What Was ...tooleychris wrote:This is a soon to be open Gamma World (1St ed.)/Star Frontiers hybrid set, or at least starting, in Saint Louis, Missouri. (No this is not Defiance...well...Maybe sorta. )
In 2020 first contact was with a race alien to our planet. Calling themselves the Reticulans, these thin framed, large headed beings have startling similarities to what alien abducties have, for many years, called "The Grey's"
These beings made their presence undeniably known May 8th, 2020 when television broadcasts around the world were intercepted and interrupted by one who called himself the Hive Mind. The leader of the Reticulans.
In this worldwide broadcast the Hive Mind announced that several vessels would be entering our atmosphere and making harbor near many countries places of political power. He ended the broadcast with "We are dying. You have nothing to fear from us. We have such with wonderful things to share with you. We come in peace."
It appeared the Grey's did indeed come in peace for after the hysteria, the religious cries of "End Times", and news of mass suicides died down, the media reported nothing but positive stories.
Each countries leaders made their own broadcasts, almost weekly, on new technologies the Reticulans were offering in trade for safe haven. Cures for diseases, viruses, and other ailment.
Cleaner energy sources, safer energy containment, polution free vehicals.
Stunning advances in electronics inluding computer, robotic, and laser development. Artificial intelligence, synthetic graphting, cloning, genetic splicing.
Human, plant, and animal genomes were mapped allowing their DNAs to be spliced together granting cures for previously incurable disease. Advanced replication techniques allowed mass reproduction of medicines and food, providing inexpensive pharmaceuticals and greatly reducing world hunger in only one year.
The list seemed endless and it was proclaimed a golden era for humanity.
The only thing the Grey's asked for in exchange was our welcome, and help in discovering a cure for a weakness in their genetic make-up which seemed to render them increasingly impotent.
Their race was indeed dying from lack of reproduction capability.
In the year 2025, the Grey's had taken up the challenge of cleaning the Earth of damaging pollutants by constructing colossal structures called Atmosphere Scrubbers and Water Enrichment Plants.
These, nearly solely synthetic humanoid run, plants went into operation April 1st, 2031.
A magnificent celebration was scheduled to witness the event from orbit. All the worlds leaders, dignitaries, heads of technology, brilliant minds of science, and military officials were invited to what was promised to me a momentous event. The countdown commenced, a hushed silence fell upon those viewing from the command ship.
A dark blue haze seemed to fill the atmosphere of the Earth as the Hive Minds, standing before the view port, commentary documented the atmosphere scrubbers were working at full capacity.
A great cheer of relief and success drowned out the agonizing screams on the world below. Then one by one, the little pin pricks of light representing deeply populated areas below began to flicker out...
and the world went dark.
Those on the ground. The celebrations taking place on the city streets, in the yards, on the rooftops, in the fields all fell silent as the power was drained from lights, buildings, homes, factories, goverment buildings, millitary complexes, and even wrist watches.
Ships ran aground. Aircraft plummeted out of the sky.
Then a thick blue energy seemed to creep across the horizon, enveloping everything in its path.
A wracking pain started in the lungs of every living creature exposed.
In the college town of Springfield Missouri who had not been affected or had the strength remaining to look to the skies would see a fiery ball of light slowly dipping toward them. This ever growing comet streaked past the clouds revealing that it was no shooting star at all but the colossal mother ship of the Reticulans that smashed into the low mountains of the Ozarks. The shredding metal resounding a deafening burst of sound heard for miles followed by what must have felt like a massive earthquake for hundreds of miles.
With its destruction the so called atmosphere scrubbers ceased emmiting their deadly wave of blue energy and the earth was quiet.
