Ephemeral Species Book One - The Dawning

by Patrick Smith

  Chapter 8

  Nisha alerted the DHS. They ran out the door in five minutes. Ninety minutes later, Nisha and Quinn approached a long line of cars parked on the side of the road. Everyone stood beside their cars talking and pointing. Most cars approached and did a quick U-turn to get out of there. A helicopter broke the desert silence.

  Nisha tweeted, "A 300m diameter sphere has appeared five miles NE of Mojave. I'm in front of the object right now."

  She remembered the EMPs. Nisha calculated the difference in time between when the Mojave sphere was discovered and when they detected the electromagnetic pulse.

  Nisha tweeted, "It took only three hours (at the most) for the 300m diameter Mojave sphere to travel from lunar orbit to the Earth."

  She tweeted, "The sphere has been dormant since landing other than bi-directional ultra-high frequency signals. They or it is probably communicating with the mother ship."

  No sooner had she sent the last tweet when she noticed some movement on the ground behind the sphere.

  "Quinn, can you hand me the scope?"

  "Sure Neesh. What do you see?"

  "I'm not sure but I noticed movement out there, but it's too dark."

  "There's no light. How can you see?"

  "Some car lights flashed in that direction and for a second?"

  "What's happening Neesh?"

  "I'm not sure, but small points of light are flickering behind the sphere."

  Silence

  "There's something moving out there," Nisha said.

  "How big?" Quinn said.

  "I think they're small."

  "They? What size are they?" Quinn said.

  He wiped sweat off his brow. She squinted into the scope.

  "I can't tell. There's nothing nearby to compare them with."

  Nisha tweeted, "Unidentified things are moving behind the #alien #sphere. Possibly many things. More soon?"

  "What's out there?" Quinn said.

  "This is weird," Nisha said. "They're flowing. I wish the moon was out tonight. I can't tell if the moving thing is one flowing entity or thousands of smaller things moving in a herd low to the ground. Oh?"

  "What do you see now?" Quinn said.

  A car headlight flashed across the scene.

  "Thousands of them."

  "Of what?"

  "Thousands of crab-like things are crawling around," Nisha said. "They remind me of the drones which took samples from the astronauts except they're crawling around. They're staying near the sphere fortunately for us."

  "Neesh, maybe we should get out of here. Your palms are sweaty."

  "Yours are too. Every cell in my body is telling me to run away. But we need to watch what they do. They seem to avoid doing us harm and I might never get a chance again to witness the work of a real alien race, assuming they're a real biological race. We've only seen machines and these seem like machines. We haven't seen their builders. This sphere may be a reconnaissance probe full of drones."

  She tweeted, "Thousands of small machines are emerging from the #alien #sphere. Purpose: unknown."

  "Its 2 a.m. Neesh," Quinn said. "What are we going to do about sleeping?"

  "I'm nowhere near ready to sleep. You can sleep in the passenger seat and I'll stay awake in the driver's seat in case we need get away. Thus far they seem benign."

  "Okay, I'll try to get some sleep, and later you can get some sleep. I think this will be a long night."

  The sphere towered over them. Darkness pervaded the night, but the sense of negative space intimidated them. Quinn tried to sleep but couldn't for a long time. He kept his eyes closed for a while.

  Nisha tweeted, "It's an ominous black hole, towering 60 or 80 stories above us. The top is out of sight. The voices are loud now."

  At that moment, someone in the growing crowd along the side of the highway turned on a bright floodlight and lit up the area around the base of the sphere.

  Nisha tweeted, "This is fascinating and frightening. The little #alien #AI drones are cooperating on some task."

  She watched in silence for an hour. Several people walked over to talk and got back into their cars.

  "Quinn, wake up," Nisha whispered.

  He looked out over the dimly lit landscape.

  "What are they doing?

  "I'm not sure, but they're cooperating in the construction of something. They aren't reacting to the floodlight. They seem to be ignoring us. And they emit a soft blue glow."

  Nisha tweeted, "The #alien machines know we're here, but they're ignoring us. We don't seem to exist to them."

  "Look, they're making a pile of dirt," Quinn said. "Why would they do that?"

  Nisha shrugged her shoulders.

  "I'm not sure but they must be digging a hole on the other side to make the pile. The hole might be a defensive tactic or they might need material for some project."

  "I think a mine used to operate out here," Quinn said. "It wasn't successful because the ores were too difficult to extract."

  "Oh yes, I remember that," Nisha said. "Rare-earth minerals are here, but they were too expensive to extract so the mining plans were abandoned. Maybe the aliens use the rare earths as we do for our electronics. Maybe this is a universal need."

  "Neesh, what are you doing?" Quinn said.

  "I'm putting on my Eyepiece to help me detect patterns in their behavior. I've installed a swarm pattern recognition app."

  She blinked to activate.

  "Does the app help?" Quinn said

  "Yes, I now detect things I might otherwise miss. ? Wow."

  "What?"

  "They're behaving like a crawling swarm. They seem to be working on something. They're moving as one large entity. Something is being created."

  "What type of thing?"

  "I'm not sure but the structure is getting bigger fast. I'm not sure where they're getting the metal but the thing they're making looks like a concrete and metal framework of some sort."

  They watched in silence for 10 minutes. He put his arm around her and said nothing.

  "Impressive," Nisha said. "It's two stories tall already."

  "I don't see much," Quinn said.

  "Me neither, but my Eyepiece can detect the movement vectors in the chaos and display them on top of the scene before me. It's a semi-transparent display and I can zoom in at 10x magnification. What's this?"

  "What?" Quinn said as he looked through his binoculars. "They're doing something out there, but I can't tell what.

  "The structure is three stories tall! Hold on," Nisha said.

  "She tweeted, "The small #alien crawler drones are building a structure of an undetermined purpose."

  Quinn squinted into the darkness.

  "They seem to be crawling all over. ? They each seem to be creating a little part of the structure. Each one is a 3-D printer. Do you notice that Neesh? They're like the printer I sometimes use for my sculptures."

