Alone
By J.F. Slade
I woke up to the wind beating against my face and a sharp pain in my side. My whole body ached, as blood trickled down my face. Slowly, I opened my eyes before quickly shutting them in the magnitude of the planet's sun. I was on the ground, cold and aching, needing to open my eyes again. I held my breath as I gathered my surroundings.
The ship had been torn apart, bits scattered between the shrubbery and trees. Plants. Life. Sky. None of it I had seen before.
Emma was strapped into her seat next to me, her face white and motionless. A large metal beam protruded from her belly. She was gone.
They all were. Pieces of their bodies dispersed along the ground around me, burnt and unrecognizable. No one else was moving. No one else could.
My life began on that small spaceship. All twenty of us were born on the same day, the only people on board. Our ship was one of ten launched several thousand years before with the most sophisticated technology ever developed. Faster than light travel remained too challenging of a problem to solve, while cryogenic freezing of a fully grown person had proven extremely unreliable. We were the solution: the missing piece to the puzzle.
The other ships weren’t here. Had they crashed as well?
I sat and stared while blood dripped around my eyes, unable to comprehend it. It was too much, too overwhelming to be real. How could they all be dead?
“Hello?!” I screamed into the air, unbuckling from my seat.
“Is anyone still out there?!” I crawled to body after body, hoping I was wrong. One of them had to be alive. It just couldn't be possible.
My search became increasingly difficult as my eyes saturated with tears. Eventually, I dropped to the ground in defeat, next to the remains of Abdul’s lifeless body. None of them had survived. I was alone.
The ship had been torn apart, bits scattered between the shrubbery and trees. Plants. Life. Sky. None of it I had seen before.
Emma was strapped into her seat next to me, her face white and motionless. A large metal beam protruded from her belly. She was gone.
They all were. Pieces of their bodies dispersed along the ground around me, burnt and unrecognizable. No one else was moving. No one else could.
My life began on that small spaceship. All twenty of us were born on the same day, the only people on board. Our ship was one of ten launched several thousand years before with the most sophisticated technology ever developed. Faster than light travel remained too challenging of a problem to solve, while cryogenic freezing of a fully grown person had proven extremely unreliable. We were the solution: the missing piece to the puzzle.
The other ships weren’t here. Had they crashed as well?
I sat and stared while blood dripped around my eyes, unable to comprehend it. It was too much, too overwhelming to be real. How could they all be dead?
“Hello?!” I screamed into the air, unbuckling from my seat.
“Is anyone still out there?!” I crawled to body after body, hoping I was wrong. One of them had to be alive. It just couldn't be possible.
My search became increasingly difficult as my eyes saturated with tears. Eventually, I dropped to the ground in defeat, next to the remains of Abdul’s lifeless body. None of them had survived. I was alone.
“We’re almost there, Rin.” Abdul found me that morning as we prepped to arrive. He always was the one who checked on me, even when I didn't want him to. He planned for us to partner after landing, but my eagerness did not match his. I didn't have anything against Abdul, as he was one of my closest friends on the ship, but he represented the trap that was this place and this plan.
“Are you scared?” I asked. The planet looked similar to the pictures of Earth: blue with green and brown sections of land. Scattered clouds filled the atmosphere, but no sign of civilization, untouched by sentient life.
“All of Max’s scans have come back positive. Breathable atmosphere, temperate climate, plenty of vegetation and water. We couldn’t have planned it better ourselves.”
“Would you have planned this? Don’t you ever wonder about Earth?”
“Sometimes, but the ability to start a new world? That’s an adventure no other human has done.”
I was jealous of his confidence, his security in our mission. Life on our ship was secluded and sheltered. We only had minor contact with the people in the other ships, but mostly it was just the twenty of us together, all of the time. They were my friends, my family, my confidantes.
And now they were gone.
“Are you scared?” I asked. The planet looked similar to the pictures of Earth: blue with green and brown sections of land. Scattered clouds filled the atmosphere, but no sign of civilization, untouched by sentient life.
“All of Max’s scans have come back positive. Breathable atmosphere, temperate climate, plenty of vegetation and water. We couldn’t have planned it better ourselves.”
“Would you have planned this? Don’t you ever wonder about Earth?”
“Sometimes, but the ability to start a new world? That’s an adventure no other human has done.”
