"Ridiculous, isn't it?" said the Chief Astronomer, as he munched on a salmon on oatmeal. "You'd think we'd seen a fleet of alien warships all ready to launch. All we actually found is evidence of oxygen and nitrogen levels in the atmosphere, just gases associated with life. In all probability very basic life, just bacteria, no reason at all to think there's any intelligent life out there. None down here by the look of it," he added, spluttering at his own joke.

He paused to take a swig of Pepsi, for some reason he refused to drink Coke, though me personally, I can never tell the difference. I'd fail the Pepsi challenge every time.

"The other thing is," he continued, "this planet is 8.5 light years away. It might not sound like much, but even with the very best technology and limitless money, it would take something like 175,000 years for any ship from Earth to reach Omega 5, most likely it would take any aliens a similar time to reach us. How the heck can you have a war if it takes that takes several thousand lifetimes?" The Chief Astronomer burst into a round of deep laughter, interspersed with burping, that lasted a good five minutes. It was so absurd you had to laugh, or at least that's how it seemed then.

The Just in Case Party won over half of the seats at the Senate elections held a few months later. It won more seats in Congress and was soon a favorite to win an absolute majority in both houses. So successful were they, particularly at winning the hearts of the Christian right, that the Republicans were forced into the only action left, in light of their plummeting vote, merging with the new party.

If they hoped to check the movement by moderating the message, they failed, Pastor Abraham stood for President as joint Republican and Just in Case Party candidate and won by the biggest majority in American electoral history. His first act was to raise taxes, not in the way that a Democrat raises taxes, half-heartedly and ineffectively, but in the way that only a God-fearing man of war can raise taxes. My pay check was half gone by the time it reached me.

To appease the Republicans he cut spending on all non-defense related areas, scrapping Medicare altogether and halving all benefits. Poor people were attacked for not earning enough, "underfunding God" President Abraham called it, and had their taxes raised still further. All the taxes and savings were dedicated to building the Just In Case Fleet, a collection of space-ready craft armed with nuclear warheads and the latest missile technology. The Observatory kept its funding, but only because our work was crucial in helping to guide the fleet to the enemy. Scientists were condemned and hated by the government, but they were the only ones who could deliver God's supposed will by building the ships.

Within a mere five years the Family Fleet was ready. It was called the Family Fleet, as President Abraham had ordered that only good Christian husbands and wives could serve on the ships. The ships would be manned by just two couples to start with, but these would be tasked with raising an army for when the fleet arrived in 175,000 years time.

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