Who is Elders of Trafalmadore from Hocus Pocus and what is their importance?

The Elders of Trafalmadore are fictional characters in a science fiction short story within the novel. Eugene thinks the short story captures the insane way in which human beings act as if they were alien to one another instead of the same species sharing the same planet. Eugene never suggests the Elders are real, but rather a metaphorical realization of the plight of mankind because of its own self-limiting viewpoints.