Vonnegut also suggests that humans are not the divine species they think they are. Set inside the novel Hocus Pocus, he writes a separate short story called “The Protocols of the Elders of Tralfamadore.” This short story tells of alien beings who decided to create the Earth as a cosmic experiment. Humans are not created in the image of their makers and destined to be rulers of the universe; they were just created to be an obstacle course for the training of the true rulers. The Tralfamadorians believe that germs would be the perfect organism, easily able to travel through space. They created humans for no other purpose than to torture germs. Any germ that could survive on Earth could presumably survive anywhere. As high and mighty as humans believe themselves to be, this story makes them out to be little more than test subjects. Vonnegut uses it to say that humans may not be the ones destined to control the universe. It refutes one of the most common ideals of mankind. Humans justify the over-consumption of natural resources and the testing of products on animals by saying that they are the pride of their creator. “The Protocols of the Elders of Tralfamadore,” however, suggests this concept may be just a delusion of grandeur. Humans do not matter because they exist for the sole purpose of bettering another organism. Humans think they are better than all others, but really their thoughts shouldn’t matter because they are not the “true” rulers of the universe. Kurt Vonnegut expresses his theme through the introduction of such controversial ideas..

Vonnegut at many times used this theme of human futility. It was prominent in his earlier works and continued throughout his entire writing career. Early works such as Cat’s Cradle begin with setting a stable ground for his theme. Later novels, like Slaughterhouse-Five portray his theme in a more subtle way. However, the futility of human action is still demonstrated. His characters always strive to raise themselves and society above the muddy pool of existence. As soon as success is almost within their grasp, a series of events occur that put them right back where they started. His book HocusPocus is one of the best at representing this idea. At the very end of the book, Vonnegut leaves us a final line that expresses his attitude towards humanity, “Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, that doesn’t mean we deserve to conquer the Universe” (Hocus Pocus 322).