H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, first published in 1898, is one of the most famous alien-invasion stories in history, having spawned a panic-inducing radio drama in the ’30s and two films in the ’50s and 2000s. Each time it surfaced, the story tapped into worldly fears of both invasion and the unknown. At the time of the book’s inception, Britain was at the height of colonial power, so the thought of an even more powerful force conquering the empire was unsettling. Now, it appears members of the U.S. government might harbor similar fears. Or they just think space is freakin’ cool, man.

In a 60 to 1 vote this week, the House Armed Services Committee designated a new branch of the military called the United States Space Corps, which sounds like exactly the kind of thing that happens before aliens invade. The branch would fall under the discretion of the Air Force and would, among other things, train soldiers to fight in space. We doubt such a space army would actually be used to defend from alien invasion (since, according to Mass Effect, most aliens just want to bone).

Calm down there, Garrus.

More likely, then, is that the proposal would simply add a fourth level to the the tiered structure of war: land, sea, air, and now space? If America creates a space-faring army, it’s not so far-fetched to assume other nations will do the same, bringing us one step closer to The Expanse.

So maybe our Space Marines wouldn’t be protecting us from the Reapers or an extraterrestrial protomolecule. Just boring human space-bros.

Would you sign up to be a Space Marine? What planet should we blow up with our interplanetary laser that we’re definitely building? Let us know in the comments below.

Image: Universal, EA, Syfy