I was jealous of his confidence, his security in our mission. Life on our ship was secluded and sheltered. We only had minor contact with the people in the other ships, but mostly it was just the twenty of us together, all of the time. They were my friends, my family, my confidantes.
And now they were gone.
Every part of me wanted to give up and die with them, but I couldn’t. I found the first aid kit near my seat, cleaned out the wound on my head, and roughly bandaged it up. My side was bruised, but it didn't look severe. I had been lucky, though it hardly felt that way.
I surveyed the wreckage, checking Max first, but the computer wouldn't power on. The nutritional rations did survive as did the backup water tanks, not that it mattered. This planet was green. There was food and water here somewhere.
Our commissioners had planned for us to live with limited shelter for some time, including crates full of clothes for different seasons along with tents for housing, but none of that was in immediate view. The ship had crashed into a hillside, and much was buried under the rubble.
After several hours, I finally stopped to take in my surroundings. We had landed in a field with scattered trees and bushes, more similar to the images of Earth than I had expected. The gravity here was weaker than the artificial gravity of our vessel. The smell of the air was also different, and my skin struggled to adjust to its natural movements.
I used the rest of the day to move the bodies of my siblings away from our crash site. It was exhausting work, but I couldn't bear to leave them scattered about like they were. I laid them out as neatly as I could manage before surrounding them with rocks. By the time I was done, it was well into the night. After many tries, I managed to light a fire. I sat there for hours watching the flames flicker into the night sky, saying goodbye to the only family I ever knew. The only people I ever knew.
That night, I used a mattress and pieces of scrap metal from the ship to create a makeshift shelter. I had no idea if there were animals on this planet, but if there were, I could only hope that my smell didn't invite them.
I couldn’t sleep. Without anyone else breathing, the lack of noise was terrifying. I tossed and turned until finally a part of me broke.
I surveyed the wreckage, checking Max first, but the computer wouldn't power on. The nutritional rations did survive as did the backup water tanks, not that it mattered. This planet was green. There was food and water here somewhere.
Our commissioners had planned for us to live with limited shelter for some time, including crates full of clothes for different seasons along with tents for housing, but none of that was in immediate view. The ship had crashed into a hillside, and much was buried under the rubble.
After several hours, I finally stopped to take in my surroundings. We had landed in a field with scattered trees and bushes, more similar to the images of Earth than I had expected. The gravity here was weaker than the artificial gravity of our vessel. The smell of the air was also different, and my skin struggled to adjust to its natural movements.
I used the rest of the day to move the bodies of my siblings away from our crash site. It was exhausting work, but I couldn't bear to leave them scattered about like they were. I laid them out as neatly as I could manage before surrounding them with rocks. By the time I was done, it was well into the night. After many tries, I managed to light a fire. I sat there for hours watching the flames flicker into the night sky, saying goodbye to the only family I ever knew. The only people I ever knew.
That night, I used a mattress and pieces of scrap metal from the ship to create a makeshift shelter. I had no idea if there were animals on this planet, but if there were, I could only hope that my smell didn't invite them.
I couldn’t sleep. Without anyone else breathing, the lack of noise was terrifying. I tossed and turned until finally a part of me broke.
“Max, are you there?”
The screen lit up in front of me, a gentle warm glow that I found instantly comforting.
“Rin, you are once again neglecting your siblings.”
I smiled. Neglect was a stretch on our small four-room ship. I had learned long ago to treasure my moments away from my 19 crewmates. Solitude was a rare commodity.
“I was hoping to spend a final bit of time on my studies.” Most knowledge was already written into my DNA, providing a blueprint for me to pass on to my children, but understanding it was an entirely different challenge.
“History? Science? Math?” asked Max.
“Philosophy.”
“Aristotle? Confucious?”
“Confucious seems a little ironic considering the nature of my existence.”
“You have a family, Rin. Just not in the traditional sense.”
“I will have a family. That’s my job, right?”
The screen lit up in front of me, a gentle warm glow that I found instantly comforting.
“Rin, you are once again neglecting your siblings.”
I smiled. Neglect was a stretch on our small four-room ship. I had learned long ago to treasure my moments away from my 19 crewmates. Solitude was a rare commodity.
“I was hoping to spend a final bit of time on my studies.” Most knowledge was already written into my DNA, providing a blueprint for me to pass on to my children, but understanding it was an entirely different challenge.
“History? Science? Math?” asked Max.
“Philosophy.”
“Aristotle? Confucious?”
