“Given what Ram Odin’s expedition did to the planet Garden to get it ready for human habitation,” said Noxon, “I can’t say they were wrong to determine on a preemptive strike.”

“We would never have attacked a planet with sentient life,” said Ram Odin. “We would have moved on to the next prospective colony world.”

“You would never have attacked,” said Noxon. “But who knows what the expendables would have done while you were in stasis?”

Speculation was all they had to go on, when it came to causes and motives. Results were a different matter. The aliens had such advanced tech that, virtually unnoticed, they were able to infiltrate our computers and communications from a distance, read enough data to know our weapons capabilities and what targets to hit, and then activate the surviving nuclear arsenals of two dozen former nation-states. The killoff was nearly complete. Then the alien ship reached Earth orbit at incredible speed, and those aircraft sought out every source of radio signals and then every sign of body heat.

“There weren’t going to be any survivors,” said Ram Odin.

“So by the time the Visitors come back to Earth from their voyage to Garden,” said Noxon, “they’re going to find that they’re the last human beings left in the solar system.”

“Then why would they go back and destroy the surviving humans on Garden?” asked Deborah. Immediately she shook her head, answering her own question. “Right. It wasn’t humans.”

“They got inside our computer systems,” said Ram Odin. “They knew all about my voyage and then the Visitors’ trip, including all the data they collected. So it was the aliens who went to Garden and activated the built-in self-destruct system orbiting the planet. It was never humans from Earth at all. It didn’t matter what the Visitors saw. Their ship’s log would show the aliens that there was another clump of humans. They found us completely defenseless and wiped us out.”

“I’m so glad we didn’t let the mice come back and infect the human race,” said Noxon. “But—no, the mice were going to sneak back with the Visitors. So they would have reached an uninhabited Earth no matter what.”

“What now?” asked Anthropologist Wheaton. “You’re the timeshapers.”

“I think our mission just broadened,” said Noxon. “Our job now is to save the whole human race. On both worlds.”

“Even though this alien attack on us was not completely irrational?” asked Philologist Wheaton. “We have a history of wiping out other flora and fauna to make way for our own biota.”

“This isn’t about justice,” said Ram Odin. “It isn’t about right and wrong. It’s about us and them. And I choose us.”

“All in favor?” asked Deborah.

They all raised their hands.

“We can philosophize to our hearts’ content after we’ve saved humanity,” said Ram.

“Now all we need is a plan,” said Noxon.