Probe
Page 4
Mike Gestured to the surface. “We’re just about ready to deploy the new weapon, we were lucky it did not get damaged, though we did lose a lot of aircraft and other vehicles. Not to mention several communication towers. I watched a video of it taking an airport control tower. It was bisected in half, with only a line to show for it, Since the tower was top heavy like a saucer all the heavy equipment on the one side took the tower slowly over with a horrible groan and crash.
Then the capsule shook. A low fast rumble caused everyone’s teeth to grind. They all looked at the monitors directed at the probe and just like that, it was gone.
They gather themselves up and stared at the monitors in disbelief. There with nothing on them.
Rhea sighed, “You know, we always tend to think from our perspective first. Whoever made this thing, all they cared about was science, period. If anything tampered with the craft, it would send out a defense weapon to make sure it would return home intact with the data. Get the samples at all costs.”
Ed stared deep in Rhea’s eyes, “It is as if they read your paper on self-defensive robotic explorers and took it to heart. God, how do we know, maybe they did somehow.” Rhea was just taking it all in, it was all so much. Ed took the weight off of his bandaged arm and foot, grimaced from the pain, and spoke up, “Even at the speed it was moving when we first saw the probe, traveling to another star system makes it improbable the civilization is still there or still cares.”
Zagreus looked at the monitor showing only the ripped security netting. “Why think it was a society ever there at all. Why even think there was ever life as we know it. Maybe in that other world, it all started with crude hardware and circuits. Air and water not needed. Then the planet might not be that far off. I think the robots are patiently waiting for all their probes to return. Then they will decide what to do next.”
*****
About the Author
Ed Thrush was born on August 16, 1954. He now lives in Woodlawn, Maryland. Growing up with the original “Outer Limits” television series he was highly influenced by science fiction and followed the space program closely as a child. Recently he obtained all 42 episodes of the Outer Limits and watched them all. An early science fiction reader (among other genres) and lover of sci-fi films, Ed has decided to publish one of his own short stories. It is hoped that this will be the start of more to come.
*****