“Confucious seems a little ironic considering the nature of my existence.”
“You have a family, Rin. Just not in the traditional sense.”
“I will have a family. That’s my job, right?”
I woke up with a jolt, pulling myself back into the present. I was on the planet. Everyone was gone.
I ate some rations and started digging. I wasn’t sure how far off course we had crashed. Our ship was supposed to have landed by the nine other vessels, but they were nowhere in sight. I needed to find the others if I had any chance of surviving long-term, but that would require Max and his access to the ship’s sensors.
Half my day was spent digging and the other half tinkering with the computer. It was a strange and tedious adventure. The crash had buried the shovel along with everything else, so I used a scrap of metal as my tool. My muscles ached as I tried to move in unfamiliar ways. Manual labor was a far cry from the physical tasks given to us in the ship's gym. I was fit but unprepared.
The damage to the computer may have been beyond repair.
“Come on, Max,” I whispered as I tried to reattach the wires.
Max didn't respond.
This was my life for the next three days. Eventually, exhaustion won out, allowing me to sleep for small amounts of time. While still regular, my tears never lasted as long.
I would find myself talking to my siblings as if they were still there. After spending every minute of my life with them, my mind couldn't adjust to their absence. I'd whisper "goodnight" to Emma before going to sleep, and all of them lived on in my dreams. It was too raw and painful to stay asleep.
My third day on the planet, I got to the clothes, the tents, and the shovel. The fourth day, I dug out the ATV and its trailer, which thankfully still functioned after a cleaning.
The rest of that day and the next, I packed whatever the trailer could fit in the hope of finding a water source. After removing what remained of Max from the rest of the ship, I stored him in the back of the ATV.
Five days after the crash, I set out, leaving my home behind me. I had no idea where I landed, so I just picked a direction. That night, I experienced rain for the first time. For a while, I just sat in my tent and listened to its magnificent and terrifying sound. Finally, though, I stepped outside to witness it. It was incredible: the most beautiful thing in my life.
And there was no one to share it.
The trees thickened as I journeyed, many of which bore edible fruit, and eventually I found a small stream, flowing and clear. I may have diverted entirely from the original mission, but I wouldn't starve or die of thirst. I set up my tent and continued my work on Max.
As weeks passed, I adjusted to my life of solitude. My daylight hours were devoted to exploring the immediate area and gathering food and my nights to tinkering with Max. I knew it was a lost cause, but I had to keep trying. It was the only way to find the others, and I wanted to hear his voice. I craved that little bit of home.
My tears didn’t vanish, but their appearance became less frequent. I'd wake up every morning expecting to see my siblings, but at least I was sleeping. I still talked to them, probably more than was sane, but that's also what kept me going throughout the day.
My third week there, I noticed it: I had built a pile of sticks and branches for firewood, and the collection had moved. At first, I thought I was going insane. Perhaps I wasn't built for solitude? Then it happened again, and I knew it was on purpose.
I decided to run an experiment: I built a mini Stonehenge out of rocks and sticks before retiring to my tent. Perhaps caution was warranted, but boredom was a powerful force. I was desperate for some interaction.
The next morning, the pattern had changed, and I laughed for the first time in weeks. That night, I rearranged the stones and sticks before hiding quietly in my tent and listening.
The rustling started in the early hours of the morning, and I poked my head outside. It looked reptilian but also had a beak. About a meter tall, it was a bipedal, extremely slender with the elbows bending the other way. There weren't individual fingers on its hands, but there did appear to be a thumb. It took me a second to notice its four eyes evenly spaced around its head, and another to realize that it was looking at me.
“Hi.” I awkwardly waved my hand, stepping out of the tent.
It perked its head up and moved its beak toward me. For a second, I thought it might answer before I realized how silly that was.
“I'm Rin, not that it means anything to you.”
The small creature held out its hand and pointed it towards the sticks and rocks.
"Yeah, that was me. I guess I was trying to say ‘hello.'"
It looked at me and cocked its head to the side before turning around and scurrying away. It didn't understand anything I said. How could it?
I slept better that night, as strange as it was. For the first time in a long time, I had interacted with another living being. I was still very much alone, but slightly less.
I started to see the animal regularly after that. It was nice to have a friend, even if it was one that couldn't talk. There was something else in this world: something else alive.
