Sarah’s eyes widened. “Alex, you might want to come take a look at this!” She said with excitement. Alex dropped a stack of papers and rushed to her side.
“What is it?” He asked with hesitation before bending down to peer through the lens of the giant telescope inside the National Observatory.
Sarah smiled. “Do you know what that is?”
“It looks like an asteroid. A big one.”
“That’s no asteroid Alex. That’s something…” Sarah nudged Alex away from the lens and took another look. “This…This is something way bigger.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have been plotting its course for the last half hour for lack of nothing else to do. At first glance I thought it was just another big rock too. But look.” She pointed to a large display screen with a computerized graphic of cluttered lines and grids. “Do you see how it crosses sector C1 in a straight path and then makes nearly a 90 degree turn and then crosses sector D1? That is not natural movement Alex.”
“So what. It collided with another asteroid. We’ve seen this kind of stuff before.”
Sarah’s smile widened. “Ah, but look.” She said as she pressed a button on the keypad. “Look at what it does next.” The grids of lines began to move as a small graphic at the bottom of the screen displayed the time in intervals of 5 minutes. “After it crosses D1, it makes the exact opposite move, turns 90 degrees, and heads back in its exact original position.”
Alex cocked his head in amazement.
“Whatever that is Alex, it’s maneuvering.”
Alex looked through the large telescope again and positioned the lens to focus on the large object just as it began to make another turn. “What is its distance?” He asked.
“I plot it at about 30 trillion miles. The computers don’t have enough data on it yet to determine exactly where it’s going. In a few hours we should have that information though.”
“Call the other observatories and ask them if they can plot its course. We have to get this confirmed. Are the recorders on Sarah?” Alex yelled as he ran across the room to get his jacket.
“They’ve been on for the last 20 minutes. We have all this on tape.”
Sarah contacted the other observatories and in frenzy explained the situation. After several tense moments, it was confirmed from three other locations of the unknown objects erratic course.
“What do we do now?” Sarah asked Alex.
“We take this all the way to the top.” Alex replied.
Sarah sat beside Alex inside a large conference room the next morning with many top officials discussing the issue.
“Are we sure this is not another nation who has beaten us in the space race?” The Chief of National Science asked the room.
“All other nations are light years behind us in technology. No one other than us is capable of even launching a rocket yet.” Came a reply from the Chief of Espionage.
The Chief of National Science reclined back in his chair and crossed his hands at his chin. “Then can someone please explain what is going on?”
“I have been going over some of the possibilities on my way up here but only one possibility seems logical.” Sarah spoke up.
“Which is?” The Chief of National Science leaned to the edged of his chair as the rest of room turned and looked at Sarah.
“Which is that the question is not what is it, but who is it.” She said as she glanced at Alex in uncertainty. “Meaning that there is a big possibility that whatever is moving that object, is alien to us.” The room suddenly burst with loud arguing voices.
“That is not an acceptable answer. The religious sector of society will not have that! Besides, for all we know it could be a large rock bouncing around inside a asteroid belt.” The Chief of Religion stood and yelled above the voices.
“There are no asteroid belts anywhere near that location in space.” Sarah replied sternly.
The Chief of Domestic Affairs spoke up. “The press is crawling all over us on this one people. We have to give them something.”
“Nothing is confirmed as of yet. All that we know is that there is an unidentified object out there in space and that it is maneuvering as if some force, or someone.” The Chief of National Science paused and looked at Sarah. “Is moving it. We will tell the press that it is a UFO and that is all. Sarah, Alex, The advisors and I need to discuss this alone. You are dismissed.”
Sarah and Alex quickly exited as the room exploded in argument.
“What does he mean the religious sector will not have that?” Sarah asked Alex.
“The religious implications of an alien life form would upset the religious doctrine that has been handed down for centuries. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if the public thought that we were not alone?” replied Alex. Sarah was silent in thought as they walked out of the building.
Alex and Sarah drove back to the observatory and quickly turned on their equipment.
“Do you remember last night when I told you that the UFO was approximately 30 trillion miles from us?” Sarah said with an electrifying voice.
“Yes.” Alex replied cautiously.
“I was not wrong last night. But you’ll never believe its location now.”
Alex stopped and looked at a small printout that Sarah held in her nervous hands. Alex’s heart began to beat very rapidly. “My God! It’s headed straight for us!”
Excitement filled the air as Alex and Sarah ran about analyzing their data. The UFO had traveled approximately 15 trillion miles in less than 14 hours. In less than 12 hours, the object would be upon them.
“It’s traveling faster than the speed of light Alex.” Sarah said.
“That’s no rock Sarah. You were right. This is something way bigger.” Alex replied.
