(author’s note: I originally posted this on February 6, 2018, soon after Elon used his Tesla Roadster as a payload to test the Falcon Heavy.)
50 years later …
“Commander! There’s an unidentified object floating nearby!”
Metisha glanced over at the Natisien activating her communicator. A small lens popped out in front of her right eye.
In the HUD, she saw a strange white object. She thought it looked familiar and while she couldn’t recall what it was; she had an idea where it was from.
“Get Petrez. I think that’s from earth,” Metisha said. “I bet he would know.”
Her assistant left and a few moments passed before he returned with the older Inersien, with his communicator already activated.
“I know you were resting and I apologize,” the commander said. “But you are the only one on this ship who returned from Earth.”
“Yes, your assistant told me about it.” Petrez chuckled as he looked at his HUD. “Ahna would love to see this.”
“Why? What does my mother have to do with this?”
“It’s a vehicle the humans used to get around the surface of their planet. Actually, it was one of the many designs, anyway. Ahna had one, although it didn’t look like that.” Petrez paused and looked at Metisha.
She tipped her head and raised an eyebrow. “So it’s a shuttle?”
Petrez chuckled. “No, humans didn’t make this for space travel, and it certainly wasn’t white like this. That’s solar damage.” He paused briefly and put his hand on his hips, his insulated cape sliding open to reveal his formals.
“The solar radiation alone did most of the damage. If I can recall, it used to be red, and it had four air filled wheels.”
Nodding, Metisha deactivated her communicator. The HUD lens folded back, and she looked at him.
“How did it get past the wall in one piece?”
“It probably got pulled into the anomaly.” Petrez shrugged.
“Should we bring it to the human settlement?”
Petrez stroked his black beard. The older generation shunned the old cultural norms after returning from earth. Most of the older men didn’t shave all of their facial hair anymore and even Ahna left the safety of the city to stay in the caves with the Natisiens as a hali-seh. Comforting the bereaved and helping the sick seemed to help Metisha’s mother deal with her grief of losing her husband.
“It would probably fall apart if we touch it.” Petrez deactivated his communicator.
“We could have the Nahborians encase it for us,” the assistant suggested. “We could send it back to earth so that they can put it in one of their…” He paused. “What is it called where they put historical relics on display?”
“A ‘museum’”
“Right. Museum.”
“That might be a good idea.” Metisha pointed to her assistant’s tablet. “Load our conversation onto a beacon ship, along with the request and the coordinates of the object.”
“You know…” Petrez crossed his arms. “I was there when they launched it into space. It was a big deal for them, since it marked their adventure into space.”
“But they didn’t go until we showed up,” Metisha said.
“Well, they had to deal with three pandemics and treason,” Petrez said. “And of course, those who would rather keep humans in the dark.”
“They are an interesting species, aren’t they?”
“I wouldn’t get too sentimental.” Petrez crossed his arms and watched a Nahborian ship float by on the display. “We share much of their DNA.”
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Do you have any idea how long it took me to find that original tweet?!
— Nancie Neal
