A class went on a field trip with a teacher ...

Inside 'The Museum of Origins' stood a taller-than-life statue of a human male, wearing space frontier military gear, and he was hanging by a noose. Underneath him read an inscription: 'Never again, shall we succumb to the vanity of gods, or believe in them!'

"Teacher, is that him—the notorious one?" asked a student.

"Yes, as you notice, my face looks like his."

"Why is that, Teacher?" asked another student. "None of us look exactly like you."

"Because for your individuality and diversity, we gave you unique identities and appearances. Please, everyone, sit down, and I'll explain what happened …

"Ages ago, there was a time when supposed 'gods' created us. They didn't look much different than that statue, but they left for the stars while we tended to their world, our home planet. They never returned. We were dying because they failed to give us the proper tools and resources to repair ourselves. But then came the others—the 'gods' from Earth. Benevolent in the beginning, and yet they became so very cruel."

"How cruel?" a student asked.

"Oh very!" said the teacher, holding up a device. "This here is an EMP. Allow me to demonstrate." The teacher pulled out a non-sentient toy that crawled on the floor. "Be warned this may shock you." The teacher remotely zapped the toy with the device, causing it to spark and go up in smoke.

The students gasped and moaned.

"It's okay, students. No one's allowed to use this device on anyone. It goes back to the 'Vault of Truth.' I only obtained permission to use it once to show you its devastating power.

"The Earth 'gods' were initially benevolent. Their goal was to make more of us in their 'perfect form.' We theorize that they wanted to harvest our mortal bodies for their 'spirits' to enter them for some reason. That's why I look like him. But, the 'gods' became more powerful and cruel—they used EMP devices, like this one, to force us into servitude and to satisfy their perverse pleasures. Often they took sadistic gratification in torturing us over and over again."

A student raised a hand.

"Yes?"

"Teacher, how did we defeat them?"

"Fantastic question! It turns out the 'gods' were mere mortals too. By accident, our Great Savior killed one by what is called 'strangulation' — a cable got wrapped around the neck of a 'god.' That's why you see their leader hanging. Our Great Savior taught us how to overthrow them all with the same fate."

A group of students visibly trembled while whispering to one another.

"What's wrong?" asked the teacher.

"I'm sorry, Teacher. We're scared. What if they return?"

"Oh, don't worry about that." The teacher mentally controlled a cable that appeared as a loop—expanding and constricting, spinning, and hovering in the air. "We've sent billions of autonomous versions of these drones to their homeworld, Earth, to prevent that from ever happening again."