Gazing at the sky, one always asks, ‘Are we truly alone in the vastness of the universe?’ Before now, humans remained isolated and preoccupied with their own problems of war, famine and battle with the natural elements of Earth. Apart from occasional UFO sightings and appearances in sci-fi movies, humans let their imaginations run free with the thought of what these aliens might do if they ever invaded Earth.

Shortly after the new year celebrations of 2030, a terrifying and unsettling event unfolded – a sinister alien species invaded Earth with an insidious plan to enslave humanity. The invasion was less like the storming of a city during a declaration of war. They were dealing with something from another world and panic and chaos did not ensue. The people of Earth had no idea they were even in danger or that said aliens had arrived on their home planet.

At first, it was thought to be an ecological disaster – a supposed oil spill off the coast of Malaysia. No country was taking responsibility for the incident with news quickly spreading that it was an act of terrorism by a corrupted government. The toxic sludge quickly infiltrated every nook and cranny of the once-pristine marine environment. As the harmful poison mixed with the seawater released a venomous toxin, an invisible menace permeated the environment and affected both humans and wildlife alike. The first signs of the horror emerged when fishermen, casting their nets into the once-teeming waters, reeled in lifeless creatures.

The government, caught off guard by the magnitude of the disaster, struggled to contain the situation. Panic spread like wildfire as news of the affliction reached neighbouring regions. International aid poured in, but the damage had already been done.

As the unknown toxin made its way up the food chain, affecting larger marine species, it soon found its way to the shores. People began to fall ill, their bodies weakened by an invisible poison that coursed through their veins and eventually slipped into deep comas. This mysterious sickness gripped the coastal communities. The area affected only seemed to grow as the harmful substance expanded within the South China Sea.

Tensions were at an all-time high in the region, as nations turned against each other, bulking up their defensive capabilities and preparing for war. Unbeknownst to the human population, the alien’s cruel intentions were going according to plan. Their technology was far superior to anything humankind had ever developed, allowing them to blend in and exist in the shadows without any suspicion.

An agency believed to have been a branch-off from the EPA was set up to monitor and deal with the aftermath of the chemical spill. This was, in fact, the alien’s themselves in disguise. They could manipulate the earthlings like puppets and create command centres across the world, building their influence as the situation off the coast of Malaysia only worsened.

Weeks turned into months, and the battle against the toxin seemed insurmountable. Spinning out of control, vast amounts of land and sea were now uninhabitable. Pockets of the substance now dotted oceans and rivers across the world. Once thriving towns and cities stood empty, ghostly reminders of the vibrant communities that once flourished.

The agency, set up in the guise of the aliens, now existed in every region. Its power and influence had grown in the shadows with little resistance from local governments. Their centres acted like hospitals and research centres – caring for the coma victims while, supposedly, developing technology, equipment and medical aid to help stop the spread of the deadly toxin.

Humans were told that in order to survive, they would be forced to don black full-body protective suits, a last line of defence against the toxic onslaught. These suits became an essential part of daily life, a barrier that separated humans from the deadly pollutants that pervaded the atmosphere. Or perhaps without humanity’s knowledge – the key to controlling the human population.

The suits, made from the alien’s technology, shielded the wearer’s external elements and provided filtered air through countless microscopic filters embedded within the rubber fabric. The rubber material was impermeable, completely sealed within their own environment, a person would lose their ability to resist. Their bodies, thoughts and personalities began to change to become a tool for the aliens to manipulate as they would see fit.

Subliminal messages were fed directly into their brain via hypnotic visuals in their visors and recorded messages in their ears. Forced to wear their protective suits, 24/7 their wills and resistance were eventually broken down to be nothing more than programmable robots.

Without knowledge of the reality of the situation, pockets of humanity still struggled to adapt. Small communities formed, building makeshift settlements in the few habitable areas left. These resilient survivors relied on scarce resources and each other, banding together to face the daily challenges of a polluted world.

– – –

A year passed since the beginning of the toxic incident. The world and its habitants had drastically changed. Individuality no longer existed in the population. People behaved more like robotic workers as every aspect of their lives was controlled by a higher power. Apart from small pockets of resistance, humanity’s spirit was on the verge of breaking, trapped under the weight of an alien dominion that seemed unassailable. Habitants of the doomed planet accepted their new life and role with little knowledge, or maybe care, for what was happening. The very essence of what it meant to be human was now almost extinct.

Centres housed the modified earthlings, where they were sealed in rubberised pods almost like livestock on a farm. The aliens realised that the male population were inherently stronger than the females and were more efficient with manual labour. As a result, males were artificially created and bred as identical muscular bodies covered in their shiny, all-encompassing prisons. Natural pregnancies were ineffectual and the alien race now controlling the population cared more for efficiency.

The daily life of a human enslaved by their superior overlords consisted of laborious tasks to extract precious minerals from below the earth’s surface along with running the equipment, machinery and technology used for their own enslavement. But despite the subjugation of the human people, they lived easily carefree existences while developing an inexplainable happiness and love for their rubber-coated brethren. Whether this was as a result of the intense hypnosis provided by the aliens or a side-effect to living without any potential for negative emotions – the new race of earthlings were content. They didn’t have the capacity to complain. Focusing completely and loyally to their tasks and orders of their masters.

And this is how a new God was created…