Extinct, Ghost From the Greater Star

Years passed, but still the feelings James felt on that one fateful night amidst the ethereal figures he had come to referring to as ghosts remained. The horror he felt at having conversed with conscious thought existing without the benefit of tangebility was always present with him and had left his soul scarred. It was with great concentration that he now pushed those thoughts out of his head and turned to matters at hand. In the years following the transformation of Earth into a pure and unscathed planet once more, little thought had been given of leadership or authority. The few people living on Earth were finally settling themselves in and adopting the lifestyles previously possessed by their former species. Also as time began to move by, these pioneers began harvesting the benefits of their new DNA and purified world. Disease was not an issue or even a common word known among the Ascaedians, and lifespans were increasing without sign of old age. Ascaedian mortality was that of mythological Titans, and this also filled them with a sort of pride. To an extent, James was one of the eldest, and more reverred among Ascaedian colonies. His wisdom was unrivaled and unquestioned since the coming of the Ghosts had been revealed. The fact that they chose him to find, meant something to the Ascaedians. This was an going to be an issue soon. The Ascaedians would be looking for leadership but James was not ready to accept it. So much had happened during the past sixty or so years that he was afraid to see another world end, and this time have the fault lie with him. The warnings brought by the ghosts were vague, and James was not sure what to expect. Massive interstellar armies, chemical and technological warfare, these were things that James in his present state new little of. Concerning the animals that inhabited the planet James had no doubt as to their allegiance. Every atom and every molecule of Earth would resist the invasion and nothing would be neutral anymore. The heavens would fall from the sky in rage, and swallow the armies whole, for all he knew. Guesswork was for the horses. James needed a plan. A strategy. Information was the key, finding it was the trouble. Ascaedia would be left a footnote in the history of the universe, a mere sentence devoted to the seconds of time it took for a species to be born and then to return to the universe. Nothing would ever know of the valiant struggles of the humans and ascaedians alike. Nothing would care.