Alien Impulses

There was a peaceful 20 minutes while the car ascended to geostationary orbit. I looked down at the city and the dense jungle which surrounded it, reflecting on my stay. Jackson had been great. I'd have cracked without him. And Aldara... this morning was wonderful. We had sex in her shower, lifting her up and holding her, legs around my back, kissing constantly, giving her slow, deep strokes. We had shut off the shower, dried each other, and returned to her bed. I showed her some more positions, fucking her from the rear, and with her on top. She loved both, coming profusely. When the time came, I let her stroke me to my orgasm and I showered her breasts, tummy and pussy in many waves of my juices. I could have fucked her all day, all week, but time was against us.

And now I was on my way. I was going home, by the most extraordinary route. A mixture of anticipation, fear and excitement welled in my chest. None of the other passengers seemed to recognise me, which was just fine. I was on my way back to anonymity, back to just being myself. I couldn't wait.

At the orbiting station, the car stopped and everyone floated out. The other three humanoids were waiting for me. They looked almost identical, dressed in ornate green robes. "Your Cruiser is here. You can board." I acknowledged this was a nod and was taken down a long corridor, using grab-handles as we went, to a docking bay at the far end of the station. There she was.

My Cruiser was the most beautiful ships I'd ever seen. Perhaps twelve meters long, with an expanded cabin section and upgraded engines, the sleek, silver design was just captivating. She sat there, shimmering in the reflected light of the planet. She was designed to operate in atmospheres, one could see from her short wings, which were upturned at the tip. There was a classic cockpit with a bubble canopy and the nose tapered into a sharp, metal point. I fell in love straight away and that has never changed.

Even the humanoids were impressed. One, in particular, gazed longingly at her clean lines and admired her almost garish reflectivity. I took the final few grab-handles and opened the door of the bay. There was a soft whoosh as old air was replaced by new, and I climbed into the airlock, which was more spacious than I had expected given the size of the bay. I waved to the three.

"Have a good trip", they managed, still amazed by my ship. I smiled, thanked them, and closed the airlock. Following my instructions, I pressed a sequence of buttons and the forward port opened, revealing the inside of the ship. She was docked by her belly, and the airlock lead into the largest section of the ship, which contained the stasis unit and racks of supplies on the walls, including the three modest suitcases I would be taking home. Forward of that was the cockpit and behind it was the back wall which separated the cabin from the fuel supply and engines, carefully installed by Takanli's engineers and derived from the Faster-than-Light drive developed on Holdrian.

She was compact, beautifully designed, surprisingly spacious and padded, I found as I pushed off with too much energy and smacked into the spaceship's wall.

The first thing to do was to get my license, so to speak. Jackson was right about the learning mechanism. Waiting on the pilot's seat (my seat, I chuckled) was a metal tiara which I clicked into place. A Red Cube was strapped to the seat also and I attached this to an adaptor wire which ran into the tiara. I pressed the Cube's central button and the transfer began. It was the same, slightly odd sensation of disorientation and drunkenness I had experienced at the Boffin's lab on Takanli, but it didn't last long.

There was about an hour of preparation to complete before I left, not unlike the checks performed by airliner pilots on Earth, I mused to myself. Diagnostics checks were performed automatically by the onboard computer, and these showed all systems in the green. I contacted the station's traffic controller and got priority to depart. Some final buttons to press, including turning on my lights, and we were ready to go. My movements were fluid, confident, like I had done this a thousand times. In my mind, I felt like I had. Remarkable.

The ship eased away from the station and I decided to retain a consistent angle with reference to the planet, just for my own orientation and to avoid any dizziness or vertigo. I used only the ship's manoeuvring thrusters for this small change in delta-V, waiting until I was safely away from the station to begin engine start-up. I flicked the appropriate switches, monitored the engine displays and watched as the fuel flow began and our first thrust was produced. I felt the impulse in my back, which grew as we throttled up and began to accelerate away from the station.

