A Warning from the Stars
It was within the very halls of power; a place where World leaders would gather to discuss world affairs, hold talks on policies that could one day be tested against citizens without the public’s awareness of such discussions, all left to the periphery of ‘Conspiracy’ – the reality though was very different, Politicians, Men of Wealth and Power – they decided the course of what direction society moved, while people split between loyalties or religions would remain divided and hostile over small issues instead of larger ones.
The very halls of an international body had just been shaken, not by Riot or Protest, not by Revolution – but by something none-expected; the Stars themselves.
The being that stood before world leaders presented itself as a formidable aura, it stood larger than any man, dressed in fabrics never seen before on Earth, its stature unquestioningly powerful, eyes would glow with a subtle hue within the light of the room “We have watched you” this alien being said; the voice regardless of how calm still made the bones vibrate, as if it’s voice was quivering with a restrained fury “For cycles beyond your reckoning; we have seen the dawn of your consciousness, the first tentative sparks of empathy, and the most terrifying part of your culture; is lust for cruelty, and we ask a simple question; Why?”
The members of various nations assembled; Presidents, Prime Ministers, Representatives of their Respective nations, powerful Men of every continent, they sat frozen, their finely tailored suits suddenly feeling like costumes for a macabre play; their security detail, armed with what they felt was woefully inadequate against this strange alien before them – all equally paralyzed.
“Why” the being pressed, the subtle glow momentarily flaring “Why do you perpetually target the most vulnerable amongst you, we have bore witness to your young left to starve, your elderly discarded, your sick denied succour, and those who are different in anyway that does not conform to narrow ideologies…, they are chased, hounded and either made to hide or simply exterminated from existence all for the crime of simply ‘being’ and all this, all this while mountains of resources are hoarded by a favoured few, we have witnessed children’s tears water the parched earth of your slims, while your glorious ‘Elite’ bask in gilded cages, their lives a grotesque parody of luxury”
The silence that followed was deafening, punctured only by the frantic whirring of hidden recording devices; shifting to move its gaze, this strange being’s eyes swept over everyone present, its voice softening despite a pain within that was just palpable and chilling but simply terrifying “Your people lust for Wars; Driven by supposedly dwindling resource…, or that is your claim, yet…, we have observed those same scarcities fuel your factories for churning out instruments of destruction, your news and media that propagates the same narratives of hatred; always your most vulnerable or an enemy at the gate, all to ensure tat the coffers of a handful swell with more gold, more power; you sacrifice your legions; the innocent, the hopeful for what amounts to a cruel game played with human lives as pawns”
The strange being shifted again, it proceeded to walk slow around the very ‘stage’ of power a growing frustration, anger – it could be felt building within the room “You in these very halls of power pull the strings” it said, its voice rising again, each word a hammer blow “Ordinary Lives are Sport; You manipulate markets, ignite conflicts, shatter peace; all of these for simple monetary gain, some imaginary number that came to enable a trade ones labour for a product; a barter system, a fleeting sense of dominance; what is the point of it!” the voice snapped out causing flinches
“What perverse joy can you get from watching those so far below your gaze, what brings such joy of letting the most easily targeted die in their millions while you sit in gated communities free of fear, fears you stoke with rhetoric to inflame the populations” the Alien being stopped, shifting its gaze
“Do you believe yourselves Gods?” the voice suddenly shifted; it was dangerously calm “That you can play with destinies, manufacture despair like a commodity?”
No one spoke; no one dared, they didn’t have any answers anyway; the truth of its words simply stripped bare all pretence, it was like a venomous potion that choked them
“You each bleed; you each feel, if you inflict pain you hear them react, you stab a man or a woman, they will scream, they will flinch, they will cry; the same actions you will perform if done to you” the being shook its head as; it had no always been this way, for centuries Earth had just merely been a distant curiosity, a vibrant blue marble teeming with nascent intelligent life for initial observations – it was an observation which were filled with a detached scientific wonder and curiosity
The rise of Human Civilisation had been charted, examined; the marvels of ingenuity, the beauty of complex tapestries and cultures; there was evidence of breathtaking kindness and selfless love; of art that spoke to the universal soul.
Humanity had been observed defying gravity and reaching for the stars, extending compassion across divides.
But each passing decade, that beauty became increasingly overshadows by a growing malignancy and it was observed with growing wariness – patterns where observed, the cycles of plenty follows by engineered scarcity, the rise of demagogues preying on fear and the systematic dehumanisation of anything considered ‘Other’ as ‘Different’ with an endless rapacious hunger, the subtle shifts in human society; the gradual erosion of community for individualism, the weaponisation of information, the transformation of empathy into a weakness.
This Alien being had walked amongst them, listened to the whispers, felt the vibrations of sorrow, seen the greed – observed those ostracised for wanting to be different, or was different, or even believing in different scripture – it didn’t matter.
The being had seen children, men or women begging on street corners – often facing further humiliation or treated with disgust by those that saw themselves as ‘Better’ or ‘Superior’ – empathy had shrunk, politicians had crafted new ways to punish those that struggled.
All of it while those that could dictate national policies owned more wealth than the nations they hailed; factories had been observing belching smoke, poisoning the air; while profits lined the pockets of men who already had too much, that spoke of ‘Progress’ and ‘Innovation’.
Observations had seen the glints of Sniper’s ending the lives of people for a cause that was nothing more than a Flag of Conveniences of Corporate interests
Finally the being looked back in at the assembled Men and Women in those very halls of power “We offered you the benefit of cosmic understanding” the being intoned, its final words hanging in the air like an inescapable truth “We searched for hope, for a flicker of genuine change; for a reason to preserve what you are; instead, we have found a species irrevocably wedded to its sickness, its sadistic lust for never-ending wars, its insatiable greed; you are a cancer upon your own world, a contagion that threatens to spread”
The silence felt more oppressive “This cycle of pain, of constant cruelty; it cannot be allowed to persist, consider this your final warning; if you can’t purge yourselves of this disease, this innate hatred, then, we will be forced to purge you”
With that; the being dissolved – not by fading, but simply ceasing to be, leaving only behind an acrid tang of ozone and an unbearable, suffocating silence.
Written By: Westley H.
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