Prisoners of Sol - Android Ambassador (Prologue)

I was thoroughly engrossed in writing my report on the latest Gap findings, a careful consideration of what might’ve happened to the ESU Pilgrimage when it vanished in the mysterious border opening. The wall around our star system was the subject of many scientific papers and public fascination. Religious leaders had the easiest time explaining any of this (and the barrier had long been used to prove every large faith, shaping their beliefs), but I couldn’t just write the Captivists’ theory that our astronauts had been accepted to a higher plane where they became energy beings.

There had been multiple ESU hearings demanding answers, and so far, I had none. I was halfway ready to turn religious myself, though I chided myself for thinking that. There must be some rational explanation that could be unlocked, as insane as it all was. Ancient humans once said that lightning was caused by Zeus and the sun was a flying chariot, because they couldn’t grasp or explain it. Perhaps The Gap was merely beyond our current ability to understand, just as our ancestors would have no concept of solar systems.

You can’t write that in an official statement either, Kendall. Whatever happened to those astronauts, they were supposed to fly in and out, and they didn’t come back. I…hope their end was painless.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by the sound of boots slamming into the floor. It was then that I noticed dozens of ships—seemingly everything the Space Force had present on Pluto Station—taking off in a colossal hurry; I could see their outlines in a panicked flight pattern, as if we were under attack. That was nonsense, of course, since none of the continental blocs bickered out by The Gap. The wall around Sol was a matter where humanity was at our most unified. We all wanted the answers to that question. 

Beyond confused by the blaring alarms, I chased in the direction a few acquaintances in lab coats were sprinting for their lives. “Matyáš! What on Earth is going on?”

The EAC scientist turned around, face as white as a ghost. “Kendall, did you not bring any electronic devices with you?!”

“I keep my foldtop on Airplane Mode when I’m working. I don’t like distractions.”

“Well, you might want to look at it now! We have contact from The Gap. Sensor readings came in on an unidentified ship, and it’s going much faster than the ESU Pilgrimage—than any human vessel is capable of. A third of light speed, Kendall.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, before pinching myself to confirm I was not dreaming. “The amount of energy to get to such a fraction of c…”

“I know. Pre-recorded SETI messages are being dispatched, but this is something from somewhere else. I don’t know what happened to Carter and Aguado. What I do know, and what the Space Force guys know, is they didn’t come back. They woke something else up, it would seem.”

“Perhaps we’ve been tossing toys over the neighbor’s fence, and they’ve grown tired of the children sending such things into their yard. Our military can’t match that power.”

“Now you get the picture, Kendall. We have to figure out what the hell we’re going to do, and pray they’re the forgiving type.”

“This is incredible though. We’re being visited by a foreign intelligence, who could explain so much. Real, live aliens—”

“I don’t know that they come in peace. No one does. I don’t know how we even begin to talk to them!”

I careened into a conference room as fast as my legs would carry me, finding a discussion already in full swing—and by discussion, I meant generals and scientists yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. Word had seemingly been sent back to Earth about our visitors, but there was widespread disagreement regarding whether to wait for the rest of humanity to…weigh in on our decision making. Given that it would take multiple hours to communicate with home, that could be time we didn’t have. We had to rely on the first contact protocols to get the ball rolling, in my opinion.

One thing is for certain; that’s a mechanical spaceship, not a divine chariot. Any advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and perhaps that’s what we’re dealing with. It sounds insane though: do you hear yourself? The technology to put a barrier around the solar system…

“General Takahashi, they may still respond to our SETI message; it takes time for signals to travel a billion miles. All of the data we’re looking at is with a delay,” a scientist insisted. “Do you understand the gravity of this moment?”

Takahashi scowled. “Of course I do! I don’t like seeing a ship of…who-knows-whats appearing out of nowhere, without our missing astronauts. They’re heading closer to Earth by the second, and we have zero knowledge about them.”

“Ma’am, if I may,” I ventured. “Perhaps these people felt the same about us appearing on their side of The Gap, assuming it’s a sort of door. We did it to them first.”