Within minutes we were at 1-C and streaking away from the planet, which I could see disappearing behind me in the ship's cameras. I pushed the throttle further and the ship rocketed through 20-C. That would suffice, I thought, shutting down the engines for the interplanetary cruise. At this speed, the computer told me, I would be there in just over two hours. Time enough to think, enjoy some privacy, check out the view. And explore this fantastic ship.

The replicators worked, I was delighted to find, sipping hot, green tea and snacking on a small cheese and bacon calzone. I wondered, as I often did, just how these scientists had gained data on the physical properties of the calzone, or scotch, or coffee. Had aliens been wandering around the Earth, buying up foods and taking back samples. What was the name of that journalist guy who reckoned that aliens were living secretly among humanity, learning about us? He could be more right than he knew.

Holdrian disappeared almost completely behind me, mingling with other small points of light. The ride was extremely smooth, as I guess it should have been, as we were speeding through total vacuum. Not even interstellar hydrogen, the computer said. But when I lost sight of the planet, and could not yet see our destination, a strange feeling set in. I had no frame of reference. I had forgotten which way had been up, as I left Holdrian, and was now completely turned around. I guess we were going the right way, but we were only heading into infinite blackness.

The computer straightened me out, producing a 3-D map of the system and relating my position within it. We were only an hour out. I got up from my seat once more and floated back into the cabin where the stasis unit was patiently waiting. It was upright against the wall to save space and resembled a glass and metal coffin with just enough room for me to lay in. I wouldn't try it yet. To be honest it gave me the creeps. Controls on a panel to its left indicated oxygen and CO2 levels, temperature, pulse rate and blood pressure (currently zero) and a host of other vital signs. A little odd, with no-one there to monitor them when I was in stasis, but I guess it made sense.

There was a tiny bathroom and I remembered that the ship could begin a controlled spin which would induce 1-G if I wanted a shower. I might also do that if I needed the toilet, which I was hoping to avoid. That said, having been asleep for forty years, I'm sure one of my first needs would be a huge piss.

The computer beeped gently up front and I returned to the cockpit. There it was, dead ahead, a shining point of light. I'd better identify myself, I thought. These people were not exactly thrilled by the prospect of strangers warping over to steal their technology. A gravity bomb was not my idea of a warm welcome. The computer handled the enquiry, dealing as it was with their computer. We received an electronic welcome in the form of docking instructions. Not landing, I saw, but docking. Was I not going down to the surface?

Soon I realised why not. This was no planet but a giant metal sphere in space punctuated by entry ports, encrusted with communications antennae and surrounded by orbiting stations and waiting spacecraft. It was a high-technology dream in metal, hanging there in the depths of space. The computer referred to it as a planet because it was 4000km across and orbited the star, but this was entirely man-made. It must have taken millennia.

As we approached a set of lights emerged out of the blackness like a runway, guiding us through the maze of stations and ships to our allotted bay. Some of the ships were bizarre designs. One was nearly a mile long, almost pencil-thin, with a gigantic bell-shaped engine on the back. Others were wheel-shaped and still others resembled traffic cones with rounded bases, hanging there, waiting for something. There was a massive ship which dominated one section of the parking area. It must have been five miles long and was bulky, metallic, huge, with giant glass domes attached all down its length.

We slid into our bay in a comparatively modest station, following the lights and coming to a halt inside a small hanger. The hanger doors, which had slid open to allow us in, now slid closed, top to bottom. I checked the systems, made sure the Cruiser was in 'park' and took air samples from the hanger. It was breathable and pressure was resuming normal levels after the exposure to vacuum. I waited until it seemed it wasn't going to rise any more, and held my nose as the pressure equalized inside my airlock, and opened the outer door.

As my feet touched down on the hanger floor, more lights emerged from nowhere and marked out a path which led out of the hanger through a small door. I glanced around, saw no-one, and begin walking. Gravity was near 1-G, slightly less, which made me feel light-footed and rather jolly. Through the door was an airport-style waiting hall with rows of blue chairs, potted plants and large windows which gave an amazing view of this man-made planet and the myriad objects in orbit. The lights petered out at the chairs, so I sat down and took in the view.

