1.-The Invasion
The Red Martians had been preparing for some
time for final launch. Their technology level was at using fission rockets
which meant a one-way trip mostly, unless they could find fissionable materials
on the invaded planet, enough to power them back to their home planet if they
so desired. But that was a long way away in the future. The invasion fleet
would have to subjugate the native populations, eradicate the dominant species
on the planet and then with or without using collaborators find out and mine sufficient
fissionable materials to enable the fleet to go back and bring the second wave.
For this was just the first wave, half the population of mars, the strongest
most warlike population to be sure and the most virile to go and not only
colonize the blue planet quickly but to multiply in its slightly heavier oxygen
atmosphere that no other neighbouring planetary species in the solar system would
dare to invade the third planet once the red Martians had obtained a solid
foothold on it. The red Martians had prepared long and carefully for this
invasion, it had taken decades of their life ever since the stupid earthlings
had started broadcasting into space that their planet was capable of supporting
life. The Martians couldn’t believe it at first. Was this all a ruse? If so for
what purpose? Were the earthlings so starved of nutrition that they were
willing to attract other planetary species to their home world to feed on them?
None of it made sense. Even their best scientific minds couldn’t understand why
the earthlings were broadcasting so many signals into space. It was unprecedented
in the Martians millennium of existence and induced acute anxiety in their
leaders. Ever since the dawn of life in the nine planet solar system, none of
the populated planets, neither Venus, nor Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus or
Neptune had ever broadcast into space that “Hey, here are life giving planets
and we have evolved life here, you are welcome to come here and take it”. None,
but the stupid earthlings had done so. Signalled to the entire universe that
there were life supporting planets in the 9-planet solar system capable of
providing organic nutrients. It was either stupidity of the highest order or
sheer recklessness on the part of the blue planetary species to endanger life
in the entire known solar system. Every other species had hunkered down into
the deep dark soil of its planet projecting a complete lack of life to every
explorer and invader (mostly the same thing), once it was capable of space
flight and had communicated with the nearest planetary lifeforms and had
learned the truth of the universe. That the universe was a whole lot of scary
species always looking for new planets to colonize and species to devour for
their organic contents was a universal truth known to every species on every
planet on every star and galaxy. Everyone realized this truth to be self-evident
once they started lifting off from their planet’s gravity well. Except the
earthlings. They were a whole lot of stupid apparently. Not only had they
continued to broadcast their location to the wide universe but also had sent
probes outside the limits of the solar system with information leading straight
back to the nine planets. This was a genocidal war crime on a solar system
level and the blue planet earthlings had to be punished for it and stopped
before they did further damage to the rest of the species. The Jovian’s and Neptunian’s
had proposed an asteroid strike to obliterate the third planet and silence
those voices seeking to expose them all. But the red Martians had proposed an
alternate- a planetary invasion to eradicate the loathsome bipedal species
which was even now launching chemical rockets into deep space with long plume
signatures capable of being traced back to source. It not only helped that they
were the nearest planet to the earth, but also capable of surviving in the open
on the slightly more oxygen rich atmosphere of earth, which the Venusians can
never do and finally to add icing to the cake the Martians could use their
feeding appendages directly on the earth species which conveniently carried a nutrient
fluid in their bodies, a red fluid which could be fed on and absorbed directly
by the Martians for their organic nutrients. The Martians had been taking off a
few earth species for decades and studying them for absorption of their
nutrient fluids and had found that the earthlings were not only compatible with
the Martian diet but also provided a rich source of all the other minerals
needed along with the organics. Hence the fleet was got ready to invade the
earth and save the solar system by silencing once and for all those pestilent
squealers threatening all nine planetary species.
2. –
The Aftermath
When the first Martian saucers landed it was
near to the great urban settlements intentionally. The Martians had planned and
prepared for the initial resistance to be stiff, even with the primitive
kinetic weapons of the earthling’s and the Martian ground assault tripods had
their armour specially strengthened to deflect kinetic weapons. The saucers
landed and disgorged the tripods on a fine sunny day and the Martians rambled
into the vast urban conglomerations the native earthlings called cities. They
were prepared to encounter shock and distress and panic from the native
population as even the few earthlings they had encountered previously on
scouting trips had panicked at the sign of the Martians and had died on the
spot with stoppage of their hearts suddenly. But strange to say this time there was no panic,
no shock, no fleeing groups of bipeds. The earthlings had all seemed to be
hunkered down in their dwellings already as if they had advance intelligence of
the Martian invasion. Nothing made sense to the Martians as their tripods
roamed around the empty streets of the earthlings. The Martian commander then
made the courageous decision to go into the dwellings of these creatures and
hunt them out from wherever they were hiding. The order was transmitted and the
Martian invasion force exited the safety of their assault vehicles and landers
for the first time on the blue planet. They started a cordon search and sector
by sector they went inside the earthling’s dwellings where to their great
surprise they found the earthlings hunkered down individually. They were
dragged out, assembled and devoured as when the Martians needed organic
nutrition. After two days of frenzied feeding on the earthling liquids, none of
the soldiers reported any adverse reaction, so the main body of the invasion
force, the civilians and administrators were disembarked from the colony ships
and mass feeding on the earthlings started. It was on the third day that the
disease began. It started with a fluid flow in the Martians appendages which believe
me, when you have eight of them is a real danger to health. This was followed
by sense of breathlessness despite the rich oxygen laden atmosphere of earth which
was better than mars by many degrees. The ancient and wisest advisors started
toppling first unable to breathe and pretty soon the rest of the invasion force
was on its back merely struggling to take a single breath. Even the use of respirators
inside the Martian landers offered no respite as they seem to have been
contaminated too. The Martians suspected an unknown earth disease and decided
to try out their experimental translator technology. One of the captured bipeds
was brought in and shown the dying Martians and asked why? He answered, as
translated as best as the machine could, in a single word-corona. The Martian
commanders, those still left alive, decided to withdraw from the planet and
ordered their people back on the saucers but sadly none survived the journey
back and the mystery of the great Martian invasion to earth remained a warning
sign to all the rest of the nine planets. Thereafter the third planet, the blue
planet was designated a dangerous planet, a quarantined zone capable of killing
any life which landed there. What the earthlings did or how they survived these
diseases became the stuff of legends on other planets and taught to the
younglings. Many of their younger warriors on Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune
were challenged – if you want to show you are a great warrior visit the third
planet earth and take a breath there. But sadly, none had the courage to do so
and earth was left alone forever by the entire universe.
-
The end –
Dedicated to H.G.Wells and his iconic science
fiction thriller – War of the Worlds.