From what I could tell, the animal was nocturnal because it only ever visited at night. Sometimes I would talk to it. Other times, we would make shapes with the rocks and sticks. At first, I thought the patterns were random, like a game, but then I began to wonder if they meant something.
For the next three weeks, I didn't shed a tear, but my progress with Max stalled. I was frustrated and had mostly given up. I was also much more interested in getting to know my new friend, someone I could talk to, even if it didn't understand a word I said.
“I wonder what I would have been if I hadn’t been born into this mission,” I said to it one night.
It perked up its head and moved its beak towards me like it was listening.
"I didn't sign up for this. I never had a choice in the matter. My life has always had one purpose: to establish a settlement here. I'm supposed to be a mother to a new world of human beings. I’m a failure."
My friend didn't make a pattern in the rocks that night. Instead, it waited a while and then scampered off. It didn’t understand me. It wasn’t human, and never would be. I needed to find the others.
The next day, I began working on Max again with a new resolve, spending the whole day switching wires around. There was some fear of overtaxing his circuits, but I didn’t care. How could I damage him if he wouldn't even power on?
Then I had an idea: I ran to the ATV and started to pull out the battery. It took me three days to construct a working connection, but on the third day, I flipped the switch.
And Max lit up.
“Max!” I yelped. “Max!”
"Rin? I… I am not attached to the ship."
“We crashed. Everyone’s gone, Max. It's just me.”
"That is most unfortunate," he said in a jarringly emotionless voice. "Have you located the others?"
“No, I have no idea where we landed.”
“I will run an analysis.”
“How did the ship crash?” I asked.
"I have been trying to figure that out since you reactivated me. Without the actual ship to analyze, I cannot be sure, but from my records, I believe something hit us."
“Hit?” I expected an answer about broken mechanics due to the several thousand years in space.
“Yes, by something external. I registered it coming from the planet a few milliseconds before the crash.”
I paused for a second and took a deep breath.
“It was coming from the planet?” I had assumed my small friend on the planet was at a more primitive level of existence. I had thought that it was less intelligent than me. Why did I assume that? Because it was small? Because it resembled an animal like the ones on Earth? Because it didn't speak with its mouth?
It could easily have been as smart as me.
Or smarter.
Maybe it had understood what I was saying because it was that far superior to us. Perhaps this planet was already claimed, and they didn't want humans to live here. Maybe it was stupid of us to try.
Maybe my friend killed my siblings.
“Rin, can I assume you have encountered one of the beings that shot us down?”
"I think so... I'm not sure. I've developed a friendship with a local life form though communication hasn't been possible so far."
"I think I have figured out our location. It looks we are 40 kilometers off course. You will need to move in the direction of the sun at dawn. Do you have the ATV?"
"I gutted it to get you working again." I suddenly felt very nauseous.
“Can you reassemble it in a day?”
“Doubtful. I had to cut up all of the electrical circuits to get it to connect to you.”
"Then you will need to walk, and leave today. You must find the others so you can defend yourselves and continue the mission."
I was such a fool.
"Rin, do you know what my hard drive looks like?"
"A flat black box. Maybe a square centimeter?"
"Yes, that is it. There is also an identical green one that serves as a backup. You will need to remove these to bring with you."
Max gave me detailed directions to the original landing site before I dismantled him and removed his hard drives. It had been my goal for so long to get him working again, yet now my victory felt hollow. I kept thinking about how the creature had been changing the shapes with the sticks and stones. Was it a message? Was it trying to communicate with me? Was it trying to learn my language?
Maybe I was the unintelligent one. The hubris of it all! The idea that we would go and spread our intelligence to the universe. My makers had no idea where they were sending us.
I ate some rations and started digging. I wasn’t sure how far off course we had crashed. Our ship was supposed to have landed by the nine other vessels, but they were nowhere in sight. I needed to find the others if I had any chance of surviving long-term, but that would require Max and his access to the ship’s sensors.
Half my day was spent digging and the other half tinkering with the computer. It was a strange and tedious adventure. The crash had buried the shovel along with everything else, so I used a scrap of metal as my tool. My muscles ached as I tried to move in unfamiliar ways. Manual labor was a far cry from the physical tasks given to us in the ship's gym. I was fit but unprepared.
The damage to the computer may have been beyond repair.
“Come on, Max,” I whispered as I tried to reattach the wires.
Max didn't respond.
This was my life for the next three days. Eventually, exhaustion won out, allowing me to sleep for small amounts of time. While still regular, my tears never lasted as long.
