“Madame President, the national security council is ready to brief you,” the chief of staff announced, catching her by surprise just as sleep had finally welcomed her into its embrace.

“Are we under attack? This had better be something serious to have to drag me out of bed at this hour. I get little enough sleep as it is with the reelection campaign underway,” The president railed as she was escorted by the secret service from her bedroom and into the Situation Room.

Inside the situation room, all the usual suspects were gathered there to greet her. She motioned for an attendant to bring her some strong coffee before they began, there was no way she was going to function without a healthy dose of caffeine in her system. Once the attendants served beverages to those present, the attendants were ushered from the room by the secret service agents who then secured the area. All phones and electronic devices—even the president’s devices—were removed from the room.

“Sorry to have dragged you in here in the middle of the night Madame President, but there is a situation that requires your attention. I know you don’t like to be woken up for things you feel are ‘mundane’, but this is about as far from mundane as it gets,” the SECDEF (Secretary of Defense) Julian Cruz advised.

She didn’t particularly like the man, but his appointment had been a political necessity to bolster her national security credentials during the election. For her second term, she would have more flexibility, so long as there wasn’t some crisis that would make changing the SECDEF seem like a foolish act. She could almost taste her reelection and whatever was happening better not affect her chances to win or heads would roll.

The man bordered on insubordination and she could tell his distaste for her was equal to her own for him. There was a slight pause as the SECDEF motioned for one of the military technicians in the room to bring up the view screen. The situation room had gotten some upgrades since she had been in charge.

She had demanded large screens, more refreshments, and better seating than the place had been equipped with before. The screen came to life with data, radar images, and a whole lot of other things the president didn’t care about. Seeing that his boss was quickly losing her interest, the SECDEF continued the briefing.

“What you see here are a series of objects that suddenly appeared in orbit around the planet approximately two hours ago. The objects are perfect spheres and are made of an unknown metallic material. The Air Force confirms these objects were not detected lifting off from earth or approaching from space. Two hours ago, they just appeared. While it may be a coincidence, we believe that the object's arrival may be linked to the testing of a new communication system,” the SECDEF said.

“So, what are these things, and what does this new communication system have to do with it?” The president replied sharply; the caffeine having not yet done its job. To her, the objects looked like some simple satellites, and with all the private companies trying to cash in on the space business, one of them must have launched the things up as a test. They were just simple metal globes and didn’t even have any of the antennas and solar panels that she usually associated with a satellite.

“The new comm system was developed by NASA to create near-instantaneous communications between our long-range space probes and the earth. It was only 2.4 seconds after the initial—and I might add successful—test of the comm system that these things appeared.

“The other indicator we have that the two are related is due to the message we received from the objects when they first appeared. Their message was sent directly to our new comm unit which uses the most advanced encryption ever developed. Whoever created those things,” The SECDEF gestured toward the objects in the screen behind them. “cracked the most advanced encryption system ever developed by humankind in under a second,”

“What does the message say?” The president asked, finally intrigued with where this could possibly be going. It was more than likely that some hacker group was even now cheering itself on for having duped NASA, but even the thin possibility of an extraterrestrial origin to the objects was an opportunity she would love to exploit. Navigating the successful first contact with an alien race was a sure-fire path to reelection.

“I will play it for you, but there is some concern. A few of the scientists and military personnel who listened to it have developed instant, piercing migraine headaches and have reported seeing strange images in their field of vision after listening to the message,” the SECDEF warned.

“So, are these things hostile? Are we about to be attacked by little green men from Mars?” The president asked with a forced chuckle, only half-jokingly.

“I don’t believe so; you will understand that they are likely benign after you hear the message. Just to be safe, we have aircraft and weapon systems from our own and allied forces tracking each of the objects. Our forces are armed with our latest ASAT anti-satellite missile system. If they so much as hint at a hostile purpose we can light them up,” the SECDEF said.

Despite his bravado, the president could see the doubt in the SECDEF’s face. He had to know that someone capable of beating our best encryption wouldn’t even be slowed down by a missile attack. The speakers inside the room began to play the message.

“Sir, that’s not us, it’s coming directly from the objects as far as I can tell. They’re in our systems and I can’t shut it off!” The Air Force tech in charge of communications shouted.

