Oh! Yes. They were happy all right. They had not been this happy, never. After all it was the first, the first one they had discovered. The observatory was happy for they had, after thirty years of establishment, discovered the first object which did not belong to their star system, the first interstellar object to visit solar-system.
"It is the first we have seen. It is not definitely the first that has visited us." They had said.
The study proved it was unlike asteroids found orbiting the sun. They had many theories which they parroted happily every time they were asked and every time they were not. It was an achievement on balance.
"We studied it for months before announcing it to the world. We are entirely sure it does not belong to solar-system. It is currently moving out of the solar system, after being deflected from its path by the sun." They had informed.
People were happy as well. Those who had a kinship with cosmology studied every data and every fact they could lay their hands upon. Every researcher had different opinion.
It is not from the nearest star system. It has metallic properties. It is tumbling.
Some even said that it was sent towards us with a purpose. But the authorities denied. It was a simple asteroid, a natural universal object that had lost its way. It could not orbit the sun because of its sheer size. It was only deflected from its path.
"We are studying it, we will study it as long as it remains within our solar system. We have a few years" The scientists had said with an air of pure joy.
After a month two more such objects trajected. The scientists rejoiced even better. There was no greater pleasure that this. They were established for this purpose. They had found not one but three objects that had suddenly decided to visit us. This time they had better conclusions.
"It does not belong to the milky way either. Studies prove that it has been deflected before. Sun caused its path to deflect a little. Moreover, its tumbling increased because of the same. Same thing happened with the other two and they were already tumbling. We also studied their speed. They cannot have started from the nearest star system or even our galaxy. They are here from Andromeda" They had said.
And then it happened. An elderly man of Europe, without any sight, warned them. He said it brings havoc. He even said more will follow. His prediction spread like a plague on the internet and he became famous. But that did not suit him; he disappeared after a few days. Nobody knew what made of him, nobody cared even. The clairvoyant had nobody in his home to care for him. But there were rumors flying everywhere. They said he was killed away for good but nobody was sure.
The observatory, on the other hand, was troubled as well. Not because they were accused of kidnapping and murder. The root of their problem was that the prophecy was turning out to be true. The count of these mysterious objects had reached to seven in the next month. They were smart enough to not announce this to the public. They researched every data, every point they had missed before but found nothing to help. These objects still looked like innocent stones that had lost their way yet the frequency in which they were coming towards them was troublesome. They turned to the old man again and again to know more but he was of no help.
"More will follow." The old man, in custody, had said without any hesitation or fear. He had lived a long life. There was nothing for him to be afraid of.
They asked him how did he know but instead of an answer the old man asked the count of these objects. "You declared three. How many unannounced?"
He was not answered. They asked him again about the source of his privileged knowledge but he gave no answer but repeated his question. He asked them how many other had come. The scientists at the observatory were angry. All they did was in vain. The count had now increased to twenty within another month. They turned to the government of the worlds for help and a lady was appointed. This lady was not a scientist but a mythologist. First thing she did after collecting the data was to meet the old seer. She approached him with the warmth that nobody else had did. The old man gave answers. Was it because she was kind or because she had answered his questions, nobody knew but his answers had shook everyone.
"The first ones, nearly hundred of them, come to know the location. They throw stones at us to determine our location. These asteroids you see are designed to scan everything. They know the location with the help of our sun's gravity and then they scan nearby planets for life. They scan and study the species already living on it and determine total habitable area. They, then, decide the best spot for impact and send the pods. They want to take over. They want this planet. They have done it before and they will do it again now."
The scientists were baffled. They didn't know what to make of this. They had done it before. The lady however looked relieved. The old man was sent home and she explained everything to the scientists.
"They orbit the sun, but it takes them too long for one revolution. Every time they are near the sun, they send scanners to know the location of our planet and to decide who lives and who dies. They, then, send an impact object altered chemically to kill off only those who are a threat to them. And when their planet is near enough they launch pods to enter our atmosphere. They do this to dump their excess population that they cannot feed because of the lack of energy and resources." She had said.
"What will happen to us?" A scientist had asked.
"We will die. We are them, you see. Their excess, and now we are excess to their excess. We were not born here but sent in pods. This planet was wiped out of its beings for us to live and now they will do it again. We, surely, won't survive. Life, on earth, will restart." She had said with a relieved face. Why she was happy, nobody knew.