I would find myself talking to my siblings as if they were still there. After spending every minute of my life with them, my mind couldn't adjust to their absence. I'd whisper "goodnight" to Emma before going to sleep, and all of them lived on in my dreams. It was too raw and painful to stay asleep.
My third day on the planet, I got to the clothes, the tents, and the shovel. The fourth day, I dug out the ATV and its trailer, which thankfully still functioned after a cleaning.
The rest of that day and the next, I packed whatever the trailer could fit in the hope of finding a water source. After removing what remained of Max from the rest of the ship, I stored him in the back of the ATV.
Five days after the crash, I set out, leaving my home behind me. I had no idea where I landed, so I just picked a direction. That night, I experienced rain for the first time. For a while, I just sat in my tent and listened to its magnificent and terrifying sound. Finally, though, I stepped outside to witness it. It was incredible: the most beautiful thing in my life.
And there was no one to share it.
The trees thickened as I journeyed, many of which bore edible fruit, and eventually I found a small stream, flowing and clear. I may have diverted entirely from the original mission, but I wouldn't starve or die of thirst. I set up my tent and continued my work on Max.
As weeks passed, I adjusted to my life of solitude. My daylight hours were devoted to exploring the immediate area and gathering food and my nights to tinkering with Max. I knew it was a lost cause, but I had to keep trying. It was the only way to find the others, and I wanted to hear his voice. I craved that little bit of home.
My tears didn’t vanish, but their appearance became less frequent. I'd wake up every morning expecting to see my siblings, but at least I was sleeping. I still talked to them, probably more than was sane, but that's also what kept me going throughout the day.
My third week there, I noticed it: I had built a pile of sticks and branches for firewood, and the collection had moved. At first, I thought I was going insane. Perhaps I wasn't built for solitude? Then it happened again, and I knew it was on purpose.
I decided to run an experiment: I built a mini Stonehenge out of rocks and sticks before retiring to my tent. Perhaps caution was warranted, but boredom was a powerful force. I was desperate for some interaction.
The next morning, the pattern had changed, and I laughed for the first time in weeks. That night, I rearranged the stones and sticks before hiding quietly in my tent and listening.
The rustling started in the early hours of the morning, and I poked my head outside. It looked reptilian but also had a beak. About a meter tall, it was a bipedal, extremely slender with the elbows bending the other way. There weren't individual fingers on its hands, but there did appear to be a thumb. It took me a second to notice its four eyes evenly spaced around its head, and another to realize that it was looking at me.
“Hi.” I awkwardly waved my hand, stepping out of the tent.
It perked its head up and moved its beak toward me. For a second, I thought it might answer before I realized how silly that was.
“I'm Rin, not that it means anything to you.”
The small creature held out its hand and pointed it towards the sticks and rocks.
"Yeah, that was me. I guess I was trying to say ‘hello.'"
It looked at me and cocked its head to the side before turning around and scurrying away. It didn't understand anything I said. How could it?
I slept better that night, as strange as it was. For the first time in a long time, I had interacted with another living being. I was still very much alone, but slightly less.
I started to see the animal regularly after that. It was nice to have a friend, even if it was one that couldn't talk. There was something else in this world: something else alive.
From what I could tell, the animal was nocturnal because it only ever visited at night. Sometimes I would talk to it. Other times, we would make shapes with the rocks and sticks. At first, I thought the patterns were random, like a game, but then I began to wonder if they meant something.
For the next three weeks, I didn't shed a tear, but my progress with Max stalled. I was frustrated and had mostly given up. I was also much more interested in getting to know my new friend, someone I could talk to, even if it didn't understand a word I said.
“I wonder what I would have been if I hadn’t been born into this mission,” I said to it one night.
It perked up its head and moved its beak towards me like it was listening.
"I didn't sign up for this. I never had a choice in the matter. My life has always had one purpose: to establish a settlement here. I'm supposed to be a mother to a new world of human beings. I’m a failure."
My friend didn't make a pattern in the rocks that night. Instead, it waited a while and then scampered off. It didn’t understand me. It wasn’t human, and never would be. I needed to find the others.
The next day, I began working on Max again with a new resolve, spending the whole day switching wires around. There was some fear of overtaxing his circuits, but I didn’t care. How could I damage him if he wouldn't even power on?
