Humble Beginnings

by KA Hopkins

  A week after his accident, Boris joined us for dinner, the same as he did every night since his accident. He hopped on to a vacant bench beside the galley table and watched us eat, giving everyone the once-over with that look of boredom mixed with “I hate you” that only a cat can pull off. Chris Strong, finished with his meal, stood up to leave the table; bits of potato covered in sour cream and bacon were left on his plate. Before he could clear his plate and throw everything in the waste disposal, we all heard in clear English, “Hey, Bud if you’re done with that how about passing it over here.” Looking around the table I saw everyone focused on their food; no one appeared to be waiting for Chris' plate to be passed. Taking a second look around, I still didn’t see anyone waiting for the plate. I looked at Boris.

  “What! You want me to say please?”

  “You can talk!”

  “I could always talk; you never understood the subtlety of what I was saying.”

  “But you’re speaking English”

  “Yes, it appears this crude form of communication is the only way to get my point across since you have no appreciation for feline body language. Mother’s cybernetic implant has the ability to not only restore the functionality to my damaged nervous system, it also includes a learning module capable of sensing the needs of the brain and builds new functionality as required. So how about it Chum, can you please pass the plate?”

  I pushed the plate across the table to Boris; he put his paws on the table resting them lightly on either side of the plate and ate the sour cream and bacon bits. “I can get you a saucer of milk if you would like.”

  “I hate milk, it gives me gas; it’s the bacon I like.” From that point on Boris had a place set for him at the table and ate the same food we did, with a heavy preference for meat on the rare side. I never could get him to eat his vegetables. I commented on his dietary choices, telling him that a heavy protein diet was not good for him. He, in return, explained his dietary choices as if talking to a child.

  “Let’s make something perfectly clear - cats may look simple, but we are very complicated creatures. You think we eat, kill things and sleep twenty-three hours a day. But we are not really sleeping; it’s more like a form of deep meditation on how the world works and the best techniques to hunt birds and rodents or any other creature that crosses our path…and annoy dogs, just because we can. Where do you see vegetables fitting into this picture? We have been on Earth longer than mankind and have never eaten vegetables in all that time because, wait for it…we’re carnivores! We don't eat vegetables, as the stomach and intestines of our prey have all the nutrition and vitamins that we need. If something is needed to help with indigestion, then a little bit of grass does the trick.”

  Boris then turned his focus towards his meal and ignored me completely. After listening to the endless dinner conversation of how to best rid the Earth of the alien presence, he interrupted the conversation and provided a cat’s point of view on the entire matter.

  “You’re overthinking the problem. Hunting is the ultimate pleasure. The act of hunting, with its steps of observation, stalking, pursuit and attack, is simple. You are successful or not. Feedback is immediate. You should be able to understand this concept given humans’ short attention span.

  Here’s how a cat would deal with the alien threat to Earth - observe them, select the most vulnerable, stalk them and without warning, attack. Kill them all when and wherever you can. Kill anyone who gets in your way; always kill the young and sick ones first - they're the easiest.”

  They don’t call cats nature’s born killers without good reason. If we followed Boris’s advice there would be very little negotiating with the aliens. It’s hard to negotiate when you’re dead.

  Chapter 33 - Oops! An unexpected turn of events

  Old Lizard Face was in his office, one of the few places on the base where an effort to replicate the conditions of his home world was evident. The lighting was harsh and bright, bouncing off the sandstone walls and fine beach sand covering the limestone floor. With an air temperature of 110°F and little humidity, it was uncomfortably hot for humans, but just right for Dracos. The furnishings consisted of a large desk with four holographic monitors and a conference table able to seat fifty with ease. The sandstone chairs were uncomfortable to sit on, as Dracos disdained most comforts. The lack of furniture made the already large office seem even larger. No art pieces decorated the walls; Dracos had no appreciation or use for art unless their clients were impressed by it. The Draco did not have much use for anything that did not expand their trade markets. The latest status reports scrolled across the four holographic monitors on his desk - the news was not good.

  Every ballistic nuclear sub in the world was stuck in homeport for up to six months. Until counter measures were in place, repaired subs could not go on patrol without risking having to be towed back to port again. The loss of the ballistic submarine “big stick” threat forced the old superpowers - that make up the permanent members of the UN Security council - to play nice with the emerging influential countries such as: Egypt, Japan, Indonesia, Turkey, Korea, Brazil, India, Pakistan, Israel, Taiwan, South Africa, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

  Untraceable messages, received through supposedly secure networks, threatened to do the same to the carrier battle fleets. Admirals, not wanting to tempt fate, believed the threats and ordered all carrier groups back to their home ports. The ability for the superpowers to project force was limited to nuclear-capable bombers and the land-based nuclear missile force. The public outcry following the nuclear weapon accident near Fort Meade, forced the air force generals to ground the bomber fleets until improved safety measures were guaranteed. The loss of the strategic and naval fighter bombers forced the superpowers to stand down from their many self serving, regime changing conflicts, they supported around the world. If this kept up, it might just bring about worldwide peace.

