[ WP ] the most detailed image yet comes back from Pluto , revealing the frozen remains of a civilisation . It transpires that the planet was thrown into its current orbit during a space war . Humanity scrambles to avoid the same fate for Earth .

People are always quick to blame the government for their problems. Mass surveillance, widespread political corruption, constant class and race disputes; all of these things are a constant thorn in the people's side. What people do n't like to talk about though, is how that sense of control, that ever present feeling of interested parties pulling the strings is oddly comforting too. It instills an innate sense of security in us all. We can sleep soundly at night knowing that a stable world is a safe world. 
 
 
 
 
 July 13th 2015 stole that security from our world. We stood together in equal awe and terror as an unknown force turned a brief passing glance at Pluto into a slowly degrading orbit. Some force beyond our scientific comprehension must want us to witness this, we thought. It was Their civilization. With each transmission we received ever closer looks at what They had been. They accomplished so much untold eons ago. So many great works of engineering and architecture were left standing after inconceivable ages passed, forever empty. 
 
 
 
 
 As the images grew closer still we identified objects that previously only existed in our most fantastic science fictions. The first was orbital elevators, reaching high above the ice sheet. They are massive in size, now all broken from whatever they were connected to before. Next were city centers. Skyscrapers reaching what some estimated miles from their base. Each one was of a unique design. Some are practical while others are equal parts whimsical and perplexing. Lastly, the only other objects visible above the ice sheets are the megastructures. We thought they were natural ice formations the first few dozen orbits until we got a closer look. Then we saw their `` geometry.'' 
 
 
 
 
 We call it geometry because we frankly do n't have a word for it yet. Each identical installation must have taken the entire civilizations effort to construct. Our best estimates guess that they required so much mass from other celestial bodies to construct they actually slowed down Their planets rotation, adding seconds or maybe minutes to the day. The installations locations posed even more questions. There was one at each pole, and four spaced out one quarter of the way around Pluto's equator. Each installation had 8 unequal in width sides starting out wider at the base and reach a peak several kilometers wide. At the top are a large variety of different sized `` pockets'' resembling craters, each with a `` fork'' inside of them. The forks point in damn-near every direction and no two are exactly alike. 
 
 
 
 These became the focus of much speculation. We could take estimated guesses with a fair degree of confidence as to the purpose of everything else we saw, but these baffled even our most brilliant minds. With each orbit we grew closer and closer to them, and the more we saw the more questions we had. The final entry trajectory has our satellite crashing within 2 kilometers of one of these installations. As that fateful day came closer the world watched in unison hoping for answers as the satellite made its final orbit. 
 
 
 
 NASA had sent commands for the satellite to transmit pictures as fast as possible on its last approach. The signal delay had the world holding it breath. What we saw was the satellite slowing down ever so gently as it approached the last installation it was supposed to pass over. It came to a dead stop, about 1000 meters directly above the installation. The last picture our satellite sent us was of a fork pointing directly at it. 
 
 
 
 All communications ceased. The world, united in fascination began grandiose plans to launch a successive series of ever better satellites. China, Russia, India, America, the EU, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Israel all pledged their full support in this endeavor, with dozens of others promising resources. These many unanswered questions fostered a new era of cooperation between nations. Mere weeks before the worlds first post Pluto `` contact'' launch and nearly 2 years after the first incident, the satellite started transmitting pictures again. 
 
 
 
 
 The pictures told a story. This is the most agreed upon interpretation of that story: `` When our solar system was young, after the formation of the planets but before life walked on land on Earth, there was a planet with two moons between Jupiter and Mars. The planet was barren, unable to support life but rich in mineral resources. One of the moons fostered life with a thick atmosphere and vast amounts of natural diversity. Two intelligent species thrived in harmony, one biped lizard-like race and another quadruped-like mammal race. As space grew small and resources scarce the species worked to establish colonies on both the other moon and the planet. During this transition war broke out between the two, with the mammals enslaving the lizards on all but the original moon, now lizard controlled. The war raged for generations, and in time the lizards learned they were doomed thanks to the mammals vast numbers and resources. The technologically more advanced lizards resorted to WMDs as a last resort, each more devastating than the last. These made our nukes look like firecrackers. The lizards ultimately used gravity manipulation to draw in huge asteroids and comets within reach to hurl them at their enemy. The resilient mammals survived these mass extinction events, out breeding and slowly dwindling down the lizards to near extinction. The lizards realized if they did n't stop the mammals they would overrun the entire solar system, namely the two nearby planets of Earth and Mars which were both showing signs of early life. The lizards made the ultimate sacrifice. Combining all six gravity manipulation installations the lizards ripped the planet apart with violent force beyond or wildest dreams. This doomed the other moon to orbit alone, endlessly bombarded by the remains of the planet, in what we know as the asteroid belt. This also forced what we call Pluto into an orbit far beyond anything that can support life. The survivors were now safely away from the doomed mammals but doomed themselves to a slow death at the edge of the solar system in the process.'' 
 
 
 
 
 The last two images changed our planets mission forever. It showed the proto-planet Ceres, ( which we recently just photographed a few years back ) but in a much higher resolution. In the picture we see what we thought was an ice sheet in its biggest crater but is actually the greatest city the mammals made in their independent history. The last picture is a much, much closer view of that city. The picture is dated with the current date. The quadrupeds are rebuilding. Somehow the quadrupeds survived and they are slowly rebuilding their civilization. Some automated system or lone survivor on Pluto is warning us. It is too late for Pluto, but Earth still had a chance. 
 
 
 

