Chapter 1: A Day Like Any Other

January 17, 2029, dawned like any typical day on Earth. Humanity engaged in its usual pursuits: striving for social elevation, seeking fleeting pleasures, consuming food and drink, and immersing themselves in trivial entertainment on countless screens. Amidst complaints and discontent, people drifted through life, largely unaware of the world around them.

For over fifteen years, the situation had been deteriorating. Populism had elevated inept leaders to positions of power, resulting in greater harm to their nations than any external foe could inflict. Jobs vanished, food sources dwindled, and economies faltered. Instead of accepting responsibility, these leaders shifted blame onto others, while their supporters, equally oblivious, followed suit.

Wars erupted over trivial reasons, driven by power-hungry tyrants seeking to momentarily assuage their insecurities. People worshipped their deities, ignoring the absurdities of their beliefs. Love blossomed for some, while others faced heartbreak. Newborns entered the world, and the elderly departed. Yet, as humanity's health declined due to poor diets marketed by massive corporations, no one noticed the faint object approaching from beyond Neptune's orbit.

Only Daisy Fletcher, an amateur astronomer living near Flagstaff, Arizona, observed this anomaly. A dedicated insomniac, she spent years gazing at the night sky through her telescope, eager to discover new celestial phenomena. When she spotted a dim smudge near Neptune, she initially thought it was a comet entering the Kuiper Belt.

However, as days passed and the object moved further away from Neptune, Daisy's calculations revealed its trajectory aimed toward the Sun, ensuring it wouldn't come closer to Earth than sixteen million miles. The overcast skies on January 19 and 20 hindered her observations until she finally resumed on January 21. Upon locating it again, she puzzled over its unexpected position, questioning if she had discovered a different celestial body.

For the next four nights, Daisy diligently tracked the object, growing more convinced it was the same one she had initially spotted. Despite her computer's inability to chart a plausible orbit, it became clear that the object was on a collision course with Earth, passing within a few thousand miles. Excited, Daisy decided to share her findings with fellow astronomers, eager to garner more observations.

As the object neared Mars, observatories worldwide focused their telescopes on it. The consensus was clear: this was an artificial entity, maneuvering under its own power rather than falling toward the Sun. Panic gripped politicians in their plush conference rooms, while military forces heightened their readiness. Yet, the general populace remained more interested in reality TV and violent films than the vague government statements regarding the mysterious object.

When the story broke, it attracted attention from three distinct groups: UFO enthusiasts, science fiction aficionados, and astronomers. The rest of society remained fixated on celebrity scandals, financial struggles, and viral internet sensations. As the object approached, more people began to take notice, but daily distractions continued to reign supreme, leaving news outlets uncertain about how to navigate this extraordinary event.

Government officials, fearing mass hysteria, were surprised to find that most citizens seemed incapable of processing the significance of the approaching object. Some leaders began to contemplate the potential benefits of aligning with this unknown entity, viewing it as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Thus, scientists from various nations were hastily recruited, bound by secrecy and tasked with establishing communication with the alien presence. Unfortunately, the selected scientists lacked the necessary skills for the task, which required expertise in cryptography and linguistics rather than astrophysics and orbital mechanics. Eventually, governments acknowledged their oversight and sought different experts for the mission.

In the following days, nations transmitted various signals toward the approaching object, employing mathematics and native languages. Yet, no response was received. The object maintained a silent vigil at Lagrange Point 2 for over one hundred days, despite relentless attempts to make contact.

And then, unexpectedly, it responded.

The North Korean government discreetly received a message offering a mutually beneficial alliance, prompting its leader, despite health issues, to speculate whether he was the only one to receive this communication. Similar messages reached other global leaders, each interpreting the offer as a unique opportunity to fulfill their ambitions against neighboring nations.

As they plotted military strategies, unaware of each other's parallel machinations, the alien intelligence merely refined their plans, providing no tangible resources or support. On June 17, 2029, the world erupted in chaos as nations unleashed devastating assaults upon each other, utilizing meticulously crafted plans that resulted in catastrophic devastation. Millions perished within hours, and the once-thriving infrastructure lay in ruins.

In the aftermath, the leaders who believed they had triumphed soon faced harsh realities. With no resources to sustain their nations, starvation, disease, and civil strife claimed the lives of hundreds of millions. Those least affected initially, subsistence farmers, eventually succumbed to violence as marauding gangs sought to pillage what little remained.

Had anyone possessed the means to observe it, the alien object departed L2 on January 17, 2031, accelerating toward the depths of space, ultimately heading towards Tau Ceti. The beings within lacked human physiology and did not express joy in ways comprehensible to humanity. Yet they found amusement in the folly of humankind, laughing heartily as their vessel vanished from sight.

"A thrilling excerpt from Disney's 'ZOMBIES 3' featuring a captivating alien invasion theme."

Chapter 2: The Fallout of Ambition

As the dust settled, the world grappled with the consequences of its choices.

"Exploring the concept of humanity's last hope against an overwhelming alien invasion."

The narrative serves as a stark reminder of the perils of misguided ambitions and the catastrophic consequences of human folly in the face of the unknown.