  With the world at peace, the few Dracos on Earth had no way to control billions of humans. Old Lizard Face thought to himself, “Peace is unacceptable; this cannot be allowed to continue.”

  More worrisome than the loss of the military threat was the loss of the offshore banks and select financial hubs that followed the attacks on the electrical grid. The IMF believed a trillion and a half dollars of illicit money was laundered every year through offshore tax havens; their figures were very conservative. According to his figures, nearly a quarter of the world’s economy passed through the offshore banks. Losing these illicit funds had a noticeable effect on his pacification activities.

  The first of the pacification activities impacted was the corruption of public officials. Without the cash-machines to bribe their electorate, politicians were literally running for their lives. The voters demanded answers and imposed real consequences for politicians doing poor jobs of providing replacement services and food during the blackouts.

  Without the constant inflow of money, social services were overwhelmed. So many people were dependent upon government services for all their needs that, even in good times, it was hard to deliver what was promised during election campaigns. In bad times the entire system experienced an epic fail. Riots broke out in all five of the attacked cities, starting in the poorest neighborhoods and rapidly spreading to engulf entire cities.

  Police, Transport Security Agency (TSA), National Guard, reserves and active military members nationwide total less than ten million people. When deployed to squash the riots, they were outnumbered thirty-five to one. Hungry, desperate people have nothing to lose so, despite the police, TSA and military all having military style weapons, the people were not intimidated nor defenseless, having substantial firepower of their own, given there are nearly 300 million guns in America.

  Once the armories and military bases were looted, both sides had fairly equal classes of weapons, with the public having the advantage of overwhelming numbers. Many veterans who had answered their country's call to arms felt they had been forsaken by the Department of Veterans Affairs. F
ed up with the corruption, they sided with the rioters and brought their lifetimes worth of military experience to the riots.

  In past riots where police had the advantage of overwhelming numbers and a corrupted judicial system, they could and did beat protestors at will with no fear of consequences. When greatly outnumbered, the advantage went to the protestors. Military veterans ensured the riot police could not use excessive force by setting up counter sniper teams to neutralize the police snipers. Police and military helicopter crews were ambushed at airports and refueling points by Veteran lead sniper teams using anti-material fifty caliber sniper rifles, firing from up to one mile away. Without air support the greatly outnumbered riot police did not stand a chance. The cities burned.

  Without their money to shield them and the police state to protect them, the Global Elite seriously questioned their safety within the EM pulse affected areas. Many of their former employees remembered being replaced by cheap foreign laborers. The Global Elite made trillions while everyone else suffered. With the breakdown of the rules governing society, there was nothing to prevent the mobs from seeking revenge.

  On top of all this bad news, another scout ship had been lost during a routine investigation. How the hell had that happened? The Draco called out to his second in command. “It’s time for another unscheduled meeting of the thirteen Families.”

  “Tomorrow, six am.”

  “You read my mind.”

  Being summoned like “common help” for another unscheduled meeting with the senior Draco leadership on Earth set a new precedent for the thirteen Family heads. Past meetings were more ceremonial than functional and always planned well in advance. The working details necessary to operate their empires were mostly left to others. Actually being forced to work was an unpleasant concept to all.

  Despite the power blackouts causing havoc with air transport countrywide, the thirteen Family heads managed to arrive at the California alien facility by pulling strings and using military aircraft. By six a.m. all Family heads were seated in the same conference room that had proved disastrous for the previous Chairman. All of them looked worse for wear due to uncomfortable rides on military aircraft.

  Each Family head clearly remembered what had happened during the last meeting and were more than willing to let someone else deliver the bad news. Normally the Chairman’s position was hotly contested, since it held great prestige and power. Now the new Chairman was elected unanimously - unopposed.

  Old Lizard Face, without even the slightly courtesy such as “Hello,” started the meeting…“Chairman, report!”

  “Your Glorious Supreme Pan-galactic Leader - blackouts have caused massive disruptions in the movement of currency. Corrupt politicians will not comply without getting paid off. Plans for making the population docile by dependence on government support is failing. Trust in the government is at an all-time low because of the inability to deliver even the most basic services to the blacked out areas. Due to attacks on financial centers and offshore tax havens we have all lost most of our fortunes. Given the scope of the attacks, I cannot foresee offshore banking being available for years. All these attacks have resulted in millions of hungry people who are desperate to survive.

  Local politicians are hesitant to order their police forces to fire on the crowds due to the overwhelming numbers. Rioters are flooding the streets in the millions. We have lost all control of the five major financial cities. All cities in the impacted areas are beset by uncontrollable fires.

  All of these events have been traced back to a single failed snatch operation. From the available records, the family involved is nothing special - the father, although ex-military, has an unremarkable service record. They have no connections of significance to anyone in government or the military. We’re at a complete loss as to how one average American family can cause so much trouble. Yet, this family appears to have ambushed and killed, two eighteen member scout ship crews and a third is reported missing. We have been unable to track any of the missing scout ships, despite recently installed upgraded tracking devices.”

