First Contact

First Contact


My name is Eric Bernstein and I sell insurance. You would think that selling life insurance to asteroid miners in the Perseus Delta cluster of the asteroid belt would be easy work. It’s not. To be honest, there should be life insurance salesmen for the life insurance salesmen. I’m not trying to downplay the danger in the miners’ work but they are used to it. My average day consists of wearing a normal suit and tie not a spacesuit and drill! In case you are interested, you can contact me through my company email. I offer 5 unique packages that cover anywhere from death, dismemberment, depression, and void sickness. We have very attractive price points that will automatically deduct from your paycheck. Peace of mind is worth every penny!

Sorry. Old habits. I was on an unusually large C-type asteroid named Matilda when the event happened. The Arkid Mining Company had established a temporary base of operations and were in the process of mining hydrated minerals. I apologize. I don’t understand the science but it’s something about fuel for spacecraft and water needed for additional mining operations. My boss assigned me to Matilda in the hopes that such a large operation would draw in some new mining recruits that my company had not signed up already. I was also to make my way out to a dig site with some of the more experienced miners to do a video recording with some voice over work. The point was to add a more human element to our presentations and to show that we are an insurance company that knows exactly what the average miner goes through in day to day operations. If it wasn’t for the sizable bonus my boss tacked on to my commission there would be no way I would have agreed to this. I had given my presentation in the dining hall while 2nd shift miners were on break. It’s not ideal I will say. The miners concentrate more on the food than the presentation but the hunch was correct and there were many new recruits amongst the crowd. By the time break was over I had almost hit my weekly quota and I was quite ecstatic.

I met up with a lovely woman by the name of Georgia at airlock D. By lovely I mean she was gruff, sarcastic, and tough as nails. She was the lead foreman and had claimed to have the most experience in zero and low gravity mining out of everyone in the company. She also claimed that her father originally named her George but she changed it to Georgia after marrying a man named George. I was thinking that it was probably not a good idea to trust this woman at the time. After her team assembled we left the airlock to regroup at the rovers and grab the equipment needed. I was effectively walking on a giant tumbling rock in space and was not having an enjoyable time. If you have never done so then I highly recommend you decline if ever offered. By the time we had awkwardly hopped our way to the rovers I was furiously fighting to not become reacquainted with lunch. I can tell you from experience that vomiting in a space suit is one of the worst experiences you will ever have. The ride in the rover was slightly less trying. We were making our way towards a natural cavern system that led into the heart of the asteroid. Georgia explained this was rather unusual and allowed the miners to gain easy access to rarer minerals. It was more dangerous but allowed the job to be completed quickly and therefor enable the miners to get a larger bonus.

I was checking my video equipment when an unmarked rover pulled up alongside ours and we stopped. The dark coloring of this new rover made it nearly impossible to see until it was upon us. The surface of this asteroid was almost pitch black in color and without lighting it was hard to tell when the surface ended and the void began. It was very unsettling. Georgia had deftly jumped from our rover to the strangers’ and begun talking to them. There were no corporate markings on the rover or the suits of the men in it. After several minutes she hopped back to our rover and explained to her team and I that these were United Nations men accompanying a scientist and they were to piggyback our expedition. Some of her team turned and eyed me with some trepidation as if I had started a chain of events. Georgia also told the team anyone not complying with and aiding these men would lose a week’s worth of pay. I did not think it was possible to feel even more uneasy but I am sure I was a walking poster child for anxiety medication at this point.

The rovers began to roll again and we made our way to the caverns quickly. I began to film and Georgia explained to me that the caverns seemed to have been caused by an impact that penetrated the surface of the asteroid at some point. The point of this expedition was dual fold. The miners were set up their equipment inside the caverns at points most likely to find rare metals and to search for whatever caused the impact. More than likely it would have been another asteroid that might contain rare metals as well. I was blown away by the size of the crater when we arrived. I was expecting something like a small cave I suppose. This was enormous and I could barely make out the further edge from us.

The mining team worked quickly building a platform to anchor the team’s ropes. The government men were helping the miners as I walked to the edge and looked down. There was nothing but complete darkness down there and I was already dreading the descent. I hopped back to the rovers and couldn’t help but eavesdrop as I passed Georgia and a couple of the government men. My guess is Georgia had kept the communication line between her and I open on purpose. She seemed like a woman that had a healthy fear of unnecessary risk. I could appreciate that given the occupation she was in. Two of the government men introduced themselves as Major Stern and Dr. Osten. They were pointedly explaining to Georgia that they were not interested in metals or precious compounds. They were here for other, obviously, classified reasons. At this point I am sure my stomach was trying to eat it’s way out of my body so it could run away. I almost wished it would have.

It did not take much time for the teams to get everything set up for the descent into the cavern. The mining team members were loaded down with equipment and they went down first. The government team descended next. Georgia was going to go last so it was my turn next. I would love to explain to you what it was like looking down into the darkness as I was lowered slowly into it. I am sure it was a sight to see but I had my eyes closed the entire time. I did record the whole thing so maybe you should just watch that. I hit the bottom hard. I was so focused on pretending I was somewhere, anywhere, else I was not expecting it. It took me a minute to untangle myself from my equipment and get up. When I did I was awed by what I saw. The miners had deployed large portable spotlights on tracks and were illuminating the area. I felt like I was standing alone out in the vast sea of stars. The rock down here was the same black as on the surface but now wherever the light touched it caused some kind of compound to sparkle like starlight. I know I will never see anything like it again. Georgia touched down and began to coordinate her team. The miners were using some kind of instrument to start mapping the area. I asked one of the miners if it was some kind of sonar and they only laughed at me. I made a mental note to add his name to the spam mail list my company sends out. The thought only made me slightly less anxious.