  "Yes, they're printing the structure! They remind me of ants. I think they can lift things 100 times their weight. They interact cooperatively with each other. The base is expanding too. The construction of this thing is happening so quickly, I can't keep up with them. The building is materializing right in front of our eyes."

  Yeah," Quinn said. "I could use a few of these crawler drones at my workshop. Think of the things I could build! They give me the creeps though. They remind me of a cross between a praying mantis and a spider."

  "Yeah I know what you mean, but as a collective group, they still remind me of ants. Either way, there's an insect-like quality to them. They're working together using a shared schematic plan. Wait a minute; the DHS wants to talk to me."

  Nisha opened her DHS communication app.

  "General Sherman, I'm so glad to talk with you. I can't wait to tell you what I'm witnessing here."

  "It's good to talk with you too, Dr. Chandra. President Wilson is with me. We're in an underground bunker."

  "Hello Madam President," Nisha said.

  "Please call me
Emma," the President reminded her.

  Nisha smiled.

  "Okay, call me Nisha!"

  "Okay Nisha, please tell us what's happening there. We have people on the way now and they'll be at your location in a few hours. They'll be working with you to learn about this alien intelligence which has landed. What can you tell us right now?"

  "Well Emma, we're a 90 minute drive outside of Pasadena in the Mojave desert. I'm excited and paralyzed with fright at the same time. I've been here for a couple of hours. When I got here I watched tens or hundreds of thousands of crawling, insect like mechanical drones digging a hole in the desert. Now they've self-organized into swarm-like formations and are building a structure. It's now about seven stories tall after only an hour of construction."

  "An hour ago this didn't exist?"

  "That's correct. They're building a structure of an unknown composition for an unknown purpose. The structure looks like the base for a large office building. Millions of drones are crawling up and down the structure. They're 3-D printing the entire structure out of some unknown mixture of materials they've dug out in the desert. There's no light, so I can't show you much. I can barely discern them in the darkness. They're creating this structure quickly. The base is widening, which indicates to me the structure will be of a great size. I estimate they add a new level every five minutes. Eight stories have been completed now. They're moving at an intense pace and are showing no signs of slowing down."

  "Fascinating," Emma said. "How would you evaluate the level of their technological development?"

  "I don't know what type of beings created these drones or the ones we saw in space, but the technology contains complexity far beyond our current means. And I mean centuries or millennia ahead at our current rate of technological acceleration. The surprising thing is how they're ignoring our presence. I mean, people are shining headlights on them and they keep working. They know we're here. I'm comforted in a way because they ignore us, but I'm anxious because they're making no effort at all to contact us. I doubt these drones possess the entire intelligence behind the sphere in orbit around the moon. These drones seem to be straight builder drones in their function. They've been built by a higher intelligence which might be organic or machine. The higher intelligence seems to be creating a base for their planned activities on Earth. "

  "Are you saying they're planning a colony here on Earth?" Emma said.

  "No, I can't determine that at this time. However, the structure seems solid and permanent. They're building the 10th level of this structure now and they've been working for not even a couple of hours. The drones are fast and precise. They're the size of a large king crab, but when they collaborate, they can act as one large drone. I don't think each one is remote controlled by some intelligence. These drones are making independent decisions and are working together. They might be operating from a central plan."

  "Can you identify any other life forms or other phenomena?" Emma said.

  "No," Nisha said. "It's dark. I only see these drones, the structure, and the huge sphere. The amazing thing about the sphere is there are no signs which indicate to me a method of propulsion. No blast marks or other evidence of a landing can be seen. This huge sphere seems to have been gently placed on the desert by an enormous hand. When the Sun rises, I'll be able to give a much better evaluation of the situation."

  "Okay, we'll talk later," Emma said. "Our scientists will arrive soon after sunrise to assist you. Also, several military convoys are on their way to try to maintain order out there. You'll be in charge of the scientific inquiry and will work with one other scientist from the CDC. You'll report directly to General Sherman and he'll report to me. I want the best information possible. Understood?"

  "Yes, I understand. I'll keep you updated. The structure is now 11 stories tall and getting wider at the base. This is a rapidly developing project they're undertaking. I'm also concerned about microbial contamination in both directions. I'm sure they know what they're doing for their safety, but we don't know what their microbes might do to us."

  "Yes we're also sending infectious disease specialists from the CDC. One named Rachel Feynman will work directly with you. She's a multidisciplinary expert," Emma said.

  They signed off and Quinn tried to sleep. She watched for a while as the drones furiously continued their work.

  She tweeted, "The #alien crawler drones are building a structure at an astonishing pace. No purpose determined."

  "Quinn? Wake up! ? Quinn?"

  She nudged him a bit. He rubbed his eyes.

  "Oh, Neesh. I finally got to sleep. What's happening?"

  "They're building a structure. Watch how quickly they work. You've only been asleep for a couple of hours. It's almost time for sunrise."

  "Wow," Quinn said. "That thing must be 15 stories tall already. They were starting construction when I fell asleep."

  "Yes and I don't know how big this thing is going to be. They seem to be making the material for the structure right here on the building site. Nothing is coming out of the sphere except for drones coming and going. Hold on, I need to update everyone."

  Nisha tweeted, "#alien structure is 15 stories tall. Building pace is increasing. Drones are uninterested in us. Voices in my mind are loud."

  "Could this go on forever?" Quinn said.

  "Yes, there might not be an end to this. They might never run out of materials."

  "What are they making?"

  Nisha said nothing for a short time.

  "I don't know. This might be a monitoring station, or an outpost, or a place to live. Whatever they're building is solid. The sky is getting lighter to the east now. Soon the Sun will rise. I should update everyone."

  Nisha tweeted, "It's dawn. An ocean of #alien drones is crawling. Millions of them are working on this structure."

  "They look like ants coming down from the hills," Quinn said.

  "Yes they seem to be mining something from the mountain and they're bringing the material to the site. The odd thing is I still notice the voices, but they aren't coming from these drones. I think there's something else in the sphere. I think they're living beings even though they sound electronic. They may be a form of advanced AI. They might know where Priya and Sophie are."

  Tears filled Quinn's eyes.

  "Do you think we'll ever see her again?"

