Zetans

Although it is not possible to ascertain their exact origin due to a language barrier as well as vast biological and cultural differences, one thing everyone agrees on is that the Zetans did not originate from Earth. There are three prevailing theories with equally plausible answers to this age-old question, though none can claim to hold any solid evidence in hand to back up their claims. Thanks to propaganda campaigns performed before the war, this secret threat is perfectly content to hide behind the notion that it is all silly superstition.

The Seed Theory: Those with knowledge of just how long the Zetans have been influencing the people of Earth have come up with the theory that humans themselves are not native to the planet they call home either. Instead, they insist that humans are a hybrid created by the Zetans with their own DNA spliced into native species they found with a promising genetic future when they discovered Earth. They hypothesize that the Zetans physiology makes living on the surface nearly impossible without expensive technological suits meant to imitate their low gravity motherships. It was much easier for them to create and monitor a slave species designed to harvest the heavy precious resources and prepare them in bulk to be lifted off world. Many argue that humans could have been wiped out a hundred times over if not for the restraint of their shadowy overlords, and this seems to explain why they had a vested interest in our continued survivability over the passing millennia. These scientists assert the Zetans are not only foreign to our planet, but to our galaxy. This means they would be at least a type 2 civilization allowing them to harvest and control the energy available to their home system of planets, but more likely they are beginning to achieve type 3, allowing them to do the same with multiple galaxies. Although humans once ruled the globe, they fell short of achieving even a place as a type 1 civilization, burning through their natural resources before they were able to harvest sustainable energy from the planet. This put into perspective the nearly incomprehensible differences in technology and sets an ominous tone for the future of humanity as whole now that they are no longer serving as a valuable asset.

The Martian Theory: Before history was recorded, some believe humans are missing a sizable chapter of their origins. They have put forth a theory that humans were once a much more developed and possessed technology few could now fathom. Not only that, but we were not the only intelligent species orbiting the sun. On Mars another civilization grew and began to compete with Earth as they both rushed to become a type 1 civilization. Planetary warfare broke out between the two races, leaving behind devastation unlike the world has ever known before or since. In the aftermath the Red Planet was left too desolate to support life, forcing survivors to flee into space on the limited transport vessels that were available at the time. These scattered remnants have been plotting their revenge ever since, mining asteroids and rebuilding their armadas and numbers. Though habitable, Earth was not left unscathed. The Martians had altered the ecosystem and began a ten-thousand-year ice age that wiped out civilization completely and nearly the entire species. Unbeknownst the bickering Earthlings, the true threat has been watching and waiting all along, looking for their perfect moment to strike and seize the planet for themselves. Despite their apparent advanced technologies, many crash sites and recovered components seem to tell a different tale. Though quite impressive to the average wastelander, many fluent in pre-war tech find a lot of similarities. With a little tinkering, their weapons can be modified to accept standardized microfusion cells, something one would assume impossible given the perception that we have been surpassed millennia ago. The only question left is when they will attack, or possibly, why haven't they yet?

The Traveler Theory: What if these being are not from another galaxy, but another dimension? One fringe theory explores the idea that the Zetans have not developed the ability to travel between galaxies through traditional means, however they have found a way to fold space and time to appear and disappear anywhere they like across a multiverse of worlds. Humans are not viewed as a bastard species of slaves, or an ancient enemy robbed of their true history, but instead as a valuable experience to observe lesser evolved creatures similar to how people study animals. Though quite rightfully terrified of us, they have a scientific society morbidly intrigued by life in all forms and how it reacts to the environments around itself. Pledged not to interfere in our affairs, they instead seek to unlock the deeper truth of sentience and transcend the need for corporeal bodies at all. This rhetoric has led to their own physical forms deteriorating over millennia of environmental comfort and focus on the development of their minds. Although hardly sadistic, it is true they have left their empathetic ideals behind long ago, and consider their actions based on cold arithmetic and not fickle feelings. Although this leaves humanity to its own fate, it does leave some wondering what would transpire should we ever become a competitor in the extradimensional conquest.