Then I had an idea: I ran to the ATV and started to pull out the battery. It took me three days to construct a working connection, but on the third day, I flipped the switch.
And Max lit up.
“Max!” I yelped. “Max!”
"Rin? I… I am not attached to the ship."
“We crashed. Everyone’s gone, Max. It's just me.”
"That is most unfortunate," he said in a jarringly emotionless voice. "Have you located the others?"
“No, I have no idea where we landed.”
“I will run an analysis.”
“How did the ship crash?” I asked.
"I have been trying to figure that out since you reactivated me. Without the actual ship to analyze, I cannot be sure, but from my records, I believe something hit us."
“Hit?” I expected an answer about broken mechanics due to the several thousand years in space.
“Yes, by something external. I registered it coming from the planet a few milliseconds before the crash.”
I paused for a second and took a deep breath.
“It was coming from the planet?” I had assumed my small friend on the planet was at a more primitive level of existence. I had thought that it was less intelligent than me. Why did I assume that? Because it was small? Because it resembled an animal like the ones on Earth? Because it didn't speak with its mouth?
It could easily have been as smart as me.
Or smarter.
Maybe it had understood what I was saying because it was that far superior to us. Perhaps this planet was already claimed, and they didn't want humans to live here. Maybe it was stupid of us to try.
Maybe my friend killed my siblings.
“Rin, can I assume you have encountered one of the beings that shot us down?”
"I think so... I'm not sure. I've developed a friendship with a local life form though communication hasn't been possible so far."
"I think I have figured out our location. It looks we are 40 kilometers off course. You will need to move in the direction of the sun at dawn. Do you have the ATV?"
"I gutted it to get you working again." I suddenly felt very nauseous.
“Can you reassemble it in a day?”
“Doubtful. I had to cut up all of the electrical circuits to get it to connect to you.”
"Then you will need to walk, and leave today. You must find the others so you can defend yourselves and continue the mission."
I was such a fool.
"Rin, do you know what my hard drive looks like?"
"A flat black box. Maybe a square centimeter?"
"Yes, that is it. There is also an identical green one that serves as a backup. You will need to remove these to bring with you."
Max gave me detailed directions to the original landing site before I dismantled him and removed his hard drives. It had been my goal for so long to get him working again, yet now my victory felt hollow. I kept thinking about how the creature had been changing the shapes with the sticks and stones. Was it a message? Was it trying to communicate with me? Was it trying to learn my language?
Maybe I was the unintelligent one. The hubris of it all! The idea that we would go and spread our intelligence to the universe. My makers had no idea where they were sending us.
“I'm too excited!” Emma’s boisterous voice had filled the room in a way that was now difficult to forget.
“Just a few minutes now,” I said. “I wonder if I’ll miss the ship.”
Emma shook her head. “That I can't imagine.”
I could. That ship had been my home, and I knew even then that things would never be the same.
The landing sequence began. Despite being several thousand years old, the ship's mechanisms operated smoothly. Max's computerized voice blared through the speakers and told us all to strap into our seats in the control room. I squeezed Emma's hand as she sat down next to me while the others still prepped for the landing. I locked my last buckle, looking out at the planet through the window.
Then I heard a loud explosion, and somebody screamed. Everything went black.
“Just a few minutes now,” I said. “I wonder if I’ll miss the ship.”
Emma shook her head. “That I can't imagine.”
I could. That ship had been my home, and I knew even then that things would never be the same.
The landing sequence began. Despite being several thousand years old, the ship's mechanisms operated smoothly. Max's computerized voice blared through the speakers and told us all to strap into our seats in the control room. I squeezed Emma's hand as she sat down next to me while the others still prepped for the landing. I locked my last buckle, looking out at the planet through the window.
Then I heard a loud explosion, and somebody screamed. Everything went black.
I cried again, but only briefly. I stared at the camp I had created for myself. I had survived so long here, by myself. I was taking orders from Max, doing my duty for the mission once again, but I wasn’t the same person who was on that ship weeks before. I wasn’t the same person who had crashed on the planet. Why was I falling back on the pre-ordained instructions of people who weren’t even here?
Maybe our first interaction with this planet was one of hostility, but it didn’t need to stay that way. I refused to believe that all of my interactions with the animal had been in vain. It wasn’t part of the plan to meet an alien race, but I had. We were here on their planet. The old mission didn’t apply.
I needed to make my own choices.
