The bigwigs on the home planet said it would be an easy conquest, but nothing in the briefing materials prepared us for the indomitable human spirit. When the galactic armada at last entered cruising altitude over a marbled blue-green planet after eons of warp speed travel, we joked about how easy it would be to vaporize the apes. Flight Deck Admiral Greezelgorp was so confident she didn't even activate the ballistic laser beams until it was too late, until their missiles came streaking across the planet's thin blue atmosphere.

Months of combat followed on that unforgiving world. The unstoppable, irrational apes combined forces and flooded the ship. When at last one of them found me and leveled his primitive weapon before my face, all he said was we were born to inherit the stars. And then it all went dark.

Where Does The 'We Were Born To Inherit The Stars' Concept Come From?

Imagining a war between humans and aliens is an ancient tradition. In late 2023 going into 2024, groups of users on TikTok began to consider this idea, imagining scenarios of human-alien combat and, optimistically, declaring that humans would be able to defeat any extraterrestrial invaders by launching missiles, genetically engineering our own combat troops, or otherwise outclassing any non-earthling in a warfare situation.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7283416340893814049

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7359393394759683371

What Is The Indomitable Human Spirit?

Look in the mirror and you will find it.

This concept and phrase is a core part of corecore, an attitude that exalts the sheer determination, strength and perseverance displayed by human beings throughout history. When people truly believe in and love something, nothing can stop them. TikTok edits in early 2022 celebrated this indomitable human spirit and its ability to endure and overcome difficult circumstances.

No matter what, the indomitable human spirit cannot be suppressed, curtailed, or defeated, even by the most advanced alien technology. Even at bleak moments like the depths of the 2020s or the tenth hour of a TikTok doom scroll, the indomitable human spirit persists.

How Do People Make 'We Were Born To Inherit The Stars' Memes?

The edits usually involve the flashiest set of templates from Capcut, involving hard zooms and freeze-frames. Frequently, they center around imagery of aliens and spaceships, much of it appearing to be in the style of comic books and graphic novels. A few songs and sounds are associated with the trend, mostly involving stirring melodies and epic, cinematic scope. They also incorporate some form of text with the phrase "we were born to inherit the stars" and a descriptive vignette of human-alien combat or diplomacy.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7359865637985864966

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7359089609587887392

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For the full history of the "We were born to inherit the stars" meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.