by Dane Bagley
***
“We’ve found what we are looking for. We are currently orbiting an inhabited planet. There are intelligent beings on this planet. We have a visual on a civilization, and they have technology. The seven individuals in this room are currently the only ones with this knowledge. We have completed our initial report and will be contacting Central Command as soon as this briefing is over.” Steve delivered his report with command and confidence. He seemed to understand his place in this historic event, and appeared to be relishing the moment.
Bob had a look of pure and utter relief all over his face. He knew that the reports would show that he had made a serious and potentially fatal error in navigation. But without this error, the complete success of the mission may not have occurred. Errors that ultimately lead to great success are easily forgiven, forgotten, and overlooked. Steve would have some explaining to do at the outset, but once the news of their discovery had been received, it was doubtful that the mistakes in the details would be the focus of attention. Additionally, these seven individuals were very likely to come home to a hero’s welcome. The last thing that the Space Force would want is to report that they discovered life in the universe, outside of the planet earth—but it was all due to a navigation mistake by Bob. No, they’d want to show that the space command had set out to accomplish this goal, and achieve it they did. A public hero’s welcome and a private slap on the wrist was Bob’s future—he was relieved as could be.
James also felt relief. He had put himself on the line, and it had paid off. His readings were correct, and he was going to get credit for potentially saving his and the crew’s life. He had been ultra-focused—going through an adrenaline rush—as he was taking his measurements in trying to find the correct planet. If they had found the planet, and then realized that he had made an error, (no AC on the planet), it would have hurt Captain Jenners. Captain Jenners had put his trust in James. If the Captain had to explain that they had deviated off course on accident, and then again on purpose, with nothing to show for it, both he and the Captain would be thoroughly embarrassed.
Something else was eating at James. It was a feeling that, so far, no rational thought had been recruited to explain. James felt a little hole—a little deflated, a little empty. His entire focus of his life had been devoted to making a discovery such as this. It was his passion. Now, instead of a life devoted to this passion, this mission, this quest, he, as a very young man, had now completed his purpose. Sure, this mission would still require much of his expertise. But, what would happen after returning home from this mission? Go on other missions, and continue to search for intelligent alien life. Sure, he could do that. But the passion would be gone—he had already discovered alien life. Finding still another world would be exciting, but it could never compare to the discovery of this first world. It would be a job that he was good at, but it could never be his passion again.
Mike was focused on practicalities. There really was no protocol for this situation. 3D orbit was really the only way to stay in place, and observe, study, or do whatever they would need to do. But 3D orbit made them vulnerable—potentially visible. The level of these creatures’ intelligence and technology was not yet known. He might have to leap into multi-dimensional travel quickly and at any time, and he knew that they would have to stay as invisible as possible. He also knew that this crew, Space Command, and the rest of the earth would not be satisfied knowing that there was life out here. This world would have to be spied on, studied, and understood. The only practical way to do this would be through 3D orbit. But, oh, it was very dangerous. Mike knew that he and Steve would be discussing these problems shortly. He wanted Steve to have thought through this before Space Command questioned their tactics. He had a nagging feeling inside that something about all of this was not good.
Kenny was deep in thought. He had successfully maneuvered this planet discovery and entered into 3D orbit. He was not wrapping his thoughts around the practicalities of the scenario that they were all in. No, his thoughts were deeper. For as long as intelligent life existed on the earth, it was clear that intelligent life was possible; they had a priori knowledge of themselves. The fact that it was possible meant that it was possible that it existed elsewhere. Now there was firsthand knowledge of intelligent life existing in two separate places in the Universe. The chances of intelligent life existing in these two spheres—and only in these two spheres—were improbable at best. Intelligent life must be everywhere. The search had literally just begun. And we found it! At this rate, discoveries such as this would be cropping up all of the time in the near future. Kenny’s mind was filled with fascination and awe. He saw this moment as pivotal, and yet, likely to be swallowed up in the rush of discoveries that would soon follow.
Danny’s face was impossible to read. His was a chiseled, stoic expression. Underneath it, though, he had some nagging feelings that were starting to take shape into thoughts. Danny was a Christian—a believer. He kept his faith, generally, beneath the surface. He was struggling with his concept of God, the creation, and the purpose of life. He did not know how this miraculous discovery could fit with his faith. He believed that human beings were the centerpiece of creation—that they were the children of God. So how would these intelligent alien creatures fit in with this doctrine? He was not at the point that he felt his faith to be shaken, but he did feel confused and was somewhat irritable.
Tammy was at a different place than the rest of the crew. While Steve, Bob, Mike, Kenny, and especially James were already feeling a sense of relief and accomplishment, she felt that her moment to shine was just on the precipice. Indeed, all that had been accomplished, so far, was to put the mission in place for her work to begin. She was ready to begin.
“When are we getting our planetary sample, Captain?” she asked.
The question came like a fiery dart attacking them in the dark. The mission was about discovery, and it felt to the rest of the crew that this mission had been accomplished. Now, the concept that this mission was just beginning, and had a completely different flavor, was upon them. The rest of the crew’s concept was of studying an alien world from a distance and not getting caught; that seemed to be appropriate. But here was Tammy suggesting that they go down to the surface and take a biological sample! Would it be dirt filled with microbiology? Would it be a plant-like species? Some type of an animal-like species? No. Here was the epiphany, the realization: this ship, and Tammy’s lab, had always been designed for the eventuality that they would be able to study an alien intelligence. Now it was possible, and Tammy was ready to begin in earnest.