A green cloud of gas condensed on the window in front of me, slid down to the floor and turned into a puddle of viscous liquid. The liquid bubbled slightly and then rose, expanding, into a short, green tower. The bottom of the tower was changing faster than the rest, quickly becoming a familiar shape. The rest of the tower followed, and then the upper parts expanded and fountained quickly out to form arms and hands, then a head. Once the form was complete, the green leached out, revealing black skin and hair.

It had taken less than a minute. The human emerged to be over six feet tall and perhaps forty years old. He was smiling.

"I am Bassar. You are right on time." An intriguing welcome from one of the galaxy's two surviving time travellers. He extended his hand. I felt like I was meeting a celebrity or a king. He was certainly as impressive as any leader I had met. He had a deeply resonant voice and a calm manner which seemed to extend beyond his skin, so that one felt instantly at ease.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for the opportunity to visit your station." He beamed politely.

"Are you familiar with Relocation?"

I nodded with a shy smile, remembering the last time I'd been asked about that. "Ready when you are."

He took my wrist and we were in the lobby of a theatre. The carpet was crimson and the walls decorated with posters for movies I was familiar with -- Silent Running, 2001, Apollo 13 and Armageddon. Someone obviously thought I would get a giggle out of that. Stories of exploration, near-disaster and redemption.

"I hope you don't mind the re-creation. This is a famous theatre in Amsterdam which you might know. I've brought you here to show you a few movies which you might find illuminating."

The ticket booth was empty, so we walked straight in. The theatre, which managed even to smell like a theatre, was also deserted. We took seats in the balcony and Bassar handled the introduction while the curtains parted and the screen showed blackness.

"You understand already that we have made time travel possible using clusters of wormholes and Closed Time-like Curves." I nodded, remembering the exam. "We understood that this technology is considerably more advanced than that available on your planet, so we thought we would arrange a little demonstration before you encounter it for yourself."

The movie began. We see a group of technicians working on a space probe, complete with golden antenna dish and traditional thrusters. "This is a class 4 probe, the kind we use for long-range surveillance and information gathering. This particular model was equipped with a couple of sub-probes which would gather data on the Earth from close quarters, as well as one equipped to survey the system more generally. The scientists at the Ministry on Takanli were most helpful. Their in-situ resources were able to download your 'internet' and make it available to us through subspace download."

I stared at him as the documentary proceeded. "You downloaded the whole internet?"

Bassar smiled. "Believe me, this represents a trifling amount of data compared to that with which we are used to dealing." Jesus, I thought. These people truly were in a different league. "Your internet, particularly its encyclopaedia sections, was most useful. It enabled us to put together target lists for events which might be of interest to you. Some of these might be a little alarming, but we do this to prove a point."

"What's the point?"

He smiled once more. He exuded patience and kindness. "The point is that, with foreknowledge, the future can be changed for the better. And also to demonstrate the technology, to give you more confidence in this remarkable design. Finally", he paused, "we thought you'd get an enormous kick out of it."

He chuckled to himself and we watched the probe being prepared for time travel. It was encased in a shroud made from an exotic metal alloy. I recognised molybdenum and tantalum from the chemical formula, but there were others which were new to me. Safely encased, the probe was hauled into deep space by a bulky cargo ship. The camera panned out to show the ship approaching an area of great disturbance, pulsating lights and whirling gasses.

"This is the chrono-travel vortex. It consists of six wormholes clustered around each other. I cannot reveal the techniques by which we give specificity to the time of arrival, as these are very recent developments. They may", he paused, "hmm... yes, they may be part of the Red Cube package we give you on departure. We understand your planet could use some help."

I thanked him and kept an eye on the movie. The cargo ship released the probe like a jet plane releasing a bomb, turning sharply away and retreating from the gassy maelstrom ahead. The probe continued on exactly the same path, into the centre of the vortex, which simply swallowed the tiny machine. No puff of smoke or flash of light. It just entered the vortex and vanished.

"How do you know if it is a success?"