I sat down, with all of my gear packed and waited. Every thought was flying through my mind at a rapid speed. I was angry, confused, and worried. I feared for the other nine ships and that I couldn't do anything to help them. I had to try.
Several hours went by, but once again my friend appeared. It paused and looked at my bags before back at me.
“Hello,” I said. “I think I’m ready to know more about you now.”
The small being nodded its head. It walked towards me reaching out its hand. I hesitated in fear before taking it and standing. Together we walked through the forest for many hours, further than I had ever been. It led me down a stream and into a valley full of trees and plants of varying sizes.
My senses overloaded. This forest was so full of life, so much that I couldn’t handle it. This was a city of multiple species interacting in fluid harmony. My whole life had been contained in a lifeless metal box, and now this.
I stood there for a moment, staring and listening, and as I watched, the valley began to glow. The plants themselves lit up under the starlight. I felt the tug of my friend on my hand and followed him into the community. Awe supplanted my fear. There was a society here. This planet was more vibrant than I ever realized.
We came here to conquer and improve it, did we have anything like this on Earth? I reached up and placed my hand to my cheek. I was crying again, but this time it was from emotions I couldn’t possibly understand. I was still so angry, so upset about what happened to my family, to Abdul and Emma, but also overwhelmed with what I was witnessing.
Rin.
The voice was in my head, but it wasn't from me. I looked at my friend standing next to me. It seemed larger somehow, its presence more commanding than the small creature I encountered in the forest.
Your species meant to destroy us, to destroy this.
I shook my head. “No, not us. We didn’t come here to destroy you. We didn’t need to be your enemy.”
I didn’t understand before, but I do now. We saw your ships in the sky and couldn’t imagine any form of good coming from something so cold.
“You took everything from me. This place took everyone I ever knew and loved. All because you didn’t wait to say hello.”
This is our home. When your ships scanned us, we examined them in return. We saw its mission, your goal. We knew we weren’t a part of it.
“And the other ships? Did you destroy them as well?”
We hoped one would be enough to make the others turn around.
I took a deep breath. I wanted to scream, to ask why they chose us, but I didn’t. I wanted to hate it, but I couldn’t. I looked around at the beautiful commune of creatures, and I understood their fear, but I was also terrified.
"We are not your enemy. We don't need to be. Please, let me go find the others, and I promise, I will do everything I can to protect your own if you protect us."
The creature nodded, and I didn’t stay there any longer. I couldn’t. I set out: back to my camp and then on to find the other survivors. I wasn't excited about my journey. These people weren't my siblings, but they were human beings and my responsibility: not only to them but to the life here on this planet.
For three days, I traveled without any sign of life in sight. It was long and tiring. The terrain was rough, the sun was hot, and I had a limited supply of water. I started to wonder if it was all in vain. Only the hope of finally seeing other human beings kept me going. I had to find them. I had to tell them that this planet wasn’t what we thought.
If they were still alive. Was the creature telling me the truth?
I didn't sleep much the third night. I was starting to lose hope. I was truly alone; the only human left on this planet. I wasn't even sure of what I wanted.
Then, on the fourth day, I saw it. It started like a mirage, but then it came into focus. There were nine ships and the beginnings of a settlement. Then I could see them walking around. They were people: my people.
I found them.
I was overwhelmed with relief, exhaustion, and fear, but they were so different than me, still on track with the mission, together with their siblings.
And they still believed we were all alone out here. They thought we were alone in the universe.
Several of them saw me as I approached and ran in my direction.
“You…” said a man. “You're from the tenth ship.”
I nodded my head. “I'm Rin. We crashed, and the others didn't make it.”
“But you did,” added a woman. All of them looked amazed. “Welcome. We're so glad you're here.”
I smiled before forcing myself to refocus. These people were so full of hope, and I didn't want them to lose that. I hoped that they wouldn't.
“There's something you need to know.”
“What?” the woman asked, curious.
I paused for a second, unsure of how to begin. How could I explain everything that I had been through to these people that I hardly knew? Would they believe me that the ship was attacked? Would they judge my eventual friendship with our attacker? Would they see reason in how to handle this information?
I had so many questions, but I knew that they had more. I could do this. I had to.
I took in a deep breath and spoke:
“We're not alone.”
Maybe our first interaction with this planet was one of hostility, but it didn’t need to stay that way. I refused to believe that all of my interactions with the animal had been in vain. It wasn’t part of the plan to meet an alien race, but I had. We were here on their planet. The old mission didn’t apply.
