A Ragged Loop in Time
Humanity Has Already Been Judged
Science fiction has always fascinated me because it allows us to ask one of the biggest questions imaginable: what if we are not as important as we think we are?
We look at the stars and wonder whether there is intelligent life out there. We imagine first contact, alien civilisations, messages crossing the enormous distances between worlds, and perhaps even the moment when humanity finally discovers it is not alone.
But we usually make one rather comforting assumption.
That whoever finds us will consider us worth talking to.
A Ragged Loop in Time began with a much darker idea.
What if they don't?
Deep in the asteroid belt, Maxwell Bahn discovers a hidden truth. Humanity has already been noticed, observed and classified.
And we have been classified as a threat.
Not necessarily because we are evil. Not because the aliens want our planet, our resources or even our extinction for some grand strategic purpose.
We are simply a problem that needs removing.
Like termites discovered inside a wall or woodlice beneath the floorboards, humanity has become an infestation. The aliens are not invading Earth. There will be no negotiations, declarations of war or glorious last stand against an enemy fleet.
They have decided to exterminate us.
The Solar System is about to be disinfected.
A Ragged Loop in Time became the beginning of something much larger for me, opening the door to the universe and ideas that would eventually develop into The Ragged Time Series.
But at its heart remains that original, uncomfortable thought.
For thousands of years, humanity has behaved as though it stands at the top of the food chain.
Perhaps that is only because we haven't met what stands above us yet.
Copyright © Tom Kane 2026
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