Steve was the only one who did not have a change in facial expression at Tammy’s question. “As soon as we get word, we will begin the biological study phase of our mission. In the meantime, Kenny and James, I want you to devote all of your effort towards a plan to extract a planetary sample. We will need to do so without compromising our position. We are to take this sample without the alien world knowing of our existence in the universe.”
Mike sat back in his chair with a look of frustration, concern, and irritation all rolled into one. “We may have already given ourselves away, Captain.” Steve looked at Mike, and narrowed his eyes. “We are in 3D orbit. We may be visible to them by the naked eye. If they are looking for us, we could easily be seen. We are getting readings on them; they could be getting readings on us.” Mike expressed himself soberly, concern etching his face.
Steve now looked a touch shaken for the first time in the meeting. He had been feeling like Columbus, the discoverer of a new world. Now he considered that his success in discovery could be jeopardized by a failure to keep them from being discovered.
“What is the nature of the planetary sample you want, Tammy?” asked Danny.
Tammy looked at Danny without answering for a moment. This part of the mission was not to be discussed with the crew, unless the need arose. It looke
d like now was the time, but she wasn’t sure if it was her place to explain. She looked at Steve, and he nodded at her reassuringly. “If we can do so without compromising ourselves, we are to collect a single sample of the intelligent alien species. If it is not deemed possible, we are to collect what we can. We don’t know what type of life forms exist on this planet. I’ll take what we can get, but I’m hoping for more than just alien bacteria or some leaves.”
“I’ve heard of alien abductions my whole life, but I never thought I would be a part of one!” expressed Bob. A slight smile crept across Tammy’s face, and Kenny chuckled. Bob was glad that he could help lighten the mood, just a bit.
“The way to get a sample is to plot a multi-dimensional course to the planet’s surface, for a landing,” James explained, his mind focused like a laser. “We would also need to have a multi-dimensional course ready to re-enter 3D orbit. Once plotted, we should be able to get to the planet’s surface almost instantly, and then return to orbit instantly when we have the sample. If something saw us below, it would look like our ship appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared into thin air. We would need to land, collect the sample, get the sample and ourselves stabilized on the ship, and then zip back into orbit. Plotting the courses will be easy, once we decide the best place to land. We will need to find a place that is hidden so that we are not likely to be discovered, but have a reasonable likelihood of obtaining an appropriate sample in a fairly short period of time.”
“I’ll work with James and Kenny to find the best location to land,” Tammy said, looking at Steve.
“We are going to just go down and get one of the aliens? What about disease? Didn’t you read War of the Worlds? We don’t have any atmospheric data yet. Are we trying to keep this intelligent creature alive, or are we just going to kill it, and study it? If we are keeping it alive, how do we feed it? I think that we will have to go down on multiple occasions and study the situation for months before we can successfully pull this off.” Mikes concern was clearly increasing. “The longer we are here, and the more studying we do, the higher the likelihood is of us getting found out by them!”
“We don’t have months,” Tammy replied, “and you’re right, we need to do this quickly so that we minimize the possibility of compromising ourselves. So we will need to collect the sample as soon as possible. We intend to keep the creature alive, if possible, with our atmosphere and nourishment. We have the capability of isolating the creature atmospherically such that we will not be exposed to each other’s diseases. The lab was made for this exact situation. This is the reason that I’m here. This is why the ship was designed how it was. The fact that non-earth life exists is in and of itself an amazing discovery. The fact that it is intelligent is even more so. But we need to understand and know this alien race, well before they know us. It is an essential risk that we take, now that we know of this species’ existence.”
“Do we know that there is just one intelligent alien species?” Kenny piped in. “Just because on earth only humans have reached the high-level state of intelligence, doesn’t mean there couldn’t be more than one intelligent species on this planet.”
“We are equipped for one sample. If additional samples and studies are needed, then they will be accomplished by further missions,” Tammy explained.
“Captain, Central Command is contacting us,” said Danny.
“Kenny and James, come with me,” said Steve. Tammy looked a little bit miffed. Steve noticed, but did not respond. If they wanted Tammy, she would be called in shortly. Bob could have been called in at this point, but he wasn’t miffed at his exclusion at all. He was relieved at not being brought into this initial discussion with Central Command.
“Let’s go make some grub,” said Bob as he turned to Danny. Danny didn’t keep his stoic expression, but with a look of irritation got up and left the room with Bob.
Tammy and Mike both sat there, across from each other. Some tension could be sensed between them. It wasn’t personal, but they had very different ideas as to how things should proceed. Tammy was in the know, and Mike was just getting brought up to speed. But Mike had been around a long time, and he knew the commanders at Central Command. He was an asset on the mission, and he would be brought into the inner circle with Steve as the mission proceeded. Tammy sensed this, and didn’t want to engage in any further discussions with Mike at this point. Mike turned to her and saw this by her expression.
“Well, Tammy, do you mind showing me the lab and minimizing some of my concerns?” he said in a serious, but kind, tone.
“Sure, you’ll be impressed,” she said with some of her charm returning.
“I’m just hoping to not be depressed,” he said with a smile.
Chapter 17