AS1 by Trevor Lewis

Author:Trevor Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Trevor Lewis
Published: 2024-07-19T05:48:18+00:00

Chapter 42

“Incredible… isn’t it?!” Declan was beaming, like a small child who had found proof that Santa Claus was real.

After the exchange with the AS1, Declan and Linda remained in the transfer zone section A to go through scanning. This would test for radiation, oxygen poisoning, and most importantly, alien microbes. Rajit had explained how our world is made of trillions of microbes, they are found everywhere. There was concern the AS1 would have microbes as well, and there was no telling how they would interact. Astonishingly, all tests came back negative. Now, an hour after their first contact, the Contact Team met up in BEAM2. Declan was clearly the most excited; Linda was maintaining a level head and seemed to be stuck deep in thought. Staying relatively quiet after all that had happened.

“They do not appear to mean us harm and … I don’t know, I can’t even think straight,” Declan finished with a shudder.

“Clearly,” Carter said with sarcasm, his long fingers tapping away at his tablet screen.

“Is there something you’d like to say?” Rajit seemed the most conflicted. Gideon knew that as a scientist, the AS1 must have been incredibly interesting to him, but his moral beliefs seemed to still be causing him concern.

“I’m just waiting for you guys to notice, is all. Maybe it will come once you are done with your little show and tell,” Carter always spoke with a softness that most found obnoxious.

“You don’t trust them?” Gideon asked.

“Let’s base things on facts instead of feelings for just a second, why don’t we… that is what scientists are supposed to do, is it not?”

The entire team looked at him, annoyed yet curious.

“First, they claim to have come from a planet which has an atmosphere that does not conduct sound, thus they use light for all communication. So, tell me, Rajit, why would an organism that lives on a mute planet develop ears?”

“Fish don’t have ears, nor do they use audible communication, however they are still able to decipher and detect sound.” Rajit looked almost happy that Carter had directed his skepticism towards him.

“Correct me if I am wrong, fish do not have auditory canals and therefore are really just detecting the disturbances from sound waves. If you took a fish out of that water, what range of tones can it hear? Surely it would not be able to distinguish the audio levels that build up our language.”

“So, you are comparing the AS1 to a fish?” Rajit asked.

“I believe you started with the comparison, and your evasion to answer the question supplies my answer. I am simply trying to shed some light on something that struck me as odd.”

The team sat in silence for a few moments. Though antagonized by Carter raining on their ‘first contact’ parade, each one now had a small uneasy feeling in their belly, except perhaps Declan, still smiling.

“Science this, science that,” he said. “I understand the necessity of evaluating these beings with scientific scrutiny, but can we just be happy and

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