  "Yes!" Nisha insisted. "She's in orbit around the moon if she isn't in this sphere in front of us."

  "Are you sure Neesh?" Quinn said.

  "I'm sure," Nisha said.

  Quinn hugged her.

  "I'm relieved when you say that. I know you're only trying to make me feel better. The Sun is rising now. Maybe I should go get something for us to eat in Mojave. It's only a few miles away. Okay?"

  "Okay," Nisha said. "I'm going to continue to watch from right here until you get back. I don't want to miss anything."

  As Quinn drove away, Nisha watched as a large military convoy passed his car on the dusty highway as the convoy headed towards the sphere. Thousands of people lined up on the shoulder. Some were cooking breakfast on portable camp stoves. People in RVs set up camp as though a concert or celebration was happening. Most cars turned around and sped away however. The Sun reflected off the sphere as though off a huge convex mirror. The reflected scattered clouds seemed to bend around the sphere creating a tunnel-like effect.

  Nisha watched as the convoy very slowly passed by.

  "Dr. Chandra?" An enthusiastic woman wearing an Eyepiece said as she leaned out of a truck.

  Nisha felt hesitant to reply. However, she understood her face had been identified in the woman's eyepiece display.

  "Yes, this is me," Nisha said.

  The truck pulled over and the woman climbed down from the passenger side and extended her hand. The convoy continued on.

  "Hi Dr. Chandra, I'm Rachel Feynman. I'm an evolutionary biologist with the CDC and I'm here to work with you for the duration of this event."

  Nisha smiled as they shook ha
nds.

  "Hi Rachel, I'm glad you're here. I'm getting more anxious by the minute watching them build this thing."

  Nisha always had a mistrust of the government, but she had no choice but to go along. She didn't think it was evil, but she knew the limitations of bureaucracy. However, this was her best chance to recover Priya and the other kids so she decided to cooperate.

  "I am too," Rachel said. "I don't know how you stayed here overnight in the dark. I'd be scared half to death. Everything is more scary at night. I can't imagine the technological complexity behind what I'm seeing here."

  "So what are you thinking right now?"

  "We at the CDC are worried about many things. First, we don't know whether microbial life is being set loose. We'll find out quickly. Next, we don't know their intentions, so the convoy will close off this highway and keep people at a safer distance a few miles back. And last but not least, we don't know who 'they' are. They might be organic beings like us, robotic, or a hybrid of the two. They might be a form of life we can't imagine."

  "Yes, this might be anything," Nisha said. "My guess is they're organic. If they were robotic, chances are they would have taken over the Earth a while ago. I think these drones are semi-autonomous but in the end controlled or software limited by whatever beings created them."

  They watched in silence for a several minutes, while Rachel took some air samples. They were downwind from the construction site.

  "Wow, is the structure bigger than it was a few minutes ago?" Rachel said.

  "You aren't imagining anything. It's 30 stories tall and the base is getting thicker after only a few hours of construction. They're adding one story every five minutes."

  "Incredible. I don't know what we can do about them."

  "All we can do for now is make the best of this circumstance and learn as much as we can. Are they blocking the highway entrance to this area now? My husband is returning from Mojave with food."

  "Sorry," Rachel said. "He'll be redirected to a designated viewing area a mile behind us. Another mile behind that will be a public viewing area. Only a few of us will be allowed to be this close. Also, we'll need to live in a special bio-safe tent structure we're building nearby. All of us on the team will live in these structures so we don't infect the general population. You must wear this stylish bio suit until we can determine the nature of their infections organisms."

  "Hmm," Nisha said playfully. "They are quite stylish!"

  Rachel smiled and held the suit in front of her. They laughed. Nisha blinked to activate her Eyepiece.

  "Quinn, I'm sorry but we're being separated. They want me to live here temporarily, so I don't infect anyone."

  "Unbelievable," Quinn said. "First I lose Pree, and now you? What am I going to do?"

  "You're going to keep an eye on me here, and you're going to be available for Sanjay. Did you speak with him?"

  "Yes, he's afraid because of what he's seeing on the YouTube news. I'll go home tonight, but I don't want to lose you. You're the love of my life Neesh."

  "You're mine too, I'll be okay. Take care of Sanjay and I'll be here working on getting Pree back. Watch my Twitter video stream, Okay?"

  "Right. I'll also be watching you at the designated viewing area. I've spotted you now in my scope. I'm waving. Do you see me?"

  "No, I ? Oh, yes I do!" Nisha said as she jumped and waved back. "I need to go now but contact me whenever you need me. This is my workplace now."

  "Okay Neesh," Quinn said. "I love you, bye."

  "See you Quinn! I love you more," Nisha said.

  She tried to keep the mood light despite her increasing pulse rate and broken heart. She knew it could get a lot worse before it got better. She didn't want to tell him, but she feared she would never see her family ever again.

  Nisha tweeted, "#alien construction continues. Public viewing areas are being constructed. HWY 14 is closed N of Mojave."

  Rachel walked over to Nisha on the crunchy granite sand.

  "Okay, they've set up a temporary place for us. Come with me."

  They drove on a dusty road, and walked over to the tent, which had a high vantage point where they could monitor the intense alien activity.

  "Impressive!" Nisha said. "Everything is here for you guys. You have scopes, computers, and a full lab!"

  "You mean, everything is here for US!" Rachel said. "You're part of our team now Nisha. Our immediate mission is to detect alien microorganisms."

  "Thanks Rachel," Nisha said. "I'm glad you're here. I'm getting more anxious as time goes on. We'll watch this structure grow by the minute."

  Nisha counted the levels in silence. Rachel, had a playful side to her.

  "19,7,43,31," Rachel said.

  Nisha smiled.

  "Rachel stop, I'm trying to count!"

  Rachel smiled.

  "Let me see. ? The tower is ? 50 stories tall."

  Nisha smiled at Rachel, whose face became frozen in place.

  "What's wrong Rachel? I thought your joke was funny."

  "Um. ? Something is behind you. Turn around slowly and stay calm."

  Nisha turned around and looked into the eye of something hovering. She struggled to speak. Then she felt a deep paralysis set in. She knew what it was.

  "Rachel, I can't move."

