[ WP ] Humanity is no longer Earth 's Apex Predator .

No one knows how long they have existed, how they evolved, if they are terrestrial in origin or even if `` they'' is correct and not `` it.'' They do n't show up on film, thermal, infrared, or any other method of observation we have developed. As far was we can tell light seems to pass through them as if they were n't even there. They leave no physical trace of existence, no imprint in sound, magnetic fields, or gravity. Somehow technology has failed us in even identifying what has been preying upon us, and there's no way of proving how long they have been hunting us. Some even speculate that we are like crops to them, cultivated for millennia and only occasionally harvested when other sources of energy had been exhausted. 
 
 It was n't until humanity had transcended mortality that we even discovered their presence. With advances in technology and biological understanding mankind seemed to be flourishing. Over a few generations medical practices had developed to the point of immortality. Our mastery of nanotechnology released the strangleholds of aging and disease and our society evolved to one of culture, speculation, leisure, and peace. 
 
 Funny that we did not understand that death was inevitable until we were certain it was n't. 
 
 Originally we believed that we had not truly mastered our mortality, that some mistakes had been made somewhere which lead to people dying every now and then. We conquered the elements and built vast cities that drew power from the wind, water, and sun. We found ways for humans to draw power from these same sources and no longer required food. We no longer polluted the atmosphere and the land. The Earth and it's flora and fauna flourished as mankind did, left to their own devices as humans no longer preyed upon them. Despite our seemingly limitless control over all other aspects of life we assumed that we could not truly hold dominion over death. 
 
 It was n't until the first harvest post-transcendence that we knew for certain that some other agent was acting upon us. Hundreds of millions died in an instant. Those who were not taken describe the moments leading up to the cull as one of a sudden impending dread; a sensation of terror and heightened awareness punctuated by the collapse of those around them. 
 
 It turns out that where technology has failed us, our natural instincts have succeeded. Even with all of our advances in technology we can not detect their approach in any quantifiable way, but somehow our body has always been able to register their presence. It was n't until they had appeared in sufficient number for us to discover the truth. 
 
 That frisson of fear we have experienced since time immemorial was our natural response to the passing of beings far greater and more powerful than we can fathom, a reminder that there are forces alien and incomprehensible to us. We spent so much of human history convinced that we were the lords of our domain, and it took absolute certainty in that fact to realize that we were not.
