Encounters Out There

Five months ago, Earth monitoring stations detected a flying saucer, very much like something straight out of a 1950s movie. We could hardly believe it was happening, and now we're facing the reality of the situation—visitors from outer space.

The aliens sent representatives to our planet to meet with our government behind closed doors. We, as civilians, were never told what was being discussed.

Apparently, all was going well, according to government press agents. They had come to some kind of trade agreement. The aliens seemed interested in our agriculture, meat, and medical industries.

They were especially interested in our research to cure disease and to make industrial products safe for consumers. We soon realized that they were capitalists like ourselves, who wanted to buy and sell products and learn about our best business models and practices.

We had no reason to suspect anything strange until it began …

At random, people started to go missing—yes, they were being abducted. They returned with reports of headaches, memory loss, and some psychological trauma. The abductees were under a strict NDA to never speak about it or face consequences they weren't allowed to mention.

There was a widespread concern, but nothing to cause a mass panic for our physical well-being. Well, that's until the med ships arrived …

The aliens started sending out medical staff—with escorts by our own government agents—they would visit our homes and bring people to their ships. Many families protested because the aliens held no regard to age nor handicap, or anything else we considered of ethical importance. Our government agents were of no help. They assisted the aliens. And our government representatives refused to get involved, for the 'safety of the planet.'

You see, the aliens could vaporize the surface of the planet in the blink of an eye. Rumor had it they issued only one single threat. If our governments were not compliant, they'd simply wipe the face of our planet and move onto the next habitable one.

We, the people—were left to our own survival.

With the next phase of abductions, people returned with missing limbs, eyeballs burned out of their sockets, puncture wounds, and lobotomies. Often reproductive organs were either missing, mutilated, or stitched back together in an awkward fashion.

Frequently, the victims came back with tumorous growths or various forms of blood poisoning. The personal accounts became worse, and the family stories ever more horrifying.

It was an atrocity of epic and worldwide proportions.

One day a movement started. It went viral on social media, spreading awareness of itself across the globe; its goal was to appeal to the aliens and stop what they were doing. A coalition of Earth's most remarkable minds chose a single representative to meet with the aliens and stop the abductions.

A camera crew assisted the human representative, and the aliens sent an interpreter to represent them. The whole scene was caught on video.

It was a short meeting, and it went like this:

Our representative started out with a strong argument and said, "This is a moral disgrace... You can't experiment on us, we are living beings!"

The alien's interpreter replied, "You protest on what grounds? We've seen your animal testing labs and slaughterhouses."

And that was the end of the meeting. And of us.