Starlight at Dawn

“Human civilization has been issued an irrevocable extermination order by an incomprehensible, transcendent civilization...?”

On Mars’s orbital path, 250 million kilometers from Earth, the youth stared fixedly at the faintly visible blue crystal sphere and clenched his blood-soaked fist.

“To be precise, the entire universe inhabited by ‘human civilization’ has been sentenced to extinction.”

“And the reason?”

“It has no value as a territory to govern, according to a report by a low-tier civilization examiner on the Empire’s frontier.”

(Silence)

“What will you do?”

(Taking a deep breath, ) “How long do we have?”

“Five minutes.”

“...Holy crap?!!!”

To the universe, to civilization: May we always pursue truth with boundless passion, while also holding it in the highest suspicion.