Invisible Conquest: A Science Fiction Story

The extraterrestrial spaceship appeared suddenly in orbit around Earth. People were not impressed by its size, since it was only 60 meters in length. Everyone waited anxiously to learn some sign of the visitor's intentions. At 10:00 PM on July 23, the visitors from far away announced their intentions. People all over the world suddenly saw on their television screens and computer screens two words that flashed over and over again: the words SURRENDER NOW.

The President of the United States held a meeting with his generals to discuss the new threat.

“How big a threat are these aliens?” asked the President.

“I think we can handle them,” said General Paulsen. “They have only one ship, which isn't very big, smaller than one of our aircraft carriers. We've taken close-up photos of the ship with our best telescopes, and can see no sign of weaponry on the thing.”

“What about the possibility of an offensive strike against the ship?” asked the President.

“We are preparing such an option,” said General Paulsen. “We are working with NASA to launch into space modified ICBM's that can be used to launch a nuclear strike against the alien spaceship, if necessary.”

“Fantastic,” said the President. “If they mess with us, we'll grind them into dust.”

The President went on television to deliver a speech to the American people. He knew the whole world was listening.

“Our great nation has faced this challenge before, when Nazi Germany declared war on us,” said the President. “We rose to the challenge then, and we will rise to the challenge now. Your government is united in absolute determination to resist these invaders to the last ounce of our energy. We call on all citizens to join our defense efforts, in a great patriotic tide that will drown any invasion that arrives at our doorsteps. We will resist to the last drop of our blood.”

NASA and the military readied the rocket launches that would carry the nuclear missiles into space. American citizens were organized into home defense units. Citizens used their pistols and shotguns in their backyards, to practice blowing up aliens.

The spaceship from another planet then launched its only attack against Earth. It was an invisible attack, too small to be seen by the human eye.

The attack consisted of swarms of tiny flying electronic nano-devices, each the size of a grain of sand. One swarm went towards Washington D.C. The nano-devices had been supplied with information allowing them to find the centers of power in Washington: the White House and the Capitol building.

One of the nano-devices flew right through a door in the White House. No one noticed it because of its tiny size. The nano-device flew into the Oval Office, and detected the President of the United States sitting at his desk. The device flew into the President's left ear.

The President noticed a tiny little itch in his ear, and scratched it, but paid no further attention to it. Meanwhile, the little nano-device traveled towards the President's brain. The device broke up into a swarm of smaller units that made their way into the President's brain. The smaller units began reprogramming the President's mind.

Something similar happened in the Capitol building. A swarm of flying nano-devices entered the building one by one, each too small to be noticed. Each of the tiny devices entered into the ear of a congressman or senator.

The same thing was happening in Moscow, Beijing, and other world cities.

The President consulted with congressional leaders, and then asked all the main leaders of the world to meet with him in Washington D.C. After a five-hour private meeting, the President gave a speech to announce the results to the world.

“I and the other leaders of the world have decided with complete unanimity how we will react to the demands of the alien spaceship,” said the President. “The wise course we have chosen is very simple. We have decided that the only sensible course is one of absolute and complete surrender.”

The audience gasped.

“The US Congress has just passed a law approving this decision,” said the President. “We are laying down all our weapons. Our masters from the sky will soon arrive. We must follow their commands with absolute obedience, like little children following the orders of their mother. We must welcome and bow before our alien overlords, and give them our lifelong subservience. They are the masters, and we must be their loyal slaves.”

A craft from the alien spaceship then landed on the White House lawn. Out of the craft emerged small blue creatures only twenty inches tall. No one opposed the little creatures as they walked into the White House. The White House's flag post was waving a white flag.

The aliens thought they had taken over the planet without firing a shot. But outside the halls of government, in the halls of schools and apartment buildings and offices, a massive tide of resistance started to organize.

The heroic resisters soon discovered the ultimate defensive weapon against the aliens: the common earplug.