High-tech Martians invade Britain and ruthlessly slaughter and kill humanity, attempting to shepherd and colonise them for resources and food. They face practically no resistance, and all seems hopeless until they are destroyed by disease: for the Martians have no immune systems to protect them. “Surely, if we have learned nothing else, this war has taught us pity—pity for those witless souls that suffer our dominion.” Like the Martians, a colonial society built on a complete lack of empathy or understanding cannot last. Even the Martians were bitten by the soldier ants in humanity: blown away by multiple shells and rammed by the Thunderhead.