Thar 21st

Today, the unthinkable occurred.

I was sitting in a diner with my girlfriend sipping some cola, enjoying the sweet imported beverage. Marriage had, as it somehow always did, become the topic of conversation. Zemta knows no one ever thought such a thing could happen.

Humans attacking Altterra, I mean, not me getting married.

When Earth was discovered about eighty years ago, some science fiction writers made it big writing books all about Humans invading Altterra. “When Earth Attacks” and “The Day Altterra Stood Still” are among my favorite books and are considered classics by many. Even so, I never thought it more than fantasy. Humans lacked space craft capable of much more than planetary orbit. My dad was just a kid when the humans first set foot on their moon.

It happened in defiance of all logic. I watched the face of Altterra reshaped forever while sitting in a diner on Zarn, Altterras sole sattelite.

Hindsight says we should have seen it coming. The peoples of Earth were at war and had been ever since Alexander Douglas’ brilliant plan to unmask us for all the wrold to see. Travel agencies took a huge hit when Earth was decalred unsafe for travel. Can’t complain too much about that, though, since it brought most of that tourist cash to Zarn and really pumped up our economy.

The latest reports say almost seventy precent of the population has been killed by the nuclear attack and the planet itself is rendered nearly uninhabitable. Notable exception being the Fabtech domes. Who would have expected that domes erected to protect the planet from the pollution spewed forth from manufactoriums would end up being the only habitable places left on the planet. I suspect we’ll see more of those domes put into production for housing and surface reclaimation in the months to come.

The attack itself, they say, came from a captured and heavily modified Altterran shuttle designed to ferry fifteen to twenty passangers to and from Earth for vacations.

If I’m not mistaken, a really bad movie a few years ago had the exact same plot. Funny how old films can turn out to be prophetic.

It may sound horrible, but the explosions and wave of ash covering the planet was a spectacular thing to behold. I’d call it beautiful and awe-inspiring if billions of deaths hadn’t been the result.

Apparently by some miracle, the Pope survived (I should clarify: the Pope of Altterra, not the guy on Earth.). Gives a lot of credence to the whole “God” concept. I’d be suprised if Chirstianity didn’t see a lot of converts as a result.