The ship hung in the space between Earth and the distant stars with silence. They were not here to save anyone. They were here to observe. They came to observe the birth cries of a civilization. They came here to watch world war three.

"The thing you must realize, students, is that the near self destruction of a race is a natural occurrence which marks the beginning of any intelligent race. It is not the end. Despite all our personal and racial memories of the great wars on our own planets, the destruction we are about to witness is crucial to the formative process of a race."

"How can something as violent as this be a step forward? We consider such things to be a drastic step back, a thing which nearly destroyed our world."

"I understand that. I also understand that your species came especially close to destruction, and this is why you feel so strongly. But I repeat, this is necessary. It happens to every species. The important thing is that the species learn to fear war. Learn to fear war with such a passion that nothing will anger them enough to fight."

"It is a sad reality that we must face."

"That is why you must see it in person. You must know the sorrow first hand. It is a learning experience just as required as the one your ancestors had when the bombs exploded over H'k'm'ry. It is the lesson we all must learn. If you are to be peace makers, you must learn this lesson twice."

They watched. And waited. And then, the unthinkable happened. Nothing at all. Several of what the humans would have called months passed, but still the skies were silent. No bombs fell, no mushroom clouds erupted. World War Three didn't happen. Finally, one of the students asked why there was no destruction.

"Something very, very unusual has happened."

"What?"

"Diplomacy prevailed," he said with puzzlement, "Maybe they'll almost wipe themselves out again when they discover how to use germs for war, or maybe they'll survive that too. I've picked a very strange world. I don't know what any of this means. But something will come along that will give them the fear of war they need."

"But what will happen if it doesn't?"

"I have no idea."