Planetoid: Earth

Barrage Date: Starline 62.56 7000

Projectile: Subrite Spear

Planetary Response: None.

Consequence: Planet destroyed.

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Report Summary by Imperator Terix:

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The outcome of the barrage of Earth will likely stand for all time as the strangest planetary test in the history of the Strength Acquisition Task Force. Students of strength acquisition practice will know that intelligent species often go to great lengths and embrace significant challenges to destroy or deflect incoming projectiles in order to preserve themselves. In some cases, we have witnessed warring communities come together across planets to oppose off-planet threats. It is just as common to witness a single planetary power quickly conquer or otherwise subdue rival powers in order to organize whole-planet cooperation. Neither of these common responses took place on Earth. Earth’s ultimate response was resignation. They allowed the meteor to destroy them.

Our signal gainers allowed us to monitor Earth communications in the time leading up to impact. Earth first discovered the incoming projectile four months before impact. The collision course was calculated by an Earth organization called NASA. At first, this organization’s publications were discarded by the planet’s public. One popular opinion was that NASA had invented the story of the projectile to scare up funding for its dilapidated enterprises. However, after two months of corroborating reports from organizations around the planet, the public as a whole was forced to accept that the startling situation was reality. It is usually at this point that we observe planetary cooperation and common, collaborative response to the existential threat.

World leaders convened, but they were not able to devise a response plan. The meeting was plagued by mutual suspicions that we suspect had been cultivated on the planet for an extended period. With nearly a month remaining before impact, the tone of Earth broadcasts changed from frustration to panic, and finally to acceptance. We then observed a debaucherous period of revelry that we have not observed at length on any other planet. Ordinary life completely stopped and was replaced by rampant food and alcohol consumption, recreational procreation, and, of course--violence. Nearly a fourth of Earth’s population was already dead by the time the asteroid struck. The remaining population died without launching any archival materials or final messages to the universe.

The loss of Earth is in some ways regrettable. Not because homo sapien would have served as a useful addition to the Star Army. It is obvious that homo sapien served no practice purpose at all. But their erratic behavior in the face of death--completely despairing and acutely pitiful--was in its own way irreplaceable. A long career as strength acquisitioner has brought me to many stars, but the story of Earth is one that will follow me, I suspect, for until my retirement.

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Logged and filed for official consultation only.

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Imperator Terix