“Get on it airman, cut off that signal!” The SECDEF ordered.

“Sir, I’ve done everything possible, even cut the signal but it’s still forcing its way into our system and somehow supplying itself with the power it needs to run our equipment,” the airman said fearfully. The president watched her secret service detail tense and begin to scan for threats as the words boomed out of every speaker in the room.

Leaders of Earth do not be alarmed. The recent test of your newest communication system has triggered standard response 4z51bx925. Heed the following message as you are inducted into the Greater Galactic Society.

As many of you humans have postulated throughout the years, you are not alone in the galaxy. All sapient beings who have attained a certain level of technological advancement are added to the Greater Galactic Society (GGS). Do not fear, the society will do nothing to affect the sovereignty of your nations and will not attempt to supplant your rule, though many of your people may desire that.

The GGS merely unlocks, through technology, the advancement of your entire race. All lifeforms on the planet will benefit from our care, growing in power and knowledge. You will face many challenges in the days and years to come, but with the benevolent instruction of the GGS, humanity's achievements will soon surpass anything you could have imagined before this momentous day.

Do not fear any transitory physical discomfort as this gift to humanity is bestowed upon your world. We have known for some time that you were nearly ready for this moment and have previewed the GGS interface you will all receive in the form of the various games you play. It is known that many of your kind may have not played these games and special care will be given to those individuals in order to shepherd them quickly along the path.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

As you attain higher levels, other worlds of the society will interact and gift you with new advancements in technology and unprecedented trade opportunities.

The path your people take to attain advancement can be peaceful or violent. It is our sincere hope you will choose the easy path of peace and prosperity.

This message is being sent directly to all the leaders of your world at this time. In order to help you usher your people into future, the leaders of the various peoples of Earth will have twenty-four of your hours to experience and acclimate yourselves to the interface before worldwide announcement and distribution begins.

With the signal ended, the president sat stunned for a moment. The others in the room stared straight ahead in astonishment while the technicians and SECDEF busied themselves with the controls to the communication gear.

“Does anyone have any idea what is…. ARRRGHHHH!,” the president started to say before she screamed in pain. It felt like needles were stabbing into every part of her body. Medical personnel rushed in to try and render aid to the president as she collapsed to the floor.

“Sir, a tight beam signal from the object in the closest orbit is being sent directly toward the White House!” The Airforce tech advised.

“Stop them now, they’re killing me!” The president screeched through the pain as she rolled around on the floor.

“Is that direct order Madam President? It may not be wise to instigate a fight with these aliens,” The SECDEF asked with concern.

“Yes! Stop them, attack them, use everything we have so long as the pain stops!” the president blurted out.

“All units, weapons free on the contacts. They are confirmed hostile and are attacking the president directly. Take them out now,” The SECDEF commanded. The channel was left open so those in the room could monitor the pair of heavily modified F-22 fighters as they began their runs on the object “attacking” the president.

“Fox Three, missile away,” both pilots indicated. The radar screen showed the missiles tracking true to target, the blinking dot of the weapons intersecting with the solid dot on the radar representing the alien device. A brief flash was seen on the screen as the missile and the alien device met.

“Splash one, target destroyed,” the pilot added in the dispassionate yet professional manner that all military pilots seemed to have.

The pain she was experiencing lessened to a dull throb almost immediately. The room continued to watch the displays as all fifty-two of the objects orbiting earth were destroyed. Missiles, experimental laser-based weapons, and—in the case of China—a satellite hiding a nuclear weapon were used to eliminate the perceived attack upon the earth and its leaders.

The threat seemingly contained, for now, the physically and mentally exhausted president wished only to return to sleep. The intense pain was gone, but now she could see strange symbols and lights popping up in her field of vision. Not taking any chances, the medical staff and the secret service had her rushed to a nearby military hospital where a nearly unending battery of tests was performed.

Within only a few hours, the results were in. After seeing the results of the tests and speaking with the doctor in charge of her care, the president called an all-hands meeting of her national security council. Once again secured in the situation room, the president addressed the assembled members.

“Sorry for being so mysterious about this, people, the doctor has given me a strange diagnosis. I’m not very technically inclined—and my diagnosis it turns out is a very technical one—so I’ll leave it to the professionals to brief you as to what has happened to me and I presume has happened the other leaders of the world,” with that, the president nodded to the doctor to start. The doctor handed a flash drive for the Air Force tech to upload on the main screen.

