Phar-Than emerged from his cave just as the sun was rising above the hills. He had planned on plowing the akkhar [fruit] field today with his thexwal [labor animal]. He looked across the barren, red landscape, at last seeing the canal. It was one of the waterways which kept Thenta alive. He was a respected citizen here because the food he produced kept over a thousand Thentans alive. This was no less than 1/20 of the entire population of Thenta.

Just then, a bright object flashed through the sky. At first, Phar-Than wasn't alarmed. It was probably a meteor. He watched the object descend. As it came closer to the ground, it slowed down. No, it was not a meteor.

Phar-Than crawled back inside his cave and got his spears. He was quite sure that the object was hostile, and he didn't want to take any chances.

He once again emerged from his dwelling and proceeded cautiously up the hill. As he neared the crest, he dropped on his stomach and crawled the rest of the way.

On top of the hill was a boulder behind which Phar-Than squatted, peeking down at the foot of the hill, where there was an oval-shaped disk. One side of the disk opened and three hideous white creatures came out. They had only two legs, two arms, and such ugly faces which had no discernible features other than a large, glassy eye.

Phar-Than watched as the creatures set up what looked like weapons which were far better than his. Seeing no chance to rid himself of these creatures, he crawled back down the other side of the hill and began running toward the village to get help from his fellow Martians.