By: Coco Xu

Dear Humankind:
This letter comes from a concerned Martian, writing on behalf of their species.

Many members of our race have spotted your peculiar, wheeled machines (“rovers,” as you call them) cruising over our homeland. We know what they are for, and we know what you plan on doing.
And we would like to warn you: Do not do it.

Us Martians are an advanced, yet peace-loving race. We invented space travel hundreds of years before your astronaut from the Nation of Stars and Stripes (That is our term for the country that planted six of its flags on your only natural satellite. If you someday write a letter back, please tell us its proper name.) first set foot on your moon. We have mastered light-speed travel; you should receive this message 4 to 21 minutes after I send it. Oh, and not to mention the light-refracting domes we use to avoid discovery by alien races! We have very little interest in warfare and our most advanced form of weaponry is a slingshot. That is why we have not invaded any other planet like your films predicted despite our expansive knowledge of the cosmos; we rest content living happily on our home planet and do not wish to intrude upon the lands of other races.

Just like you humans, we have different sub-species, nationalities, genders, and sexualities. And yet, not a single Martian in history has experienced a sliver of prejudice. This is due to the core belief that all Martians share: that everyone, no matter what, has equal value. It doesn’t matter if you are a ground-dwelling insect, have four eyes, or identify with a gender other than the one assigned to you at birth; ultimately, we share the same land and the same name. We are all Martians.

Therefore, it sickens our hearts to see how hate-filled your race can be. We watched with tears in our eyes as you mercilessly colonized, prejudiced, enslaved, and decimated members of your own race, all because they were seen as “different.” Earlier this year, a teen was beat to death by his classmates just because they identified outside the gender binary. How could you sleep at night when you know such horrors are happening as your head hits the pillow? We saw you endlessly plunder and poison your mother planet, draining her resources and reducing her beautiful inhabitants to nothing but a distant chapter of history all just for another dollar in your pocket. Our fingers itched to evacuate the rapidly diminishing Great Auk population before you slayed the last pair in 1844, but we knew it would not survive Martian conditions so we could only stand by as you exterminated them. Due to your actions, war now claims 100 innocent lives every day, five of your island nations will be underwater within the next century, and half of all living races on your planet will be extinct in 16 years.

You humans are a prideful race. You want to feel dominant. You want to feel superior. But most importantly, you want to feel at home.

That’s why you treat your planet’s inhabitants who you believe to be different so unkindly. It’s also why you so often adapt your environment to suit your needs. Do not tell us that you will leave our communities alone, and do not tell us that you will use your resources more responsibly on this planet. Those are empty promises that you have broken again and again throughout your history. It does not matter how many planets you colonize; as long as you maintain your attitude, you will eventually destroy every one of them, just like the one you came from.

As previously mentioned, Martians are an accepting and hospitable race. We will gladly take in any race who needs our assistance. However, we will not help a hunter who is starving after killing all the deer in their forest.

So, you think you are worthy of our trust?

Prove it.
Wish you the best,
A Martian