Bait

It took the Gorelli six years to conquer Earth. In that time, Humanity had plenty of opportunities to send her sons and daughters into space. She did so slowly at first and then more rapidly as the tides of war turned against her. The greatest exodus occurred in the fifth year after it became apparent that Earth was going to fall and before the Gorelli tightened their nets. Those who did not escape before the end of that fifth year did not escape at all. By the end of the sixth year, the number of humans remaining alive on Earth was no longer great enough to sustain the species. Man as Earthling became extinct.

The Gorelli could have destroyed Earth then. They were in full control and it was well within their power to obliterate the planet. They did not. They retreated from Earth and waited. They waited and they watched and when humans began to return, they slaughtered.

Even brilliant men have their blindspots and Earth became Humanity’s. Her siren call swept through the void, and men could not resist it. “Home,” she sang, “Come home and free me.” Humans answered and dashed themselves against the Gorelli rocks trying to heed the call. Earth served as the perfect bait to draw the humans out of hiding and this was precisely what the Gorelli had intended.

The few humans wise enough to see what was happening were terrified by this development. They watched the already decimated population of humans dwindle even further, almost powerless to stop it. Few were so wise. Even fewer recognized the terrible solution. Only one was actually willing to take the necessary step, to perform the one act that could save humanity: destroy Earth.