Voyagers
It is unknown exactly when the first humans traveled into outer space, records of such have been lost to the sands of time. Most sentient species hadn’t developed sufficient technology or had even evolved by the time humans were already an interstellar species. Many saw humans as gods, some as enemies, some omens of death, but we saw them as brethren. They were like us, always looking up towards the sky, always wanting to go beyond.
My fellow monks and I were translating ancient manuscripts and transmitting out files to other monasteries when the human vessel first touched down. I was not there to see it but Brother Dreke described their ship as a long oblong shape that slowly and and vertically descended upon our luminous yellow planet. At this point in our history we had known life existed on other planets despite not ever leaving Gteth, our home world.
Our sister planet Eteth had life which we could see evidence of when our orbits aligned every one hundred cycles, a fifth of our lifespan. We first thought them as weather anomalies, dirt storms, or Gtethquakes. However when we upgraded our occipital sensors we could see them in full detail. They looked so close to us but they were ever so far away. By the time we first saw them them had been dead for centuries, we were merely looking into the past, watching the painful downfall of their world. It was the alchemy of fire which was their catalyst for demise. Unlike us, but much like humans they were carbon based life.
It was melancholic seeing them in high definition for the first time. We tried to communicate, lighting up our reflectors, sending light waves into the atmosphere. They never responded. That’s when the Papacy hypothesised the reason for their silence was time. Crushing. Imagine seeing someone but never communicating, unheard of.
Eteth was beautiful, colors and shapes even the Papal Savants couldn’t conjure up. Green and blue, that’s what the humans called them, words which we soon appropriated. The Etethians were propelled by a green (a color we previously had no word for, until the humans taught us it) spade shaped sail, which ran down the middle of their bodies. The sail had a network of white veins which led up to wide end of the spade, to eight brown spindle legs arranged in a circular pattern.
Etethian structures were unlike ours. They reached out towards the sky, while we burrowed into the ground. Spirals of stone, pyramids the humans deemed them.(We added that word to our dictionary as well.) The humans helped us in more ways than they could ever know. They not only filled holes in our language and shared their knowledge, they gifted us space. They took us to Eteth and beyond.
Humans shared stories with us, just as we did with them. They told us about the many planets they’ve been to, the many creatures and sights they’ve seen. We felt guilty that our stories couldn't equal anything they had to offer, and that we could never repay they. They laughed. They told us our stories and records were more than enough. They left us plans for a light drive, told us to stay curious, and left. We built the ships into ourselves and went to explore the universe. Hoping to have our own adventures and share our stories with the humans.
Soon many space faring species met up and formed the Travelers Alliance, we shared tales about our adventures, discoveries, home worlds, and humans. The Alliance kept on, discovering new worlds and civilizations, spreading curiosity, and equipping every with tools to travel, just as the humans did for us.
We each evolved for our own planets. Our adaptations leaving an indelible imprint on us. While in the Alliance the monks learnt that every appendage, orifice, and sensor on a body was tied to a particular terrain. Large eyes to see in darkness, hard skin for protection from predators, wings for flight on planets with love gravity, etc.
We led the Alliance on the trail of the humans. We wanted to thank them, share our stories, our findings. We never found them, or any remnants of their existence.
Humans soon became legends, folktales, myths. Every species had their own explanations to where they came from and their purpose of pushing us onto this adventure. The stories got more twisted every time they were retold. Soon nobody could remember what the humans were actually like. Except my brethren, the Monks of Gteth, Master of the Text.
Everybody eventually was called back home by physical limitations. Space wasn’t for life. It was nobody’s natural habitat.
Now more species are developing space travel without the need for humans. The Alliance is disbanded, went the way of the humans. We ourselves becoming the myths of this new generation of space faiers.
Gteth, the world of dirt, my home. I hover through the corridors of the now abandoned monastery. I have been gone for so long. Nobody was in operation. I make my way underground to the library, carved out of a sandstone protrusion leading underground like a bowl. I searched the data files for the stories the humans had shared. On the old stone console an optical record starts to play, a human, a lost friend. I switch to another file. The first images of Eteth. I create a new file, I copy down my memories of the alliance, the many planets, and beings I met along the way.