  "I can't move either," Rachel said.

  "This happened to me when they took Priya. The best thing to do is to not struggle. If you do, the force against you gets stronger."

  "Okay, I'll do that," Rachel said.

  With a quick blink, Nisha turned on her Eyepiece recorder which fed video to her Twitter and other accounts.

  "Everyone can watch now," Nisha said. "I'm glad my eyes aren't paralyzed."

  "Who is everyone?" Rachel said.

  "Every one of my 100 million Twitter followers can watch my video feed right now. And they can listen to me speak since I turned on my microphone. I need to describe this thing to them."

  Nisha focused on the small sphere in front of her and began her report while pretending to be calm.

  "I'm Nisha Chandra. I'm having trouble breathing. Sorry. I'm with Rachel Feynman, the lead evolutionary biologist with the CDC. We're located in the Mojave Desert north of LA about 300 meters from the alien sphere. What you're looking at seems to be a monitor drone. The surface is reflective, like the bigger spheres. The drone is about the size of a basketball and is hovering a few feet in front of me. I'm anxious because I've been paralyzed by something like this before. I can hear faint mechanical sounds as appendages emerge from the reflective outer shell and move around. I detect no sounds of propulsion except small jets which are for stability. I'm not sure how the drone hovers so silently. It's possibly magnetically driven. I'm not sure. I'm uncomfortable because it's close to me and it's scanning me. I can't describe the movement of the appendages over my body. I can't walk or move my arms but I can talk and breathe thankfully. This is the same paralysis I encountered when they abducted my child Priya."

  "Nisha, small flying things are coming out of the back of the drone."

  "There they are," Nisha said to her audience. "They appear to be like the mosquito drones which took blood samples earlier. Ouch, the needle got me!"

  "Are you okay?" Rachel said.

  "I'm fine. I felt a pin prick through my haz-mat suit. We've detected no side effects or infections after they do this. I'm not worried. Well, I am but, well never mind."

  Rachel winced.

  "Ouch, the needle got me too!"

  "It's okay Rachel. I doubt anything will happen to us."

  "I hope you're right Nisha. I'm seeing a report in my eyepiece which states we've detected no alien microorganisms. I'm not sure how they've accomplished this feat. We spent over $100 million sterilizing the Mars Rover 5 and still, several million microbes survived the trip to Mars. Although they survived, they couldn't reproduce in the harsh conditions and they all eventually died."

  The sphere accelerated away from them and disappeared into the parent
sphere like a drop of water hitting a pond.

  Rachel finally moved.

  "I'm free!"

  "I'm free too," Nisha said. "That seems to be the way they operate. They move in fast, paralyze us, do their work and leave. They're professionally clinical, don't you think?"

  "Yes. They do their work with analytical precision with the least amount of trauma to the subject, who is us. It's like we're lab animals."

  Nisha teared up as she watched the sphere.

  "I hope they're treating Priya and the other kids humanely. Well, maybe the term 'humanely' doesn't apply here but you know what I mean. I'm ending this transmission now, but I'll give you updates whenever I can."

  Nisha blinked, and terminated her Eyepiece transmission. She sobbed for a moment and then pulled herself together.

  "Wow," she said. "In all of the confusion I hadn't noticed how much height they've added to the tower. It's ? over 100 stories tall now! This means the height is about 500 meters, or 1,500 feet. The tower is much taller than the sphere."

  They watched in silence for a while. Rachel examined the structure closely as she magnified her Eyepiece view.

  "The building material doesn't appear to be metal or any construction material we know. It's smoother and has a gray flat texture to it, which is similar to concrete but smoother. I wish I could examine the substance up close. I guess they chose this site because of the proximity to appropriate building materials and the location is far removed from human population centers."

  "Maybe we should!" Nisha said.

  "Should what?"

  Nisha smiled slyly.

  "Examine the substance up close!"

  "No way, I'm not getting close to those things!" Rachel said.

  Nisha squinted in the early morning sunlight.

  "Speaking of those things," Nisha said. "They're climbing down now. They're heading into the sphere like ants retreating into their burrow."

  Nisha tweeted, "Frame of #alien structure might be complete. The crawler drones are no longer performing their construction activities."

  "Things seem to be slowing down for the moment," Nisha said. "I haven't had any sleep all night so I better get some while I can. Is that okay?"

  "Sure, I'll wake you up if anything new happens," Rachel said.

  Nisha slept for a few hours. Rachel gave her husband and son the latest news. In Washington, D.C., plans were being made to deal with them. President Wilson paced the floor of her subterranean Oval Office and discussed strategy with General Sherman and the Chiefs of Staff.

  "Lucas, we have few options open to us," she said. "As soon as we do anything considered dangerous by the alien life form or forms, all those involved are killed. They seem to know all about the actors in this play. I want a list of possible scenarios and how we can respond to them. I don't profess to know what will happen. Events have been unpredictable. However, I'd like to work out some simulations which might help us when things get tough. We must think of non-lethal ways to defend ourselves."

  I'll get right on that Emma," Lucas said. "It's difficult to know where to start. They've made no attempt to communicate with us, as far as we know. They ignore our attempts too. Even our best simulation theorists are at a loss. However, we'll persevere. In the meantime, I've sent 5,000 troops to get people away from the Mojave building site. 1,000 troops are arriving now. A primary viewing area for approved scientists and others will be constructed one mile upwind from the site. There's a bluff three miles away which can serve as a public viewing area. We'll not allow weapons at the public area."

  "That's good Lucas," Emma said. "What's happening with the sphere in orbit around the moon?"

  "Other than faint transmissions which are going back and forth between the lunar orbiting sphere and the Mojave sphere, we detect no activity at all. The orbit is unchanged. The astronauts, who are still in lunar orbit, don't appear to be contaminated with alien microorganisms. No contamination has been detected among any of the people who were attacked in New York by the mosquito drones. The aliens appear to be careful to avoid contamination, assuming they're organic beings."

  "Thanks Lucas. Keep me informed at all times. This is the most pressing issue right now. This is more important than the stock market which has dropped another 5% this morning and down 35% in the past 10 days. I can't do anything about this. It's all psychological. People are worried and are saving their money for a rainy day. The rain appears to be falling."

