strange symbols. Every day at noon they would all stop work to chant and give us praise. On several occasions the leaders even tried to offer us some of their women. It was a good thing we were leaving soon; I could only imagine what it would be like after another year.
At first we had decided not to interfere with their natural progression any further but it couldn’t be helped. We taught them easier ways to create fire, and that metal can be shaped with heat. They couldn’t help but see the wheel and be interested, so Kayin showed them how to make one out of wood.
It was inevitable, the natives may be extremely primitive but they definitely show the most important trait of our species; curiosity. We had to reward them for the will to learn and want to create things themselves… Maybe after all we had done, making their journey to civilization a little easier wasn’t such a bad thing.
As we headed back to the transport ship that night, Kayin received word that the head of the mining division reported we were less than 20 tons away from our goal. This meant tomorrow would be the last day of mining and we may even head home that night… We were nervous but ready to get back to Aeris and tell our story. The fight may not be over yet.
The transport ship takes around 30 minutes to make it from X-451 to the Sirius so it gave me plenty of time to think. I had desperately been trying to think of a way to convince the natives that we weren’t some type of supernatural creators. I realized that I may not be able to teach them now but I could leave them something that would let them know later in their development. Something that they would have to recognize once they discovered electricity, started building machinery, and eventually made it to the computer age… I had an idea.
I jumped up, ran over and sat down next to Kayin – “I think I came up with something…” He said “about what?” I punched him in the arm – “About how to make the natives stop worshiping us!” Kayin put his hands up “Alright alright. Geez relax.”
I stood up and started pacing with excitement – “I know this will work… When we say goodbye tomorrow I’m going to leave one of the leaders my handheld computer. I’ll even leave a message on it explaining what happened… We may not be able to convince them now, but that could thousands of years in the future. Kayin, eventually they’ll know what it is and if they know it came from us, they’ll be able to put two and two together...”
He thought for a moment – “Atlas, that’s perfect. I think you’re right… No matter what we do we’ve made too much of an impression on them already. We have no other ideas, I can’t hurt anything.”
I said “Exactly! I’ll make it seem very important. If they see it as a gift from their creators it’ll be precious to them… something they pass down through generations and even worship. As long as they don’t lose it, eventually it will lead them to the truth.”
That night, I spent hours making a detailed account of everything that happened on the mission. I explained about our home world, who we were, the soft yellowish mineral chrysos, what the ACI made us do, and how we took back their freedom. At the end I even included an apology on everyone’s behalf for not acting sooner… I wanted them to know how emotional this was for all of us.
I know it was probably a complete waste… Most likely by the time they advanced enough to power it, this handheld computer would no longer function. I suppose it was something I had to do for myself… Even if there was only a slight possibility, I had to try.
During this time Sara and I had become very close. The effects of our strange connection from our time in stasis never went away. If anything it’s amplified over the last two years. I looked over to see if she was already asleep… I wanted her to read everything and see what she thought. She might even want to add something. I
At first we had decided not to interfere with their natural progression any further but it couldn’t be helped. We taught them easier ways to create fire, and that metal can be shaped with heat. They couldn’t help but see the wheel and be interested, so Kayin showed them how to make one out of wood.
It was inevitable, the natives may be extremely primitive but they definitely show the most important trait of our species; curiosity. We had to reward them for the will to learn and want to create things themselves… Maybe after all we had done, making their journey to civilization a little easier wasn’t such a bad thing.
As we headed back to the transport ship that night, Kayin received word that the head of the mining division reported we were less than 20 tons away from our goal. This meant tomorrow would be the last day of mining and we may even head home that night… We were nervous but ready to get back to Aeris and tell our story. The fight may not be over yet.
The transport ship takes around 30 minutes to make it from X-451 to the Sirius so it gave me plenty of time to think. I had desperately been trying to think of a way to convince the natives that we weren’t some type of supernatural creators. I realized that I may not be able to teach them now but I could leave them something that would let them know later in their development. Something that they would have to recognize once they discovered electricity, started building machinery, and eventually made it to the computer age… I had an idea.
I jumped up, ran over and sat down next to Kayin – “I think I came up with something…” He said “about what?” I punched him in the arm – “About how to make the natives stop worshiping us!” Kayin put his hands up “Alright alright. Geez relax.”
I stood up and started pacing with excitement – “I know this will work… When we say goodbye tomorrow I’m going to leave one of the leaders my handheld computer. I’ll even leave a message on it explaining what happened… We may not be able to convince them now, but that could thousands of years in the future. Kayin, eventually they’ll know what it is and if they know it came from us, they’ll be able to put two and two together...”
He thought for a moment – “Atlas, that’s perfect. I think you’re right… No matter what we do we’ve made too much of an impression on them already. We have no other ideas, I can’t hurt anything.”
I said “Exactly! I’ll make it seem very important. If they see it as a gift from their creators it’ll be precious to them… something they pass down through generations and even worship. As long as they don’t lose it, eventually it will lead them to the truth.”
That night, I spent hours making a detailed account of everything that happened on the mission. I explained about our home world, who we were, the soft yellowish mineral chrysos, what the ACI made us do, and how we took back their freedom. At the end I even included an apology on everyone’s behalf for not acting sooner… I wanted them to know how emotional this was for all of us.
I know it was probably a complete waste… Most likely by the time they advanced enough to power it, this handheld computer would no longer function. I suppose it was something I had to do for myself… Even if there was only a slight possibility, I had to try.
During this time Sara and I had become very close. The effects of our strange connection from our time in stasis never went away. If anything it’s amplified over the last two years. I looked over to see if she was already asleep… I wanted her to read everything and see what she thought. She might even want to add something. I
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