“Look, even damage control in a situation such as this is extremely finicky.”

She paced back and forth in her office, contemplating the suggestion. As much as she was grateful for the opportunity, heading up an entire branch of the Time Bureau had its stressful points. This was one of them.

“One too many?”

The Investor stared at the testing field, where, sure enough, he counted at least ten duplicate faces in the crowd.

“What do you mean by ‘one too many’?”

The news spread around the world like wildfire. Alien life had arrived, and it was hostile. We barely had time to prepare. The moment our telescopes and radars had detected their vessels, every disagreement around the world was put on hold. Old enemies became close allies, with every nuclear warhead at the ready for launch if need be.