2. The First Contact
Nobody knew
how and when Lizzies’ spacecraft entered the solar system. An unambiguous
communication announced their precise location followed by a polite request to
land on earth. When earthly tracking systems located the spaceship near Saturn,
it was already moving at 30% the speed of light. 100,000 kilometers per second.
A spacecraft like that, if launched from the Earth, could escape the solar
system within a day. A feat that required more than a decade for even the
fastest rockets of the day.
Another significant factor was the sheer size of the thing. Initial observations
estimated the long axis of the Lizzy spaceship to be more than a kilometer long. The
troubling conclusion, as the Chief Scientific Officer pointed out, that either the
Lizzies were 20 ft giants, or the ship was carrying thousands of them, like a
generation ship.
Next three
hours were the longest in humanity’s collective history.
Prithvi
watched the spectacle from the front row of the newly constructed International Spaceport.
The arrival terminal was completely packed with Earth’s most prominent
citizens.
‘Move that
cameraman away from the VIP area,’ Estella blurted through the earpiece on a
common communication channel. A security personnel promptly stepped out and
moved an over-enthusiastic reporter.
President
Baelikh and the First Lady sat next to the arrival gate, along with the Chief
Contact Officer who frequently whispered in President’s ear. Prithvi along with
the rest of inner-security detail stood just behind them.
‘Is that
Marsh D’Mello?’
‘Yep.
President just nominated him as the Chief Contact Officer. A reward for him for
being the ass-licker that he is.’
‘Are you
telling me that D’Mello is going to be the one managing interstellar
relationships with a highly advanced alien civilization? Armageddon is here.’
‘It’s all
politics… let it go. Just focus on the job at hand. Do you have the gun on
you?’
‘Yes, but I
am not going to use it, Estella. Few days of this duty and I am off to the moon
with my family.’
‘I hope you
are right champ -- HEADS UP.’
He
instinctively looked in the sky and noticed clouds turning red, other eyes
followed. A gigantic spaceship came into the view, firing its deceleration
boosters, a huge pillar of ionized blue gases leaped to the ground. The
spaceship touched down like a feather on a specially constructed landing zone.
‘Messiahs
have landed.’ President Baelikh mumbled to himself.
Prithvi
marched alongside the armored Presidential Limo that made its way to the landing
pad. Prithvi couldn’t help but get impressed by the majestic alien spaceship in
front of him. The towering structure was easily the tallest thing on the planet
AND it was a spaceship. That thing would make even the most advanced earth
rockets look like Lego toys.
Limos
stopped a few meters away from the spaceship. A huge amount of research had
gone into the right protocol for the First Contact. How idiotic would it look
if the human leader stood next to the alien spaceship’s garbage disposal! Lizzies
had saved humans from potential embarrassment and given meticulous instructions
beforehand. The directions were detailed to the point of almost embarrassing; like
a mother teaching her toddler the right way to lick a lollipop.
They skipped one part, though. They
didn’t reveal what they looked like.
As the
President and the First Lady stood at their pre-designated places, billions of
eyes unblinkingly stared at their screens. Prithvi, despite his police
training, felt his heart racing as they waited for them to come out of their
insanely huge spaceship. What would come out of there? A 20-feet tall repulsive
slimy lizard with eyes hanging out of their sockets? A horde of tiny green creatures
with forked tongues? Or something entirely inconceivable by the human mind.
But nothing
prepared him for what came next.
An imperceptible
door slid about 10-feet above the ground, and a staircase descended, individual
footholds seemingly hovering in mid-air. And from the shadows of the
spacecraft’s interior appeared three Lizzies. As the afternoon sun-light fell
onto the Lizzies, a single defining word crossed the human minds:
Gods!
Many fell to
their knees upon witnessing the splendid majesty with their eyes. The three ‘Lizzies’,
were two women and one man of impossible perfection that could put Greek demigods
to shame. Their bodies were forged in the heavens and their faces glowed with an
aura and a kind gentle smile adorned their faces like a mother holding her baby
for the first time. Their pearly white resplendent clothes defied any earthly
origin. And it was not just their physical appearance. The moment they
appeared; a soothing calm descended.
Prithvi wanted
to feel angry at himself having doubted these Gods, but in their divine
presence, he felt unable to do that too. When they waved gently, Prithvi fought
an urge to fold his hands in prayer. He just wanted to watch them forever and
ever.
As they
walked down the ramp, floating down in graceful motion, a mesmerizing smile
never left their faces.
One of the
women stepped forward on approaching President Baelikh, her hand outstretched.
A usually sanguine President fumbled on his feet and wordlessly took her hand.
‘Pleasure to meet you Mr. President. Greetings
from Lizzies… I believe that’s what you call us,’ said a heavenly voice with
perfect inflection and exact pauses. ‘My Earth name is Eris and these are my
fellow Lizzies -- Adonis and Ares.’ She said and stared towards the cameras capturing
the event.
As the images of Eris, Adonis, and Ares beamed across the solar system, another miracle occurred. A serene quietness and content that the contact group had felt, spread through humanity. The ever-evading satiation of the senses was fulfilled in the most primal way, turning them into loyal subjects. In the minds of people, centuries-old Gods were discarded in favor of the new ones. Already Lizzies had given humans so much, all that was left for them was to descend on the planet of their subjects and accept their reverence. And they did so in the most miraculous way possible.
Jump To