Matyáš blinked with concern. “I agree with Dr. Ryan. We do not want to anger them further, if she’s right. Let’s hope they come in peace, because humans cannot match such speeds. I don’t know that your weapons can touch them, okay?”

Takahashi threw up her hands in frustration. “I’m well aware. We have to be prepared for whatever comes of this. Showing weakness is the worst thing we could do; a military greeting shows strength. It’s not like I ordered the pilots to blow them to pieces!”

“They’re an hour out of our contact range. What happens if there’s an emergent situation, and one of our guys gets jumpy?”

“Everyone’s a general here, is that right? My officers are trained well. They know the rules of engagement here. I’d vouch for their judgment, any day of the week. If these aliens are friendly, you think they’d talk.”

A scientist I didn’t recognize cleared her throat, tapping buttons on her foldtop with frantic energy; she seemed to be bluescreening in front of us. “G-general. There’s…”

“Yes? Spit it out!”

“There’s a video message…in our f-formatting.”

What?! They want to talk. Oh, thank God!

“What are you waiting for?! Play it!” Takahashi shouted.

Shocked gasps and exclamations echoed across the room, as the faces of Preston Carter and Sofia Aguado blinked onto the screen—healthy and unharmed. My first thought was that these aliens might’ve brought them back after all; I had to hear how that meeting transpired! However, they identified themselves as the ESU Pilgrimage: the same ship, despite the fact that they were going well beyond its capabilities. It didn’t begin to make sense, though Dr. Aguado wasted no time deciphering it for us. 

The Gap was a portal to another dimension, where physics itself was different. I struggled to wrap my head around what that could even mean or be like. Everything we built was swifter and stronger on that side, which begged the question of how much faster our ships could go over there. My jaw nearly hit the floor when she stated that the Pilgrimage could go faster than light speed. This was…incredible for the possibilities it opened up, and the answers it gave us about the nature of existence! 

Our universe wasn’t the only one, merely the only one we could perceive. Multiverse theory was real, and not in the way of terrible cinema; this could reshape Einsteinian math, scientific fields, technology…astronomy hadn’t witnessed such a massive breakthrough since Copernicus! In spite of how magnificent this all was, I found myself a bit let down that these weren’t aliens. However, Takahashi’s guard began to lower once she realized these were human astronauts, though she seemed keen to verify this by trading data packets.

Maybe it’s for the best. Could humanity handle a first contact, and an entire reshaping of what we know about the universe all at once? 

“We were rescued and had repairs gifted by an alien species who call themselves the Vascar; they cared for us on their planet, and a military officer named Mikri shadowed us for the duration of our stay. I would say we became friends,” Sofia continued.

Oh shit. The astronauts returned alive because of extraterrestrials, who fixed their ship and befriended them?! It sounded too good to be true, and I had a million questions. First contact had already happened without us, though it didn’t seem like Takahashi or Matyáš needed to worry whether they were hostile. We had to follow-up with them, once we’d gotten all of the information we could from Sofia and Preston. These Vascar were a species who had developed under physics that were entirely alien and unlike our own, so they could differ from us on the simplest aspects of technology. 

I was so excited to learn everything about them and the universe they inhabited. The greatest scientific mystery of our time had tangible answers, and humanity no longer had to brave existence alone. With a deep-rooted longing I hoped that one day, I would have the opportunity to talk to a real life extraterrestrial myself. 

Next

A/N - The first side story begins! This is a prologue for our first series, which will launch after Chapter 10 (there’s a separate one-shot dropping after Chapter 9 from an INTERESTING POV).

After years of researching the barrier wall on split Station, and recently trying to explain the Pilgrimage’s disappearance, our doctor scampers into a meeting that will change her life: how to handle first contact. Will Kendall Ryan wind up getting her wish to speak to a real life extraterrestrial, since we know she went with our astronauts to visit Mikri? What do you think about the pandemonium that followed the astronauts popping out of The Gap at first?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!