We established contact with Inanna three years ago, but all negotiation attempts were futile. They remained hostile, shooting down all our probes.

15 seconds.

I remembered the films I watched as a boy— aliens invading in tiny saucers— laughable now. Dumping greenhouse gases into a planet’s atmosphere was much more efficient. All life would be annihilated within a decade. They weren’t at a technological age to negate the effects, only Earth Equivalent 1940s. We had to establish peace or nip them now. They had just begun experimenting with nuclear fission.

5 seconds.

After med school, I quickly ascended the ranks, my mother’s support my anchor. Now the fate of billions rested on me. I had gone from saving lives to taking them. My heart raced.

0 seconds.

Why didn’t they respond? I imagine they’ve created their own films of alien invasions and in the end they win. They have no idea.

I sent a prayer to my mother.

“Fire at will!”