For the next several hours the entire world gazed at the sky as the UFO drew ever closer to the planet. It was gigantic. Scientists had estimated its length at well over a mile long and about half a mile wide. Sarah and Alex watched from the now crowded observatory. Alex focused the lens on the UFO to the highest magnitude. It was still very far away, but large details were now possible to make out.
“This is incredible.” Alex said as the image of what looked like a giant spacecraft unlike any he had ever imagined came into clear view.
“What are the figures for something that big impacting this planet?” The Chief of National Science asked his advisors.
“Sir, such an impact would be devastating. It would mean the end of life in a matter of seconds.” Replied an apprehensive advisor.
“Summon the Chief of Military Affairs and contact the President. Now!” demanded the Chief of National Science.
“Alex I’m scared.” Sarah whimpered trying not to excite the crowed observatory as everyone watched the image of the spacecraft draw closer.
“Hold on a second.” Alex said as he placed his hand on Sarah’s shoulder while continuing to look through the lens of the telescope. “It’s not going to hit us. I think it’s going into an orbit around our planet.”
The President stood beside the Chief of Religion as they talked quietly among themselves.
“Mr. President. Sir. We must hold an urgent meeting to discuss the matter of the UFO.” The Chief of National Science said.
“Go ahead. What is the latest news?” The President asked.
“Sir, our scientists have discovered that the UFO is no rock at all. It is some kind of craft. It is headed directly for us. An impact looks inevitable.” The Chief of National Science said.
“What kind of craft is it?” The President asked.
“It could be a transport craft, an enormous bomb sent to destroy us. Frankly sir, we do not know what kind of vessel it is.”
“Is there anything that we can do?” The President said in an alarmed voice.
“Yes sir. There is one alternative still available.” The Chief of Military Affairs spoke up.
“Continue.” The president replied.
“We have the capability to shoot it down. I request that we launch several tactical nuclear weapons and decimate the object before it destroys...”
The President interrupted. “Now hold on just a minute. I’ve just been told that there is a great possibility that this is not just a big rock. If this is another life form from someplace that we cannot even imagine, what kind of welcome greeting are we sending these beings if we shoot them down?”
“Sir, I do not think there is any other choice. The object is a direct threat. Procedures demand that we shoot it down.”
“Sir if I may add. If this is an alien life form and we allow the public to gain knowledge of this you are going to have even bigger problems on your hands.” The Chief of Religion said.
“Bigger problems? Such as?” The President asked.
“Such as when the religious sector of society gets word of this, you are going to have to find a way to deal with the mass rioting that is sure to ensue. Our religious books teach us that God created us in his own image. That no other beast is as intelligent as we are or as important as us because we are Gods chosen people. I don’t want to even think what would happen once these teaching are proved wrong when our citizens discover that there is intelligent life out there that knows a lot more than we do.”
“Very well. You have my command to destroy the spacecraft. This project is of utmost secrecy. If anyone asks, we are destroying an asteroid that threatens our planet. Lets look like heroes here, not murderers.” The President instructed.
“Shall I assemble a team to retrieve any artifacts that make landfall?” The Chief of Military Affairs asked.
“Yes. I want to know just what this thing really is.” The President replied.
Alex pulled Sarah into a quiet office.
“They’re gonna do what?” Sarah asked Alex with anger.
“They’re gonna shoot it down. They don’t think there is any other alternative.” Alex replied.
“We have to stop them Alex. Didn’t you say it was going into orbit? That means that it is not a direct threat to us.”
“The President has already made his decision. Besides, I think there are other reasons why he wants to shoot it down. The Chief of Military Affairs has asked that you and I be part of a team to retrieve the wreckage if any survives the explosion.”
Tears began to trickle from Sarah’s eyes.
Every news agency interrupted broadcasts to report the situation. Millions of people watched the sky, hoping, praying that the weapons would destroy the asteroid threatening their existence. Everything was prepared. The weapons were launched and all activity paused to observe the fate of the world. A great explosion lit up the entire northern hemisphere as the tactical nuclear weapons decimated the craft. Moments later hundreds of streamers streaked across the sky as the falling derbies burned in the atmosphere. In a matter of hours it was all over.
Several weeks passed until the recovery team finally located a piece of artifact. It was a wonder that it had made it so far and as intact as it was. A small pile of rubble in the middle of the Great Desert was all that was left of the giant spacecraft. Sarah bent down and picked up a small fragment about 3 feet long and as many feet wide. The recovery team huddled around her as she flipped it over to reveal a small picture of a purple square with one giant white star in the center that resembled a national flag. Beside it several unintelligible characters appeared to make out sentences. Sarah looked over each character:
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