When my parents were children they stared at the sky dreaming of a glorious future. They gazed at stars, lovingly planning their domination of the vast resources that would inevitably be discovered on those round hunks of rock. They imagined studying any current inhabitants and teaching them the correct way to behave. Envisioned the novelties of having an alien pet.

My parents were visionaries. Ready to conquer the universe. So when the conquering hordes descended they were understandably surprised to find that they were not part of the invading force. They were justifiably angry when they discovered they had not been told about the invasion at all. But they were simply terrified when they realized that Earth wasn’t the one doing the invading.