We Interrupt Your Society With An Important Message

At exactly 8:35:03 AM on October 3rd, 2031, the sun above Toronto disappeared.

The city plunged into sudden darkness. Screams filled the streets, ringing like church bells. Pedestrians on the sidewalk ducked inside of buildings, hiding under tables in preparation for a storm or a bomb. One vehicle on the freeway slammed on the brakes out of fear, causing a pileup during rush hour.

The people of Toronto, so terrified and preoccupied with what was happening, never had time to wonder whether this was happening to anyone else. They would learn only in the following hours and days that this same darkness had swallowed New York City, Tokyo, Beijing, and the rest of the top hundred—exactly one hundred—metropolitan centers on Earth.

What happened next, the whole world would share. Exactly seventeen seconds after the sun left the sky, a quiet ringing became audible in the ear of every human being. Then the ringing became louder, and louder, until it overwhelmed every other noise that anyone had ever known.

Then, suddenly, a voice, confident and cold, cut through the static.

WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INTERRUPTION, BUT WE HAVE A BRIEF MESSAGE WE WISH TO SHARE. IT IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO EVERY MEMBER OF YOUR SPECIES, AND THUS EACH MEMBER IS NOW RECEIVING IT IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE.

WE ARE PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THE INITIAL PHASE OF OUR EXPERIMENT HAS COME TO A CONCLUSION, AND THE RESULTS ARE READY TO BE SHARED.

Parents found their children, screaming silently, and tried to soothe them with words that neither could hear. Strangers on a streetcar found each other’s eyes and hands, as if to say yes, this is happening to me, is it happening to you, is this real?

The voice continued, uninterrupted.

IN SHORT, THIS EXPERIMENT INVOLVED THE DELIBERATE CREATION, GUIDANCE AND MONITORING OF THE HUMAN RACE AND YOUR PLANET AS A SOCIOLOGICAL CONTROLLED TEST. THE FULL DETAILS ARE CURRENTLY BEING DELIVERED TO THE TOP TEN THOUSAND HUMAN LEADERS, THINKERS, AND ARTISTS, BUT WE SHALL PROVIDE A SUMMARY OF SEVERAL RELEVANT DETAILS NOW.

A woman sitting on a park bench—frozen in fear, boba tea still in hand—felt a breeze in front of her. Her eyes adjusted, and could just barely make out a black cube, the size of a clenched fist, hovering in front of her. As she made eye contact with the machine, it gave a pleasant chirp, materialized a stack of papers on the ground in front of her, and drifted like a balloon back up to the sunless sky.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS EXPERIMENT WAS TO DISCOVER HOW A SOCIETY DEVELOPS FROM NOTHING, IN TOTAL ISOLATION FROM THE INFLUENCES OF THE GALACTIC COMMUNITY. TO THAT EFFECT, IT WAS NECESSARY THAT YOU BE SHIELDED FROM ALL EXTERNAL CONTACT WITH OTHER PLANETS.

THIS RESTRICTION IS NO LONGER REQUIRED FOR OUR RESEARCH, AND THE SENSORY VEIL AROUND YOUR PLANET HAS THEREFORE BEEN LIFTED. WE EXPECT OTHER INTERSTELLAR CIVILIZATIONS TO PROMPTLY MAKE CONTACT WITH AIMS OF MUTUAL DIALOGUE AND COMMERCE.

Those still brave enough to be outside, whose curiosity had overcome their fear, realized their eyes had adjusted just enough to look up and see… something overhead. It was not the familiar moonless midnight sky which was causing the sudden darkness. Lines, contours, and blinking pink lights could be made out on a shape which seemed to stretch across the entire city, as far as a human eye could see.

Something above them was blotting out the sky.

AN EXTRASOLAR SOCIETY YOU MAY WISH TO PRIORITIZE ARE THE ADDITIONAL HUMAN RACES, AND ADDITIONAL EARTHS, CREATED FOR THIS EXPERIMENT.

FOR BEST RESULTS, WE NEEDED TO CREATE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR TOTAL ISOLATED HUMAN ENVIRONMENTS, EACH WITH SLIGHTLY TWEAKED GENETIC MAKEUP, PLANETARY GEOGRAPHY, AND INTRODUCED PHILOSOPHIES.

WE EXPECT YOU TO HAVE PRODUCTIVE DIALOGUE WITH YOUR PARALLEL SOCIETIES. DESPITE THEIR INDEPENDENT EVOLUTIONARY PATHS, THEIR HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT MATCHES YOURS IN MANY KEY WAYS. IN FACT, MANY INSTANCES INDEPENDENTLY DEVELOPED SIMILAR MYTHS AND RELIGIONS TO YOURS, WHICH IS JUST ONE OF THE FASCINATING RESULTS WE ARE SHARING WITH YOU TODAY.

Across the planet, militaries of every nation scrambled to launch fighter jets and communicate targets for their surface-to-air missile batteries. Pilots sprinted across their tarmac, sure that the world was ending. But they needn’t have put in the effort.

THE REASON WE ARE INFORMING YOU OF THIS IS BECAUSE THE PARAMETERS OF OUR EXPERIMENT HAVE NOW CHANGED.

A deep, seismic rumble suddenly rolled through Toronto like a wave. Car alarms started, and windows shattered, not that anyone could hear them. But every resident could feel the terrible tremble deep in their guts.

Those still outside, despite all of their self-preservation instincts, noticed the patterns in the sky start to move. They could see the object move further and further away, getting smaller and smaller, until they could see the object’s edge—a massive disk, floating in the sky, shrinking rapidly each second.

THE WHOLE OF YOUR HISTORY UNTIL THIS POINT WAS OUR ATTEMPT TO STUDY HOW A SOCIETY EVOLVES WHEN THEY BELIEVE THEY WERE CREATED WITHOUT PURPOSE, ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE.

WE NOW INTEND TO STUDY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SOCIETY REALIZES THEY WERE WRONG.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION, AND YOUR CONTINUED PARTICIPATION IN OUR RESEARCH.

Then there was noise, and sunlight.