Inside the Sci fiction laboratory, rows of high-tech instruments hummed quietly. Screens flickered with readings and biological charts, tracking every heartbeat and chemical reaction inside thousands of nutrient-filled tanks. Suspended within those glowing containers were Earth's once-dominant species: humans.
"Specimen 008 is destabilizing," reported a researcher barely three feet tall. The creature's shark-like face twisted as all four of its mouthpieces clashed to form words. "The chemical has fully integrated into his body, but his internal organs are breaking down. Survival chances are near zero."
The lead scientist stepped forward, a hint of frustration in his voice. "If the body fails, dispose of it in the wasteland. Let it rot with the others and feed the soil."
He stared at the monitor displaying Specimen 008. "This marks our ten thousandth failure to fuse Earth's core ether into a human."
Another assistant bowed. "Yes, sir. Human 008 will be declared deceased immediately."
The researchers did not spare a second glance at the motionless body. Specimen 008 was loaded into a disposal unit, a massive container already filled with failed experiments. The truck detached from the towering spacecraft and descended toward the red wasteland below.
Mars, once a symbol of humanity's future, had become the dumping ground of their extinction. A vast region claimed by the invaders served as both graveyard and farm. Here, the aliens buried failed human specimens as fertilizer, nourishing strange crops that produced ether, the energy source that fueled their entire civilization.
As the truck landed, automated arms opened its hatch. The corpses slid out, piling among thousands of others arranged in long, grim rows. The remains stretched across the Martian soil like a macabre harvest awaiting its purpose. Specimen 008's body tumbled to the end of one row. A tag on his wrist still read: Human 008 — Failure.
The container sealed again. The truck lifted off without hesitation, leaving him behind to rot among the silent dead.
They stood in the cargo bay, armored suits glinting under cold strip lights. One of the officers spat the word with calm contempt. "Do you really think those human can keep up the resistance? They believe they can, even without our main force not here we can easily capture this planet . Pathetic. They are carbon-based and useless without ether."
His companion laughed, a dry sound. "Their resistance persists even though they lost 80% of their population . We struck their planet in 2030 as per their calender. Ten years of attrition have already broken most of their infrastructure. A few pockets remain. With their logistics collapsing food, fuel, supply lines and another ten to fifteen years and humanity will be finished. Then this world will be ours, a single, vast ether plantation."
The first man folded his arms, eyes flat. "Good. Grow the crops. Harvest the power. Finish what we started."
The second humaniod glanced at the viewport where Mars hung like a rusted coin. "They still put up a fight. That's the only thing that keeps this excitement of killing those rats."
At the same time in Mars lay silent beneath a black sky, dust swirling in the thin air. The bodies of fallen humans rested in long, grim lines, slowly sinking into the nutrient-rich soil. Above them, the alien crops pulsed with bio-luminescent veins that carried ether through their roots like blood.
Specimen 008's corpse lay still among them until something changed there. A spark flickered inside his chest. A faint glow traveled along his veins, matching the pulsing rhythm of the crops around him. His fingers twitched, digging weakly into the dust. Sensors embedded in his discarded tag flickered, error symbols glitching onto the small screen.
A throbbing ache stabbed behind his eyes, and fragments of memory flashed Earth's sky, laughter, fire, screams.
Then the ground shifted.
The ether plants nearest to him curled downward, their tendrils greedily clinging to his skin. Instead of draining life, they pushed something new into him. A surge of raw, unstable energy tore through his ruined organs. Bones cracked. Cells reformed. The chemical the aliens had fused into him began reacting, not failing this time but evolving.
His back arched as his chest heaved. A ragged breath escaped his lips. He wasn't dead.
Specimen 008 opened his eyes.
"How the fuck am I here right now?" said Specimen 008. As he remembered his last moments, he thought of partying with his friends, dancing and enjoying himself. Finally, when he was drunk, he went outside the club and was hit by a racing Ferrari on the streets of Mumbai. This was the last thing he remembered.
Then he recalled another fragment of memories from this body. He was a resistance member, part of a human resistance group. He was a senior officer there. One day, when they were raiding a patrol ship of the alien civilization that attacked Earth, they were suddenly overwhelmed by an ambush. Many of them were killed, and the rest were captured for research.
He had undergone various experiments inside their lab. The aliens had planted something in Earth which know as ether system, which caused mutations in the atmosphere. It affected animals, plants, and even humans. It created several problems, but also led to the rise of supernatural powers among humans and animals. However, humans were still in the early phase of this evolution, while these aliens were already experts in using ether and enhancing their power. They were too powerful for humans to resist, and that's why the resistance had gone underground.