24 hours. It was always an odd number. When I was younger that seemed like an eternity. As I got older there was never enough time in a day. Now that I see the first signs I wish I had just another day to warn them. With 24 hours I could have made the right calls to the right people. Made sure they understood how important it was. I could have helped them. I could have made it better.

I came here for a reason. A good reason to save a good people. They aren't perfect. They never will be, none of us are. But they had the will to at least try. And that's what I wanted to save. That spark that made them try to be better than what nature made them. I wanted to give them a fighting chance against what was coming. They deserved that much at least.

I've seen it played out before. Other worlds far less worthy than this one. Some worlds with more technology, more skills, more power didn't stand a chance. But I knew that if anyone could do it, it was them.

I know what will happen. They will attack the major cities first. Catch them off guard. Cripple their communications. Then hit the social soft spots. Appeal to religious leaders. Demoralize militaries. Offer some safety if they turn on their brothers and sisters. Their nightmares will come true and walk the streets and there will be nothing they can do about it.

Many times before I was told that they weren't worth it. That Id grown too attached to them. My teachers, my colleagues, my friends, all of them said it wasn't worth it. But I told them different. I argued the case for them. It wasn't enough. Too little, too late. I should have known better after all, in the end, nobody ever listens to their Doctor.