  Quinn watched the construction from the designated viewing area for several hours. After speaking with Nisha, he decided to go back home to look after Sanjay. It was a long hot drive home into a setting sun. He wondered if he'd never see Nisha and Priya ever again. He took a deep breath as he entered the front door, trying to act as though nothing was wrong.

  "Daddy, I don't want to go to school anymore. They're picking on me and my friend who heard the voices. Now my friend is gone. I understand they abducted him too. Now they'll pick on only me. Can I be home schooled?"

  "Sanjay, I think we can home school you now. Mom is going to be busy for a while and I'll have more free time since my sculptures aren't selling. So I'm going to stay home with you."

  "Yessss!" Sanjay said.

  Then he looked at the floor and frowned. He knew what was wrong. Autism didn't stop him from feeling pain and loss. He also knew the possible dangers in the desert.

  "What about Pree? Where is she? And Mommy?"

  "We don't know where Pree is," Quinn said. "My guess is she's in the sphere orbiting the moon. Nobody knows for sure what's happening. I miss her. I'm missing your mom too. She's going to be working at the alien construction site for a while. It's you and me now, so we need to stick together. Okay?"

  "Okay Daddy."

  Nisha managed to get a few hours of sleep in the scientist's tent. She woke up and walked over to Rachel as she watched the alien construction site through the opening of the tent door.

  "Rachel, what's been happening while I slept?"

  She gazed skyward.

  "They created a beautiful structure. Now the drones are moving equipment and other unknown things from the sphere and into the structure."

  Nisha looked more closely at the framework.

  "There's no pure metal. The concrete appears polished and it's gleaming in the sunlight."

  "I can't believe this," Rachel said. "All the windows are being created at the same time by the drones. They're 3D printing glass."

  "They built the tower quickly," Nisha said. "The whole thing is partially enclosed in a somewhat similar reflective surface as the sphere. Hold on, let me tweet this."

  "Today is #alien move-in day. The structure is a fantastic work of art on the highest level. _pics."

  Rachel watched Nisha send out the tweet.

  "If this is moving day, who/what is moving in? #alien #WeirdVoices."

  "That's a good question," Nisha said. "Let me go get something to eat and I'll be back."

  Rachel squinted as she picked up her scope to get a better view.

  "Nisha!"

  She walked back over to Rachel.

  "What do you see?"

  Rachel had trouble speaking. She pointed towards the tower.

  Nisha picked up her scope.

  "What's wrong Rachel?" she said as she scanned the building site. "It's them! Those are not machines. The voices in my mind became louder than ever."

  Nisha turned on her Eyepiece video with a blink so everyone could watch.

  She tweeted, "#Alien life forms spotted emerging from sphere. They appear organic like us. Not AI unless a hybrid. Our new neighbors are sturdy and strong looking."

  "Nisha, maybe we should evacuate and move back."

  "No, they know we're here. I don't think we should show fear. In the animal world, if you run away you become the hunted. If they wanted to destroy us, we wouldn't be here to be concerned about running away."

  "What about accidental infections by alien microorganisms?" Rachel said.

  "I'm not
going to worry," Nisha said. "If alien microbes are loose and we're vulnerable, it's too late for us as a species. We might as well assume they've taken precautions in some way."

  Rachel took a deep breath and wiped the sweat of her palms on a towel.

  "Okay, I agree," Rachel said. "We're continually taking air samples, so we'll know if alien microbes are spreading. We've now identified some strange ones, but thus far they aren't infectious to the animals we've brought along or to us. Their immune systems test in the normal range. We might not need these HazMat suits for long."

  Nisha took a deep breath and looked through her scope again. She had never experienced terror and happiness at the same time until now.

  "They're moving on two legs! Oh, this is fascinating. I've always dreamed of this moment. My hands are shaking so much that I can't observe them through the scope."

  Rachel moved the scope to rest on top of the fence nearby.

  "There, this should help."

  "Thanks Rachel, that's better. I'll switch over to my Eyepiece in a minute. I can't get over this. I'm seeing a species from another planet. They're large but graceful, don't you think?"

  "Yes, they glide along in a smooth way, even though they're two legged. They must be strong."

  "Yes," Nisha said. "They easily handle Earth's gravity. They might come from a planet with stronger gravity. Most of them are carrying things. The structure of their arms is like ours but their hands are different. Can you see their hands Rachel?"

  "Yes, sometimes I get a glimpse of their hands. They have many fingers, but we're too far away to get a clear view. They aren't human-like, despite a somewhat similar body layout."

  "You're right," Nisha said. "They come in many different colors. And they don't seem to be wearing clothing as far as I can tell, though some of the skin is covered with something like fur. Most are blue, but watch the red one near the first post. ? Wait ? the red one is turning blue. Wow! They can turn colors. Why do they change colors? Another one is changing from bluish-green to red. I wish I could observe them close up, but I'm afraid to get any closer. I'm uneasy being only 200 meters away. Thousands of them are coming out of the sphere now. They're walking into the new structure."

  "Hey, they're watching us," Rachel said. "Is your Eyepiece turned on?"

  "Yes. Several of them are looking at us. I think we're too close. We shouldn't back away now. That would be a sign of weakness. Oh no?"

  "What Nisha?"

  "Two of them are heading towards us," Nisha said.

  She wrote a quick tweet, "Two #alien beings are walking towards me right now. Follow my live Eyepiece feed."

  Rachel smiled as best she could and made light of the moment.

  "That last tweet should get you a few followers!"

  Nisha stopped to take a deep breath.

  "Yeah, I guess you're right. This is a tough way to gain new followers though. I can't believe that real aliens from outer space are walking towards us and we're thinking about my Twitter stream! It's a good distraction. Be calm Rachel, and don't make any rapid movements. "

  Rachel looked wide-eyed at Nisha as they walked across the scrub land and directly up to them, still in their hazmat suits..

  "Okay, I'll be calm if you say so! Now that they're right in front of us, they're bigger than I thought. They're well over six feet tall. And check out their eyes."