“The president was checked into my care at the Bethesda Naval Hospital several hours ago. She presented acute pain, vision problems, and what we initially feared was some form of psychosis. A battery of tests was run to determine the cause.

“I was read into and have been granted security clearance to discuss the events that transpired earlier this morning. After careful analysis, this is what we have found is responsible for the president’s condition. Her entire body has been permeated by these,” the doctor motioned to the screen that showed a swarm of tiny dots moving about the president's bloodstream.

“These tiny dots are microscopic machines which are called nanites. These devices have been the focus of several research initiatives, all of which have resulted in failure. The ones inside the president’s body are hundreds if not thousands of years more technologically advanced than anything we could hope to create. These nanites do not appear to be harmful, and in fact, have helped the president to heal more quickly than should be possible.

“When blood was drawn from her, by the time the nurse removed the needle, the wound was completely healed. As far as the visions she is having, one of our technicians administering the tests mentioned that they sounded like the interface from an online role-playing game. He pulled up images of the game from his phone and the president advised us that what she was seeing was very similar to the images the technician showed her,” the doctor finished waiting for questions.

“Doctor, please tell them your diagnosis,” the president urged, seeing the looks of concern on the faces around her. The last thing she needed was for some upstart to try and have her declared medically unfit.

“Yes, I can confirm that the president has full control of her faculties and is not a security threat. It is my assessment that she can, and should, continue to exercise the duties of her office,” the doctor said.

The president smiled to herself, keeping her outward expression neutral. It had taken both the stick and the carrot to get the doctor to sign off on that. He was now on the fast track to the Surgeon General’s post and wouldn’t have to fear the unending IRS audits she had threatened him with if he tried to declare her medically incompetent.

When she cut the deal with the good doctor, she received something called experience. The technician at the hospital that had informed her of the game interface also explained experience points and leveling up to her. More importantly, he explained how leveling up increases your power.

She now had a rather extensive “character sheet” as the technician called it, full of skills and abilities befitting her station as leader of the free world. The technician, now one of her personal advisors, told her that it was likely the alien’s way of loading a “character” up with starting abilities that matched their class.

“I think we can all agree that the president is fit for duty,” the Secretary of State said with a smile. She was one of the president’s most ardent supporters. The discussion was interrupted by the Airforce tech motioning the SECDEF over to his station.

“Sir, we have multiple contacts appearing in orbit all over the globe…they’re the same type of objects that attacked us before, only now there are thousands of them,” the technician was interrupted by an announcement that beamed through every speaker in the room.

People of Earth, please listen to the following announcement. Due to the unprovoked hostile response to our initial contact, the planet known as Earth will be inducted into the Global Galactic Society as a conflict world. No guidance will be provided. The planet is now considered to be in condition X45993i, also known as Closed Beta.

The planet will remain in this state while you find your path as a race, or until the equivalent of 1,000 of your earth years have passed. Closed Beta should give you time to collect yourselves and acclimate to your new existence before you join the rest of the Greater Galactic Society.

Good luck people of Earth. Your leaders have chosen the path of struggle and conflict, which seems appropriate considering your history. Endeavor to attain enlightenment and transcend your baser desires. This will be our final public communication until the Closed Beta era has ended.

“Ma’am, we have multiple resources ready to attack the objects. Do you want us to engage? The SECDEF asked. The entire room watched the display as attacks on the objects orbiting earth were carried out by the various other nations. All efforts to harm the devices were nullified before even getting close to their target. Missiles disintegrated, laser beams dissipated, and nuclear weapons failed to detonate.

“Call off our attacks, I don’t think there’s anything we can do to stop them…at least not yet,” the president ordered.

Endeavor to attain enlightenment, that’s what the GGS suggested we do. Did the bulk of humanity follow that path? Of course not, the message from the GGS was beamed to every device in the world and it was estimated that 95% of humanity received the message that day. The history books tell us that it was a “time of uncertainty”, which is a nice way of saying the world went bonkers and tried to tear itself to pieces more than it usually did.

I can give the president credit for one thing, she got to work on calming things down and unleashed the full force of the United States military on the new and terrifying threats that began to emerge.