Wartime Tradition
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.
What we weren’t expecting was the transmission from them. They were odd creatures, six-legged and four-armed, and we could only aptly call them bug-centaurs. They spoke in their own language for a short while, then, miraculously, shifted to English.
In their transmission, they listed several things that made us wary of just how much they knew. They spoke of the prevalence of English, and they told of how we had caused chaos among ourselves without leaving our plant. They called us weak and unprepared for the conflict ahead, and they said we would fall due to our lack of harmony. They deemed us inferior because of how much we had damaged the planet’s ecosystem, and they informed us they would treat the planet properly after our demise. They warned that use of our nuclear warheads would affect only us, but that they would clean up the fallout if we decided to be our own undoing.
We were prepared to prove them wrong until they added one more thing to the end of the transmission. It was a simple addition, one that would’ve been overlooked had it been a far less serious situation. This wasn’t such a situation. We hung onto every word like flies on flypaper waiting for death.
“We have seen a tradition in your wars over the past several hundred revolutions, and in our conquest of your planet, we shall follow that tradition.”
Everyone’s breath caught as we wondered what the tradition could be. As far as we all knew, there was no such thing. We had only had two global wars, after all, two instances where the entire world played some part in the conflict, whether large or small. We racked our brains as the aliens hovered above the planet, hoping we could decipher the meaning behind their words before the first ships landed.
The first descent came twelve hours after their arrival. The call came in through every secure line around the world, reaching presidents and dictators and kings alike. We all waited to see which country would host the first casualties. When it became clear, the news reached every set of eyes and ears.
“The aliens have invaded Poland, sir!”