  "Yes," Nisha said, describing them to her audience. "They're like the eyes of a chameleon. They move independently. They're over a foot taller than me. And I estimate they weigh about three times my weight."

  "Hello," Nisha said to the aliens who were a pleasant shade of blue.

  The aliens didn't reply. They inspected Nisha and Rachel.

  "Maybe they didn't understand you Nisha," Rachel said.

  "I don't know. They have ear-like slits at the base of the skull, but I'm not certain. I'm getting nervous. I can still move. Can you move?"

  Rachel stood stiffly and nodded yes.

  "I'm having trouble breathing."

  "Me too, but it's nerves, not paralysis. The voices are still in my mind Rachel. The voices, or whatever they might be, are similar to the voices I've known since day one. Only now there's less static. I perceive them as electronic. These two aliens sound louder in my mind than the other thousands of voices I've heard, but they're not speaking out loud. They seem to be speaking a language but I don't know what they're saying. The sound is so muffled that it's like white noise. They communicate rapidly. Ugh, now this is intimidating."

  "What's intimidating Nisha?"

  "See how they watch us? I felt this way once when I watched a grizzly bear in a cage. I felt that if the bear could get out of the cage, I would be helpless to stop it from attacking me. The problem is, these aliens are out of their cage, and they're inspecting me as though I'm a curiosity or worse, dinner!"

  Rachel turned to one of the aliens and said, "Hello."

  Nisha pointed to herself and said, "Nisha."

  She pointed to one of the aliens. They continued their inspection and didn't respond. One looked right into Nisha's eyes, first with one eye and then with the other eye until both eyes focused on her.

  Nisha could sense a voice in her mind, so she looked back and said, "I can hear you."

  The alien gave Nisha a sniff with a rubbery, ribbed nose. The aliens stared at each other with one eye for a long time. The other eye was on Nisha and Rachel.

  "I think they're communicating," Nisha said. "They must use telepathy in some way. I don't think that's physically possible to send telepathic signals with organic brains. However, they don't make sounds. They don't seem to use their little mouths to communicate. Their eyes make me uneasy. They're looking at me in two places at once and then they focus. Check out those fingers."

  Nisha focused her Eyepiece on the alien hand as it reached out to touch her. The world watched.

  "Don't move Nisha!" Rachel said.

  "I won't," Nisha said. "Rachel, each hand has six fingers, with three opposing the other three. The layout is like having three thumbs opposing three fingers. The fingers appear extremely nimble. The hand is squeezing my arm. ? Ouch! Their skin is rough, like a cat's tongue."

  The alien pulled away.

  Nisha picked up a pad of paper and a pen from the nearby picnic table. The aliens noticed. She drew a picture of the solar system with the Sun in the middle and an arrow pointing to the third planet, the Earth. She pointed to the third planet and said, "Earth."

  The aliens glanced at each other and turned bright shades of green.

  "I made an impression," Nisha said.

  They turned towards each other for a moment, turned and walked away towards the sphere and tower.

  "Oh, maybe I didn't make much of an impression."

  "That's all?" Rachel said. "No, 'take me to your leader' or anything?"

  Nisha breathed heavily.

  "That's enough for now I guess. My heart feels like it's going to explode. I can sense their intellect and their physical power all at once. I'm overwhelmed."

  Nisha teared up, and so did Rachel.

  "My heart is also racing," Rachel said. "It won't slow down. My pulse rate is 150."

  "Mine too," Nisha said. "What's strange is I felt nothing emotional from them. They didn't seem interested in us. They were curious about the experience of seeing us close up, but they didn't pay us any attention as individuals. We're like specimens to them."

  "You're right Nisha. They were more interested in each other than in us. I've been violated. They sniffed at us and looked us over without any compassion. I felt like a cornered animal and they treated us as animals. Now they're back at the sphere going about their business as though nothing happened. For humans, this may be the most significant event in history. For them, it's just another day at the zoo. What makes the situation worse is none of the others are as interested as they were. They watched from a distance and didn't bother to come over. What are your impressions Nisha?"

  "My experience i
s similar to yours. I believe they think they're so far above us, we don't warrant direct communication. At one point, I think they attempted to communicate. I could sense their electronic thoughts when I said 'Earth' and they turned green. I could sense their voices in my mind but I guess I didn't reply in a way they consider to be civilized. Did I do something wrong?"

  "I don't think there's anything else you might do, short of knowing their language and communicating silently."

  Nisha smiled as they streamed into the new structure like a line of ants moving between a food source into a colony.

  "Yeah, I'd impress them if I could paralyze them and force them into my super, trans-warp anti-matter drive sphere! Wait a second. I'm getting a notification in my Eyepiece from an astronomer friend."

  Rachel waited.

  "The sphere in orbit around the Moon is leaving orbit and appears to be heading to Earth. That sphere is 20 miles in diameter, which is about 100 times the diameter of this enormous sphere in front of us. I can't breathe."

  They said nothing for a moment as Rachel glanced up at the crescent Moon in the morning sky and felt her pulse in her neck.

  "I'm having trouble too," she said. "Is the mother sphere going to land here? Is this 1,000 foot sphere in front of us only a shuttle? That big thing might crush all of us. Fortunately, we're too close to the other sphere for it to land on this spot without crushing the tower and the shuttle sphere."

  "We should get a little sleep," Nisha said. "I think we'll need to be rested when the spacecraft arrives."

  Nisha addressed her Twitter audience.

  "I'll broadcast more soon everyone. Don't panic. They mean us no harm."

  She blinked and turned off her Eyepiece broadcast but kept recording, in case something happened.

  In Washington, D.C., the President and her staff monitored the movement of the large sphere as it approached the Earth.

  "Lucas, where is the ship now?" President Wilson said.

  "Emma the sphere is already 90% of the way to Earth," General Sherman said.

  "How long ago did it leave lunar orbit?"

  "Almost two hours ago."

  "Are you saying this 20 mile-wide thing can travel from the Moon to the Earth in two hours?"

  "Affirmative," General Sherman said. "At this point, all we can do is wait and be on the highest level of readiness. That's our current status. Countries around the world are also on their highest alert status. We're communicating to make sure nobody makes a mistake and launches a nuclear device."