I broadcast my final thoughts into space hoping someone will pick up this message. So my knowledge is not lost, so that all will know the story of the humans. I hope that everyone stays curious, explores the world around them, and so that the humans wherever they might be, know that we are all thankful for igniting our spark and sending us to the stars.
My fellow monks and I were translating ancient manuscripts and transmitting out files to other monasteries when the human vessel first touched down. I was not there to see it but Brother Dreke described their ship as a long oblong shape that slowly and and vertically descended upon our luminous yellow planet. At this point in our history we had known life existed on other planets despite not ever leaving Gteth, our home world.
Our sister planet Eteth had life which we could see evidence of when our orbits aligned every one hundred cycles, a fifth of our lifespan. We first thought them as weather anomalies, dirt storms, or Gtethquakes. However when we upgraded our occipital sensors we could see them in full detail. They looked so close to us but they were ever so far away. By the time we first saw them them had been dead for centuries, we were merely looking into the past, watching the painful downfall of their world. It was the alchemy of fire which was their catalyst for demise. Unlike us, but much like humans they were carbon based life.
It was melancholic seeing them in high definition for the first time. We tried to communicate, lighting up our reflectors, sending light waves into the atmosphere. They never responded. That’s when the Papacy hypothesised the reason for their silence was time. Crushing. Imagine seeing someone but never communicating, unheard of.
Eteth was beautiful, colors and shapes even the Papal Savants couldn’t conjure up. Green and blue, that’s what the humans called them, words which we soon appropriated. The Etethians were propelled by a green (a color we previously had no word for, until the humans taught us it) spade shaped sail, which ran down the middle of their bodies. The sail had a network of white veins which led up to wide end of the spade, to eight brown spindle legs arranged in a circular pattern.
Etethian structures were unlike ours. They reached out towards the sky, while we burrowed into the ground. Spirals of stone, pyramids the humans deemed them.(We added that word to our dictionary as well.) The humans helped us in more ways than they could ever know. They not only filled holes in our language and shared their knowledge, they gifted us space. They took us to Eteth and beyond.
Humans shared stories with us, just as we did with them. They told us about the many planets they’ve been to, the many creatures and sights they’ve seen. We felt guilty that our stories couldn't equal anything they had to offer, and that we could never repay they. They laughed. They told us our stories and records were more than enough. They left us plans for a light drive, told us to stay curious, and left. We built the ships into ourselves and went to explore the universe. Hoping to have our own adventures and share our stories with the humans.
Soon many space faring species met up and formed the Travelers Alliance, we shared tales about our adventures, discoveries, home worlds, and humans. The Alliance kept on, discovering new worlds and civilizations, spreading curiosity, and equipping every with tools to travel, just as the humans did for us.
We each evolved for our own planets. Our adaptations leaving an indelible imprint on us. While in the Alliance the monks learnt that every appendage, orifice, and sensor on a body was tied to a particular terrain. Large eyes to see in darkness, hard skin for protection from predators, wings for flight on planets with love gravity, etc.
We led the Alliance on the trail of the humans. We wanted to thank them, share our stories, our findings. We never found them, or any remnants of their existence.
Humans soon became legends, folktales, myths. Every species had their own explanations to where they came from and their purpose of pushing us onto this adventure. The stories got more twisted every time they were retold. Soon nobody could remember what the humans were actually like. Except my brethren, the Monks of Gteth, Master of the Text.
Everybody eventually was called back home by physical limitations. Space wasn’t for life. It was nobody’s natural habitat.
Now more species are developing space travel without the need for humans. The Alliance is disbanded, went the way of the humans. We ourselves becoming the myths of this new generation of space faiers.
Gteth, the world of dirt, my home. I hover through the corridors of the now abandoned monastery. I have been gone for so long. Nobody was in operation. I make my way underground to the library, carved out of a sandstone protrusion leading underground like a bowl. I searched the data files for the stories the humans had shared. On the old stone console an optical record starts to play, a human, a lost friend. I switch to another file. The first images of Eteth. I create a new file, I copy down my memories of the alliance, the many planets, and beings I met along the way.
I broadcast my final thoughts into space hoping someone will pick up this message. So my knowledge is not lost, so that all will know the story of the humans. I hope that everyone stays curious, explores the world around them, and so that the humans wherever they might be, know that we are all thankful for igniting our spark and sending us to the stars.
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