[ WP ] You are abducted by aliens . While aboard their ship , you are chosen to give the alien elders a 5 minute pitch as to why the human race deserves to survive .

It seemed like the kind of situation that would induce panic - the fate of my entire species resting on my shoulders - but instead, surprisingly, I found myself immediately feeling calm and prepared to speak. Perhaps it was a background in public speaking that made me feel as if this was just another short lecture to an unusual audience. 
 
 *'' Two things make humans great: diversity and community,'' * I began. *'' Diversity means variety, and humans possess it in every conceivable sense of the word. Around their planet humans have developed a stunning variety of different types of society. They think differently. They act differently, with some being kind and some being cruel. They solve problems differently. Every person in the world would answer your question differently - from the most powerful and convincing argument that humans must survive, to an apathetic shrug. `` * 
 
 *'' But humans also form a community. One thing all human societies share is that they are group-oriented, from the smallest single-family groups to the nations that wage wars or travel to space - humans work together. And most humans care about each other, at least on some level. `` * 
 
 I thought about my own family and suddenly my confidence wavered. The thought of their imminent deaths if I were to fail overwhelmed me and I began to splutter. 
 
 *'' You can uh, see for yourself if you huhm'' * I was stammering at this point, *'' Travel to earth or... connect to its internet and look at uhnm... communities there, they can prove for you how wortwhile people are... I like communities like the writing prompt community of Reddit, uhm and...'' * 
 
 An unexplainable force, one that made me feel as if I were being crushed, caused me to fall silent and I knew my time was up. 
 
 They communicated telepathically to me that they were not convinced that humanity was worth saving, but also not convinced that it deserved extermination. They needed more time. 
 
 I found myself deposited on Earth again, and I burst in to tears. I was n't sure if their answer was something to comfort or frighten me. 
 
 In the two months since that initial encounter I have often wondered what those powerful beings were thinking about. Were they watching the human race? Did they really take to heart what I had said? Were they thinking about human diversity, human community, even the online communities I visit? 
 
 To my shock, today I saw a post on Reddit that nearly made me stop breathing. *'' [ WP ] You are abducted by aliens. While aboard their ship, you are chosen to give the alien elders a 5 minute pitch as to why the human race deserves to survive. `` * This was exactly what happened to me two months ago! 
 
 Panic swept over me - what did this mean? Did the person who posted the writing prompt know what had happened? I had n't told a single other human being... 
 
... then I saw the user name and another wave of panic struck me. It was the same phrase the beings had used to describe their own race: Illuminated Squirtle. It was a new account - created after I had told the the creatures to try the internet as a tool for investigating humans more. This was a test, but nobody in this small online community would know exactly how much there would be to lose if they failed. 
 
 Following my advice, they are looking for answers, but have at least realized that it takes more than one person to prove that humans are diverse, creative, and a community. It's up to us now.