  His Glorious Supreme Pan-Galactic Leader got up and slowly walked around the massive table to stand behind the chairman. Everyone cringed in anticipation. The Draco raised his arm and unexpectedly pounded the chairman on the back like he was greeting a long lost dear friend. “This is fantastic news.” The chairman, dumbfounded, waited for the surprisingly cheerful Draco to explain. He did not see anything positive in his status report, but he knew enough to keep his mouth shut.

  The Draco explained. “The stolen scout ships prove conclusively that the ULIR is not involved. The unknown group or groups, behind all these incidents have to be from Earth. We can deal with them more easily than a delegation from the ULIR. From the way the attacks are planned and carried out, there is only one group with the skill set, flexibility and capability to pull off these operations…Special Forces. Since we control all known units, I want you to track down every operator who has retired in the five years preceding the failed snatch operation. When you find the retired operators, theirs is a small community, someone will have heard something. Use whatever means are required to get answers.

  Local Politicians not doing what they’re told is fixable - public executions on corruption charges and the failure to provide timely emergency services in the blacked out areas will send a clear message to the rest. The blackouts and rioting in the five inner cities is unfortunate but not all bad; if we cannot control the masses neither can the unknown forces challenging us. The loss of the surveillance systems to blackmail and control the people is a setback which I believe we can overcome by using food. So many people are now dependent upon the electronic benefit transactions (EBT) and other government benefits, they have nothing in reserve when basic services are lost. Food is the perfect means to control the masses when technology is lost.”

  “The violence and destruction of the inner cities will result in millions of casualties,” the chairman said. “I was under the impression one of the pacification goals was to turn over all Earth’s people to the Draco Empire.”

  “The great Draco Empire is everlasting and flexible. The addition of seven billion new slaves will add great glory to the Empire, but given a choice between new slaves or losing Earth to another alien species, we’ll take the Earth and whatever slaves survive. Humans breed like germs; in a hundred years no one will notice the difference.”

  The thirteen Family heads around the table could not decide what was more scary - the killer psycho Draco or the Draco calmly discussing the deaths of billions of humans. Either way, their promised future roles within the Draco Empire as leaders of a pacified Earth was starting to look, more and more like a bad deal. There may not be much of an Earth left to rule on behalf of the aliens. Judging from Old Lizard Face’s attitude, it looked like humanity was expendable.

  It was not fair; this was not what had been promised by the aliens. Nothing was working out as planned. Faces around the table now changed constantly. Everyone tried to ignore the fact that old friends of many years were never heard of or seen again, at an increasingly alarming rate. What’s the point and where’s the fun in having unlimited wealth and power if an alien lizard can kill you for apparently no reason, in a most horrible fashion, any time he feels like it?

  The last two meetings with the senior Draco signaled a turning point for the thirteen Families. Addicted to having everything money and influence could buy, only now did they realize the price owed for selling Earth out. They were now regularly threatened, watched continuously, tortured occasionally and killed on a whim. The most powerful, wealthy Global Elite were now little more than well-paid slaves.

  The Global Elite realized too late, that the Draco couldn’t care less about their well-being; there were no negative consequences if they were abused or killed. The skillset of the Global Elite was impressive, but not unique. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of equally talented candidates who could and would take their places.

  W
hat the heads of the thirteen Families did not understand, was that the Draco pacification plan had been in motion on Earth much longer than any of them realized.

  Chapter 34 - Why the Grays gave Earth Alien technology

  For the past 150 years the Grays carried out the pacification plans of the Draco, using human intermediaries who carefully and in secret helped the thirteen Families around the table obtain their great power and wealth. In the beginning, each of the Families was selected for their political influence, banking, manufacturing, or marketing expertise. Some of the Families were more successful than others; all had limited influence mainly concentrated within their native countries. They were picked because they were up-and-coming and very good at what they did; the Grays would make them great.

  The Grays gave the seeds of greatness to each of the thirteen Families through their human intermediaries; in some cases planted employees, in others, small outside companies. Both were controlled by the aliens, established specifically to feed advanced alien technology, along with the manufacturing know-how, exclusively to the companies controlled by the thirteen Families. Other intermediaries showed up with connections in banking, marketing and the manufacturing sectors. The new technology provided new avenues of influence and power; the thirteen Families’ businesses quickly expanded, becoming global entities of hundreds of interlinked companies. None of the Global Elite suspected the human intermediaries helping them were working with the Grays from the beginning.

  Nothing advances technology faster than war; so the Grays, through their intermediaries provided advanced technology to Germany throughout World War I & II. Two wars were necessary because the advances in technology could not be introduced all at once without giving Germany an overwhelming strategic advantage on the battlefield. Releasing the alien technology was a balancing act – they had to provide just enough technology to give Germany confidence to start a World War and cause competition in research among the combatants, but not enough for one side to quickly win. The goal was continuous conflict - the longer the war, the more time for research and innovation. Nowhere was the pace of technical innovation caused by the World Wars more obvious than in the field of aviation.