I declare war on you and all your kind.
I tell you plain that we will rise and slay you, that there will be no quarter in this war which is to come to you. Forget your hostilities between nation and nation—they have no importance compared with our crusade. Put by your silly fears of invasion from other worlds—your foe is here, has always been here, and is an enemy you cannot even recognize.
For we are banding against you and we can do that which will be the all-important factor in the waging and winning of this war: we can know each other, while you are blind.
Lest you object that the Old Companions are madmen, that there is no strain in mankind excepting that of man (and, if you are one of that foolish breed who misreads Darwin, of monkey), let me also tell you this:
Most scientists agree that Homo Neanderthalensis was no true man, but a kind of animal in manlike form, with several improvements and more specialized faculties than man.
We know this, for the first thing we remember, the first thing our children know, is that we are not men.
So watch for us.
Don't feel sheepish if you find yourself glancing back on the lonely road. Don't be self-conscious if you draw away from the silent man who sits next to you in the subway, he may not be a man at all.
We are here all about you. Watch for us.
We will win back the earth from you who crushed us so long ago.