When the first echoes of Earth’s transmissions reached the Rellin, a patient and ancient civilization, humanity was revealed not through its mathematics or art—but through its violence, spectacle, and confusion. The Rellin did not conquer, did not invade. They annotated. They returned fragments of our own broadcasts, etched with alien symbols, a prism through which to see ourselves. What began as observation became dialogue. What began as silence became contact. And with each reflection, Earth was forced to confront not only another intelligence, but the deepest contradictions within itself.