Bassar simply motioned to the screen. A second, not even that, after the probe had disappeared, a reading from one of the computers changed from zero to 1887. The scientists crowding around it cheered loudly and patted each other on the back, as if their little probe had just executed a perfect landing on a new planet. "This is how we know", he stated. "That figure represents Cubes of data. This data retrieval and storage module, one of thousands we prepared in the distant past, began receiving data from the probe through subspace communications almost as soon as it arrived. This was some 4000 years ago. The accumulated data is now ready for analysis. You see, we know straight away if the mission was a success, because all the data would already have arrived. The probe is unlikely still to be functioning after this extended time, but the data is safe."

"Wow", I gasped, watching the scientists fill Red Cubes with data and distribute them around the room for analysis. "What kind of data?"

"The probe had a pretty comprehensive telemetry, audio and photographic package, so we should get some interesting stuff. First, let's see what the solar system sub-probe got. It was orbiting the sun, and two of the planets, for around a thousand years before it ran out of on-board power. The team highlighted two moments of significance."

The camera was zoomed in on a small patch of yellow cloud. Could this be Earth? As it zoomed out, the planet gradually took shape, with its glorious rings and scattered moons. Saturn, four thousand years ago. "Watch the top left of the screen", said Bassar. Sure enough, a bright light appeared there and seemed to head straight for the planet. The camera, nudged by some onboard system to track unusual events or fast-moving bodies, caught up with the light and it became clear that this was a comet.

"Oh, wow, no way..." The comet streaked across the image and, without pause, recklessly plunged directly into Saturn's upper clouds and immediately split up into a dozen white-hot fragments. Their smoking streaks stained the upper cloud layer a dark, purple colour. And then, all was still and Saturn continued revolving.

"Impressive, no?" I nodded vigorously. "Our only disappointment was that the massive impact which knocked Uranus off to the side, skewing its magnetic pole away from its geographical pole, was far in the past, way too far for our methods to capture it. I apologise for this. Alongside the impact which shoved your moon out of the Earth, it was probably the most impressive sight in the history of your system. That and a volcanic eruption on Mars. Sorry these things aren't available."

"No problem... that was incredible." Bassar was already motioning to the screen again. This time the target was the moon. "Hey there", I whispered fondly. The camera zoomed right in on an area in the centre of the moon's face and continued until we could see individual craters and mountain ridges. To my amazement, there was a reflection on the surface and some objects. At maximum zoom, it seemed, the probe locked onto this small patch of the surface long enough for us to see a little white car with two people in spacesuits making its way across the surface.

"Apollo 16 at Hadley Rille. John Young and Charlie Duke". I stared at the screen in utter amazement. "Sweet sixteen has arrived", he quoted. "It was surely one of your greatest achievements. I hope you are proud of your species."

I was, at this moment more than ever before. Watching those two explorers careering around the lunar surface with such comparatively basic technology brought a lump to my throat. Quotes from the Apollo program came flooding back. 'Mankind must explore...'; 'We choose to go to the moon!'; 'Tranquillity base here...the Eagle has landed'. I was almost in tears at the thought that I had joined those intrepid men, had travelled millions of times further and seen a thousand times more, and that now I was on my way home to help my ailing planet. This is what exploration was about. And those men had planted the seed, without knowing it, with their words and their actions.

Bassar had paused the movie while I was in this reverie, waiting patiently beside me. He knew what was going on. "Want to watch your folks get married?"

I blinked, nodded, dried my eyes. There they were, looking fantastic, mum in her white dress and dad in a blue suit. They were outside the church, with the photographer busying around them, getting people together. Up in orbit, another photographer was doing an even better job. It was from a high angle, nothing to be done about that, but the detail and resolution were incredible.

"They are no longer alive, is that correct?" I nodded. "I am sorry. You must feel their loss, but I cannot empathise. There is no death here." I wasn't surprised to hear it, but it was still an extraordinary thing to hear. "Perhaps you can bring greater longevity to your planet." An off-hand remark with enormous ramifications.