The Arizona Desert 4400 B.C.
The First Aliens had it made.
They had landed on an Earth filled with primitives.
There would be no real resistance.
Only sport.
They toyed with the early Native Americans. They captured them. Kept them in cages. Sometimes they were fed, one by one, to the aliens’ tyrannosaur pets.
Meanwhile, comfortable settlements began to rise.
The aliens had soared over the world, bringing terror to the ancient peoples they encountered. They found this amusing. Humans fled at the sight of their ships. Whole populations learned to stay away from places where the strange visitors had established themselves.
And why shouldn't the aliens have been amused?
Their scans of Earth—a planet they had studied for thousands of years—had proved unerringly accurate.
There was nothing here capable of challenging them.
They were masters of space.
Masters of science.
Masters of Earth.
Primitive peoples learned to stay far, far, far away from anything that resembled an alien settlement.
They retreated.
Deeper into the deserts.
Deeper into the jungles.
Farther out onto the seas.
Anywhere.
Anything to escape the horror of these conquerors.
The aliens, meanwhile, kicked back.
Their great scientists were beginning to master the planet and its resources. Earth was a treasure trove of minerals, energy and wonders that delighted and occasionally even surprised them.
They had always known Earth showed promise.
But not like this.
Earth was a fount of delights.
Word traveled home.
More settlers came.
Scientists. Engineers. Administrators.
Eventually even vacationers.
Yes.
Earth became a vacation spot. A place you might take your family.
Visitors from the home world came to see this strange, beautiful, primitive planet for themselves. They marveled at its landscapes. Its resources. Its creatures.
And especially the aliens’ extraordinary resurrected pets.
Tyrannosaurs.
The great beasts had been reconstructed from ancient DNA and brought back into a world that had forgotten them millions of years before.
And what wonderful creatures they turned out to be!
Around their alien masters, the enormous predators could be remarkably docile. Gentle, even. They eagerly followed alien commands.
Think large, well-trained dogs.
Humans, however, discovered another side to them.
The tyrannosaurs were ferocious toward the native population. They had been trained to regard the human form as a threat to their masters.
And they had developed quite a taste for human flesh.
Some alien vacationers even enjoyed feeding time, much as one might enjoy an attraction at a zoo.
A cage opened.
Large mechanical grippers reached inside and seized a human.
The screams were awful.
But to the aliens?
They were funny.
Amusing.
The screaming figure was lifted into the air and dangled over the enormous, eagerly waiting mouth of a tyrannosaur.
And dropped in.
The spectators watched.
Laughed.
Then moved on to the other sights.
After all, Earth was beautiful.
A place to behold.
And it was now theirs.
Life was good.
The settlements expanded.
The resources flowed.
The humans had learned their place. Most kept their distance. Those unfortunate enough to be caught were sent to the cages.
It was all routine.
For a hundred years, nothing had happened to challenge the First Aliens’ supremacy.
A century was long enough for conquest to become normal.
Long enough for settlements to become homes.
Long enough for children to be born who had never known Earth as anything other than another possession of their civilization.
And long enough for the First Aliens to acquire the absolute confidence of a people who had studied this planet for thousands of years and knew there was nothing here capable of threatening them.
Nothing.
It had all been so much fun.
Until…
More Terra Firma:
Terra Firma Lineup: Butting Heads
Terra Firma Alien Enhancements: The Terrifying Ride
Not Your Parents Mount Wilson
I'd love to hear your thoughts, so speak your mind. Leave me a comment or feel free to hit me up at: fromandromedaandback@gmail.com. And thank you!
Comments
Post a Comment