  "Yes, the enemy isn't on this planet," the President said. "Let's keep it that way. What's the stock market doing?"

  "The averages dropped 8% in the past hour. That's a 40% drop since the crisis began," the Fed Chairman said. "I've never seen such a steep decline, not only in the stock market but in overall economic activity. At the start of the great depression, The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped from 400 to 200 in the two week crash, then it rose for six months to 300, and then dropped to 40 two years later. People aren't buying things. Many are taking off work. This might turn into an severe depression. I'm taking interest rates to zero effective as soon as this meeting ends. I'm glad we managed to pay down the national debt to near zero over the past decade. That should help us survive this fall. We can borrow if necessary to keep the economy afloat. ? If people will buy the bonds."

  The President turned to the General.

  "What's the sphere doing now Lucas?"

  "The speed is decreasing. ? He held a finger up. Please wait."

  Silence.

  "Yes I'm getting confirmation. The spacecraft is entering Earth's orbit. ? It's not preparing to land on the Earth. For now we'll remain at the highest defensive condition."

  "Nisha? ? Wake up," Rachel whispered.

  "Oh, hi Rachel," Nisha said as she rubbed her eyes.

  She blinked to activate her Eyepiece and transmitted video.

  "What's happening?"

  Rachel looked out the open flaps of the tent towards the setting moon over the sphere.

  "The big sphere is in a geostationary orbit around the Earth. It has a permanent direct line of sight to this location and the surrounding hemisphere."

  "The sphere in orbit around the moon is already in orbit? How long did I sleep?"

  Rachel blinked to know the time.

  "You were asleep for a little over two hours. The sphere took two hours to travel from lunar orbit to an orbit around the Earth!"

  "Impressive," Nisha said. "Everything they do is impressive. Even their architecture is impressive. I mean, check out this building. This is the most impressive structure on Earth. They built it overnight without lifting a single one of their six fingers. And they used materials located on-site. How many of them might live in there?"

  Rachel studied the tower for a while. She blinked to activate her Eyepiece.

  "I'm getting an estimate of 250,000 based on their size and how much space humans need. Reality might be much different."

  Nisha put her hands to her temples.

  "Oh?"

  "What's happening?" Rachel said.

  "The voices are loud now. Millions of them seem to be flowing in a chorus."

  Nisha continued rubbing her temples.

  "The sensation is like a continuous flow of electrons. I wonder if this is how the internet sounds if I could hear the entire thing with my ears. I can't tell if what I'm sensing are their thoughts or their communications. Maybe I'm sensing both because they're the same thing."

  "Yes, maybe they're both one and the same," Rachel said.

  Nisha pinched her eyes into little slits.

  "Oh I understand what you mean. In other words, what they think gets transmitted in the same way our thoughts get transmitted when we type or talk. That's a good theory. If correct, I wonder how they get their thoughts translated into electronic signals. Hmm, this gets me to thinking. I wonder if ?"

  She stared at her feet.

  "You wonder if what?"

  "Sorry," Nisha said. "For a second I thought I heard Priya. Thousands of voices and signals are flowing by in my mind. Somehow I can vaguely pick them up."

  "I sense nothing from them," Rachel said.

  "You're fortunate Rachel. The noise is constant and invasive. I can't get away from them. Oh?"

  Rachel put her hand on Nisha's shoulder.

  "What?"

  "I think I picked up on some human voices. I think Priya's was among them. I'm not sure. Maybe I'm wishing too hard. Hold on."

  Nisha blinked to talk with Quinn and he answered.

  "Neesh? Is that you?"

  "Yes. And just so you know, the world is watching us talk right now. How are you? I missed you all night. The night went on forever."

  "I missed you too Neesh. Sanjay and I are going over some school assignments. He wants to be home schooled. And since I'll be at home for a while, I decided to take advantage of that. I hope this is okay."

  "Of course," Nisha said. "I contacted you to tell you I'm okay and I believe Pree is alive and well. When the big sphere entered orbit, the voices got louder and clearer. Twice I think I heard Priya's voice and other human-like voices too. They sounded a little electronic and not quite human, as do all the voices."

  "That's exciting! Except about the electronic part."

  "Yes! I want you to know she's okay and I miss you so much. I need to go. Listen to my stream and you'll know everything I do. I might send you a little message from time to time, though I'm streaming to the world. Okay?"

  "Okay Neesh," Quinn said. "Be careful. I want you both back!"

  "Okay, I'll get us back Quinn, bye."

  As Nisha said goodbye, Rachel glanced into the clear blue sky and pointed.

  "Umm? Nisha!"

  "Another one!" Nisha said. "Just like the first one."

  Rachel got an incoming message.

  "I'm getting conformation. The new sphere came from the large sphere in orbit," she said.

  "I hear no sound other than some di
splacement wind and a low throbbing hum," Nisha said. "How do they do that? How are these things moving? They're incredible engineers. I'm in awe of them. I understand why an advanced civilization might be worshiped as gods. ? I'm getting an alert from my compass app, there's a strong magnetic disturbance happening. The sphere appears to be partially propelled by a magnetic drive which might work against the Earth's magnetic field. They're sailing on the field or something. I can't imagine how much energy is required to resist the weak magnetic field of the Earth enough to levitate this huge sphere."

  "I'm in awe too," Rachel said. "Okay, it's touching the ground ?. There!"

  "It landed silently and perfectly. I sensed a low frequency rolling for a moment."

  "Incredible!" Rachel said. "That makes two. They're awesome creatures, but I hope they don't turn against us."

  Nisha gazed upwards.

  "Me too. There's no indication they'll turn against us. They've taken every precaution to not damage the environment or the life on Earth. They kill only in self-defense as a precaution to avoid future deaths or injuries. I'm a little more optimistic at the moment, though I'm cautious."

  "Do you think Priya and the other children are alive?" Rachel said.

  "Yes, I know it for a fact. They sound different than the aliens, but they're out there. I'm not sure why, but in the past few days, the children's voices sound electronic. I could never sense the thoughts of Priya or anyone else before. I don't believe in telepathy. There's no evidence that our mushy chemically connected brains broadcast decipherable electromagnetic signals."