I needed to make my own choices.
I sat down, with all of my gear packed and waited. Every thought was flying through my mind at a rapid speed. I was angry, confused, and worried. I feared for the other nine ships and that I couldn't do anything to help them. I had to try.
Several hours went by, but once again my friend appeared. It paused and looked at my bags before back at me.
“Hello,” I said. “I think I’m ready to know more about you now.”
The small being nodded its head. It walked towards me reaching out its hand. I hesitated in fear before taking it and standing. Together we walked through the forest for many hours, further than I had ever been. It led me down a stream and into a valley full of trees and plants of varying sizes.
My senses overloaded. This forest was so full of life, so much that I couldn’t handle it. This was a city of multiple species interacting in fluid harmony. My whole life had been contained in a lifeless metal box, and now this.
I stood there for a moment, staring and listening, and as I watched, the valley began to glow. The plants themselves lit up under the starlight. I felt the tug of my friend on my hand and followed him into the community. Awe supplanted my fear. There was a society here. This planet was more vibrant than I ever realized.
We came here to conquer and improve it, did we have anything like this on Earth? I reached up and placed my hand to my cheek. I was crying again, but this time it was from emotions I couldn’t possibly understand. I was still so angry, so upset about what happened to my family, to Abdul and Emma, but also overwhelmed with what I was witnessing.
Rin.
The voice was in my head, but it wasn't from me. I looked at my friend standing next to me. It seemed larger somehow, its presence more commanding than the small creature I encountered in the forest.
Your species meant to destroy us, to destroy this.
I shook my head. “No, not us. We didn’t come here to destroy you. We didn’t need to be your enemy.”
I didn’t understand before, but I do now. We saw your ships in the sky and couldn’t imagine any form of good coming from something so cold.
“You took everything from me. This place took everyone I ever knew and loved. All because you didn’t wait to say hello.”
This is our home. When your ships scanned us, we examined them in return. We saw its mission, your goal. We knew we weren’t a part of it.
“And the other ships? Did you destroy them as well?”
We hoped one would be enough to make the others turn around.
I took a deep breath. I wanted to scream, to ask why they chose us, but I didn’t. I wanted to hate it, but I couldn’t. I looked around at the beautiful commune of creatures, and I understood their fear, but I was also terrified.
"We are not your enemy. We don't need to be. Please, let me go find the others, and I promise, I will do everything I can to protect your own if you protect us."
The creature nodded, and I didn’t stay there any longer. I couldn’t. I set out: back to my camp and then on to find the other survivors. I wasn't excited about my journey. These people weren't my siblings, but they were human beings and my responsibility: not only to them but to the life here on this planet.
For three days, I traveled without any sign of life in sight. It was long and tiring. The terrain was rough, the sun was hot, and I had a limited supply of water. I started to wonder if it was all in vain. Only the hope of finally seeing other human beings kept me going. I had to find them. I had to tell them that this planet wasn’t what we thought.
If they were still alive. Was the creature telling me the truth?
I didn't sleep much the third night. I was starting to lose hope. I was truly alone; the only human left on this planet. I wasn't even sure of what I wanted.
Then, on the fourth day, I saw it. It started like a mirage, but then it came into focus. There were nine ships and the beginnings of a settlement. Then I could see them walking around. They were people: my people.
I found them.
I was overwhelmed with relief, exhaustion, and fear, but they were so different than me, still on track with the mission, together with their siblings.
And they still believed we were all alone out here. They thought we were alone in the universe.
Several of them saw me as I approached and ran in my direction.
“You…” said a man. “You're from the tenth ship.”
I nodded my head. “I'm Rin. We crashed, and the others didn't make it.”
“But you did,” added a woman. All of them looked amazed. “Welcome. We're so glad you're here.”
I smiled before forcing myself to refocus. These people were so full of hope, and I didn't want them to lose that. I hoped that they wouldn't.
“There's something you need to know.”
“What?” the woman asked, curious.
I paused for a second, unsure of how to begin. How could I explain everything that I had been through to these people that I hardly knew? Would they believe me that the ship was attacked? Would they judge my eventual friendship with our attacker? Would they see reason in how to handle this information?
I had so many questions, but I knew that they had more. I could do this. I had to.
I took in a deep breath and spoke:
“We're not alone.”