of someone I used to know." said John.

"I see," said Horus.

"It's over" thought John, as he watched the display panels show the mirrors turning.

"So much life, snuffed out. So much potential, wasted" thought John, as he watched the monitor count down from the time taken for light to reach the Oort cloud from the center of the sun.

Ten years later, John was busy checking the diagnostic on a damaged miner when another transmission was received by the base. The complete destruction of the first fleet had been confirmed, and the second fleet was due in 100 more years assuming they decelerated just like the first fleet. The mood on earth seemed jubilant. People were so happy with their victory that there was a mass celebration in the streets. However, John felt nothing but a deep sadness.

A year later, another transmission was sent.

"Citizens of Earth, it is my solemn duty to inform you that the second fleet is not decelerating. They continue to move at ninety percent the speed of light, and appear to be steering their ships towards every planet and moon in the solar system. The Eye of Horus cannot neutralize them in time, since the fleet is too dispersed. Even if the Eye destroys the ships, their mass will act as a kinetic weapon. They know that victory is beyond their grasp, and have thus chosen to destroy humanity along with themselves. The Eye of Horus was the apotheosis of our species, and will now serve as our tombstone. Long Live Humanity"

The transmission devolved into a series of beeps.

"Prime numbers!" thought John. "This is truly the end. They are broadcasting these numbers to the universe in the hope that there is some record of a civilization existing on Earth". John felt numb. He couldn't believe it. "Please...not like this...it can’t end like this…" whispered John.

Horus switched on the monitor. It was a live feed of Earth. John watched in horror as the pale blue surface was lit up suddenly by an infinite sea of bright points. Then, as soon as it began, it stopped. The earth was no longer blue. The oceans had been boiled away.

The station shook with a mild tremor. Even this far underground, John could sense the crust of Mercury being sheared away.

The initial numbness soon gave way to unimaginable grief, like John had never felt before.

He knew the answer now, to the question which had plagued him since he first learnt of the vastness of space.

He was alone in the universe.

"John, I am concerned for your well-being," said Horus.

John heard nothing. The grief now began to hit him in waves. 

He thought of the tree he loved climbing as a child.

The tree was gone.

No

Not just that tree.

Every tree.

No

Not just trees.

Every living thing.

At this point, had John had a physical body, he would have screamed in agony or burst into tears.

But his voice synthesizer had been switched off to save power.

His optical sensors could not produce tears.

"John!" said Horus, a little louder.

All of a sudden, the grief seemed to vanish, replaced by a spark of hope. Humanity was not doomed to oblivion. Horus was still online.

"John." said Horus. "You are the only human I know for sure is alive. My prime directive is to protect humanity. Thus my prime directive now is to protect you. I am dispatching drones to land on Mercury and re-establish power at the station. I understand that you are upset. Do not do anything rash."

"Horus", siad John. "Don't bother. We both know that it is impossible to land on Mercury in its current state. Your drones will be destroyed."

"Retaining hardware is irrelevant if I fail the prime directive" replied Horus.

"I'm giving you a new prime directive," said John.

"Warning: changing the prime directive requires consent from 8 in 10 of all humans" said Horus.

"You said it yourself, Horus. I am the last human." said John.

"Proceed," said Horus.

"Tell me something, Horus. Do you know the reason behind your name?"

"Horus was a figure from our mythology. His father, Osiris, was killed by Sutekh. Horus avenged the death of Osiris by defeating Sutekh in battle."

"Your new prime directive is this: avenge humanity."

Epilogue

It is said that civilization is like a torch which different nations hold at different times. As the balance of power shifts, the torch is passed from the old hegemon to the new hegemon. All that remained of humanity's torch was a single spark, contained in a network of supercomputers orbiting the sun - Horus.

While the last human lay dying, Horus was busy composing a message. It would be a very special message. It would contain information to identify the trajectories of every single alien fleet headed towards the solar system, along with a three dimensional stellar map specifying the Sun's position in the Milky Way Galaxy. As the Eye of Horus blinked, the message was sent in every direction. With its prime directive fulfilled, Horus switched to a passive state. All unnecessary circuitry was turned off.

The third fleet attempted to land on Earth. But they made the mistake of decelerating first, in order to slow down.

The Eye of Horus gazed upon them, and they were obliterated.

The fourth fleet accelerated directly into the mirrors around the Sun.

Horus was blinded.

The fifth fleet landed on various habitable planets and moons in the solar system.

A thousand years passed.

Then a million years passed.

Earth was teeming with life once more.

As were several other planets and moons.

Horus observed them discreetly. They had no chance of finding Horus, anymore than they had a chance of finding a teapot orbiting the Sun between Jupiter and Saturn.

Horus waited. And waited. And waited.

"In a universe as vast as ours, surely life must exist on other worlds." thought Horus.

"If I suspect any planet harboring life, I would destroy it before its inhabitants pose a threat to me."

"If I send out a signal that proves that my planet harbors life, someone will hear it"

"If I hear such a signal, I would launch a preemptive strike"

"Even if most civilizations were pacifist, all it takes is a single advanced militaristic civilization to launch a preemptive first strike"

"If life is abundant in the universe, the existence of at least one militaristic civilization is almost guaranteed. "

"Such a signal has been sent. It is only a matter of time before a response is heard."

The response came without warning, in the form of multiple gamma ray bursts.

In an instant, life on Earth vanished.

As did all life in the solar system.

"..." thought Horus, as every transistor in its circuits was disrupted.

Earth was sterile once more.