  Rachel stared at the second sphere, which sat on the desert floor behind and to the right of the first sphere. The crawling builder drones were coming out from both spheres.

  Nisha blinked to zoom in with her Eyepiece as she continued to send out video.

  "Probably more than a million of them are exiting the spheres. They seem to be doing the same thing as before. Notice how they're going into the same mining hole? They might build another tower. I'd guess at least 10,000 of the aliens are living in the first tower already. That's 3%-10% of capacity. Rachel, what are you looking at?"

  "I'm not sure. Something is happening with the first sphere."

  They observed in silence as it levitated above the desert floor and accelerated into the sky. The liftoff was as silent as the landing, other than the heavy vibration in the ground when it landed."

  Nisha continued broadcasting the events.

  "Ugh!" Rachel shouted. "That's the most powerful sonic boom I've ever experienced. The sphere traveled away from us, which reduced the sound volume, but the boom still shook the ground. There's a dust devil still swirling in its place."

  "Impressive!" Nisha said. "I guess I'm going to be saying that a lot in the coming days. How can I not say that? I can't get over their level of mastery of physics and other sciences. They seem to be a race of master engineers. Oh, I had a thought."

  "What's that?"

  "Well, the original sphere has left behind at least 10,000 aliens in the tower. This means they're living in this area, at least temporarily. This structure looks permanent to me. However, they built this tower in less than a day. For them, this might be like putting up a tent for camping. I'm confused right now. What do they want?"

  Rachel focused on the second sphere with her Eyepiece.

  "Thousands of aliens are coming out of the second sphere and moving into the tower. They aren't wasting any time."

  "Yes," Nisha said. "They don't mess around. When they want to do something, they go all out. Watch them. They're all bright shades of blue and green. I wonder what the colors signify.

  Rachel glanced at Nisha as she watched the aliens.

  "Um, look up."

  Nisha still broadcasted video. She glanced at Rachel, and then gazed into the sky.

  "Here comes another one. They come in fast, but they appear to be in slow motion because they're so big. I guess these 300 meter spheres are shuttles, going back and forth to the mother ship. Wow, there's the delayed sonic boom and now the ground is vibrating again during landing."

  "Nisha turn around. Here comes an entire group of aliens walking this way.

  "Stay calm like before. Let them examine us. I'm going to narrate for my broadcast audience. This group looks the same as the last two individuals who inspected us earlier. They're flickering in bright shades of blue. I wonder if the colors indicate emotional states of being. I haven't had a chance to revise my method of greeting them. Last time they seemed to get bored. What should we do? We can't impress them with our technological prowess. We might have something in common with them on an emotional level, or on some other level. How can we establish a connection with them?"

  They became silent as the aliens walked over to them.

  "I'm getting anxious," Rachel said. "They want to touch me. They're getting too close. I want to get out of here."

  Nisha continued broadcasting to the worldwide audience.

  "I'm freaking out too, but let them inspect us. They appear to want to avoid harming us. They're strong enough to do us some serious damage. This one is examining my eye closely but delicately. You in the audience must be getting quite a close-up view of their incredible independently moving eyes via my Eyepiece. Rachel, tell the guys in the tent to get out of there. The aliens are going in and I don't want any trouble."

  "Okay, let's go find out what they're doing in there."

  They walked over to the tent , trying to be slow and casual.

  "Wow," Nisha said. "They're taking the equipment. I'm not sure what to do. I hope they don't take the infrared scanner. I'm going to get that before they do."

  Nisha grabbed the scanner, but one of the biggest aliens came over and tried to snatch the gun-like device out of her hands. However, Nisha held on.

  "It's turning red," Rachel warned. "I think you better let go."

  "Fine, take the thing!" Nisha shouted at the alien.

  The alien pulled hard and took away the scanner effortlessly. It gave Nisha a close inspection with both eyes, turned and walked out of the tent.

  "You've got some nerve!" Nisha shouted while following them as they walked out.

  Rachel didn't want things to get out of control.

  "Nisha, I don't think yelling at them is a good idea. We don't want to start an interstellar war. I don't think we'd win."

  Nisha looked to the ground, breathing rapidly.

  "Yeah, I know. I got upset. Who do they think they are?"

  "For the time being, they're the dominant species on this planet. That's who they are, and they know it."

  They watched as the aliens walked back to their tower. Nisha kicked the ground in disgust.

  "They don't care at all. They came over, checked us out, grabbed some of our equipment and left. They didn't attempt to communicate. They want to check out our level of technological development. I'm a little embarrassed because this will confirm what they already know. We're a backward species compared to them."

  Rachel turned towards the alien tower.

  "A second tower is going up. They built two levels during the time we were in the tent."

  "I wonder what they're doing. Are they setting up an outpost of some sort? Do they want to observe us and the local solar system? Are they early colonists, similar to Columbus and the like? You know what Columbus and those who followed him did to the native people. Things briefly were fine, and then things turned ugly. Do they view us in the same way the early explorers thought of the dodo bird? Are we only a curiosity to them?"

  "I'm not sure," Rachel said. "They don't seem to be aggressive towards us."

  "That's true. The early explorers weren't aggressive towards the Dodo either, but the huge bird still became extinct because the explorers didn't care, and they were hungry. These aliens don't seem to want to exterminate us, but they don't care about us either."

  "I think you're worrying too much," Rachel said as she put her hand on Nisha's shoulder. "Why don't you get a little sleep
? I need some sleep too. We'll be alerted if anything happens."

  Nisha contacted Quinn to say good night, and then she slept. A few hours later, still in darkness, Rachel tapped her on the shoulder.

  "Nisha, wake up. We gotta move."

  "Why should we move Rachel?" Nisha said as she rubbed her eyes and got up.

  "The crawler drones are moving this way. I think they're going to build a third tower nearby, so we better move back."

  "Okay," Nisha said as she surveyed the local terrain. "Let's move up the rocky hillside about 1,000 meters. They seem to like flat land so they won't build up there."

  "Yes, I think you're right," Rachel said.