It was a bright, fresh moon that night. There was an energy in the air. That night the first of them came.

They looked flimsy and malformed to me. They were hairless creatures with dangling limbs and tiny, oval-shaped eyes. I wondered how they could see anything at all with eyes that small.

They said they wanted to open up diplomatic talks. We could help each other. Our leaders were enthusiastic about this. We didn’t know at the time that their own planet had been destroyed centuries ago.

They soon occupied all but a few of the senior leadership positions. They were quick, opportunistic creatures. Their rule was efficient, but mostly just. Our technology was vastly improved. Our cities soared higher and higher. Still, there were whispers of discontentment. This was our planet once....

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