As disasters went, the damage done was large, but not record-breaking -- some earthquakes have done more physical property damage. And while it may be hideously expensive, construction labor and equipment is not hard to find in Mexico City, Tokyo or New York City, so healing the wounds will be a matter of years, not decades.
But what was damaged -- the hearts of Earth's three biggest cities -- was spectacular. It was like stealing the Mona Lisa -- something you never forget. And the final search for sheep, which spread the aliens over a lot of Earth cities, widened the alien invasion experience enormously. By the time they left, fully one fifth of the world's people had personally seen an alien ship fly over their home or work -- and it was the world's most influential fifth, it's big city dwellers. They became participators in this drama, not passive spectators, which radically changed their thinking.
Because it was so brief and so strange, the debate about the Alien Invasion Catastrophe steadily evolved from a debate about facts into a mirror for each person's personal feelings. This confusion became evident when the government tried to "do something" about the next possible Alien Invasion. The range of suggestions put forth with serious intent behind them was mind-boggling, and got more mind-boggling with time.
The Belters and Titaners said this justified even more vigorous HX exploring. "We need to find and integrate more HX technology if we are going to defend ourselves." They argued.
For about two years most Earthers agreed with the Belters and Titaners, and a lot of previously restricted HX technology that Titaners and Belters had been using spread widely through the Inner System. But, just as predicted by the doom-sayers, the influx did bring unemployment and discontent. (The doom-sayers didn't talk about the spectacular fortunes or the neuveau riche who made them, but there were a lot of those, too.) By four years after the invasion, the Earth Firsters were winning seats in Parliament again, and even though Earther Hawks were still supporting HX-based military technology, the "Yes, but" roadblocks (Yes we need the technology, but....) to HX technology transfer thickened once again.
By Year Six there was a fringe movement that got media air time by denying there had even been aliens. They called the whole thing a government-sponsored hoax that used HX technology the government had been secretly hoarding.
So, while everyone knew now that there were aliens out there, and that those aliens could kick our butt, the people of the Solar System could not find a common, unified way to deal with the threat.
It wasn't too surprising, I guess. But it means we're sure going to have to get lucky again on our next encounter with aliens.
And me? Oh, I got my day in the sun. And I got my statue. But, I lived too long. If I had died in the alien attack I would have had two hundred high schools named after me, and maybe a dollar bill. Instead I got cabinet shuffled out six months after the attack ended. There were some calls in the US for me to run for president, but I'm a bureaucrat at heart, not a politician. I jumped to the business side of the bureaucrat street, and the calls for me being president silenced in just a few weeks.
Do I think we are prepared? Definitely not!
Do I think we want to be prepared? That I'm not so sure about. It's like asking how sure do you want to be about surviving any disaster. What we need to do is find out how likely another such encounter is, and budget accordingly. We need reports prepared, assessments made, studies done.... Gads, listen to me! And now you know why I'm still a bureaucrat and not a president.
-- The End --