As Georgia’s team prepared to move out she moved over to Dr. Osten. He was the only one out of the government group to produce and use any equipment. The other members of his team all had packs that were stuffed full with something but none had opened them yet. Georgia and Dr. Osten were arguing about the fact that there were several tunnels leading away from this impact zone. Georgia was obviously shaken. She explained that there was no way these tunnels could have been caused naturally. Dr. Osten agreed but explained they must move forward and she did not have a say in the matter. At this point I told myself I would stay as far behind everyone as I could. Grudgingly, Georgia gathered her team and followed Dr. Osten’s direction in where they would move.

As we moved through the tunnels I made good on my promise to stay in the back. This allowed me a good vantage point as the Major and his cronies finally pulled out what was in their packs. Weapons. The thing about fighting in space is you don’t need to be mortally wounded to die. Any kind of rip or tear in your suit will kill you if you cannot patch it fast enough. I’m not sure how these guns worked but I didn’t want to find out. I immediately opened up my communication line to Georgia and told her what I saw. She explained that she already knew. She told me that when she had first jumped onto their rover they showed her the weapons and explained what would happen to her team if she did not comply. She doubted they were actually representatives of any government agency and told me she would handle it and to watch my back as they did not know I was recording all of this. I swallowed dryly as she canceled the line. Welcome to indigestion hell.

Eventually we made our way into a large spacious chamber. The sparkling was even brighter here and was almost overwhelming. There was a small rock formation in the middle of the chamber that looked almost like a pedestal. Dr. Osten’s team immediately fanned themselves out with weapons drawn and moved quickly towards it. Georgia’s miners were beginning to become anxious themselves and she busied herself with trying to keep them calm. With no one paying attention to me I moved backwards to the entrance of the chamber. I was not going to move anywhere near that pedestal if I could help it. Dr. Osten pulled out more equipment and begin to poke and prod at the pedestal formation. As if responding to commands from him the pedestal began to rotate and spin. Immediately some of the miners slowly backed towards the tunnel entrance and myself. The major and  a couple of his men moved towards them yelling for them to stop.

The situation was devolving quickly. The Major’s men were on the verge of opening fire on the miners. The miners began to panic. Georgia was stepping in between the gunmen and her team. Dr. Osten was kneeling in front of the pedestal in an almost religious gesture as it began to peel open like a flower. The flower shape began to spin like a top. I stood still. I was frozen with fear and had no idea what to do. The flower shaped stone spun faster and faster and in the blink of an eye it exploded outward. The large chunks of rock whirled through the chamber pulverizing everything it touched. I assume that because I was at the entrance of the tunnel I was too far out for the rock to kill me. I screamed in fear and stumbled over something protruding from the rock floor and fell on to my back.

Filled with pain and fear I sat up to survey the chamber. All of the rocks had fallen to ground and were not moving. The only traces of the people that had previously stood in that room were reduced to red smears across the floor and walls. I was alone. My hand rested on the protrusion I had tripped over. I looked down at it to notice some kind of small metal pyramid that was vibrating. I quickly backed away from it as it vibrated faster and began to rise from the stone revealing itself as a cube. My great-grandfather had once showed me something from his childhood when I was young. He called it a Rubik’s Cube and this is exactly what this metal artifact reminded me of. It could easily fit into the palm of my hand and the individual cubes that made up the whole item were covered in some kind of foreign flashing glyphs or writing.

Light began to emanate from what was left of the rocky pedestal and a shape began to emerge out of it. It was cylindrical and light glittered off it from the sole spotlight that illuminated the chamber. It appeared to be made of the same metallic substance the cube was made of and slid onto the floor like a serpent. As it slithered towards me I noticed it was made of the same kind of small cubes the artifact in front of me was made of. The ground beneath me began to vibrate violently as the metallic snake-thing came closer. I knew then I was going to die. I had resolved myself to it and was glad for my amazing life insurance policy. The only thing I was worried about was it not covering ‘murdered by metal alien snake’. You cannot prepare for everything I suppose.

I was not prepared when the metal creature struck at me. It moved with blindingly fast speed and the vibration of the ground was intense I am sure I could not have even stood up had I tried. I did not die, however. The floating cube in front of me exploded into blinding light and when I opened my eyes again the individual parts of the cube were spread out as a shield in front of me. The spaces in between it’s pieces glowed with a silver light. The metallic creature flew back in a shower of sparks and light as it hit this force field in front of me. It flew through the rock pedestal in an explosion of stone and slammed into the back of the chamber leaving a small impact crater.

Instinct finally kicked in and I scrambled to my feet. I ran into the complete darkness of the tunnel as fast as I could. I did not have a clue where I was going. I only knew I had to get away. I soon yelped in surprise as a light grew behind me. The pieces of the cube suddenly flew at me attaching themselves to my suit. I felt no pain as the light grew around me and illuminated my surroundings. I did feel a wave of confidence and relief wash over me. I felt more sure of myself and the fear that had just been consuming me was gone. I don’t know how it knew but as I willed myself to run faster the cube parts slid down the outside of my suit towards my legs. Forming themselves on my legs I knew I could run faster. I am not sure how fast I ran but I know it was faster than any human could possibly run. I could not stop to think about what was happening to me as this feeling rushed through me telling me the creature was in the tunnel behind me and catching up quickly.

In an insanely short amount of time I had made it to the original cavern. I do not think I was controlling my own body as I sprinted past the spotlights that had been left behind by the miners. My body tensed and my legs hummed as I felt an energy surge through and out of my legs as I leaped into the air. I slammed into the cliff face and was stunned by what had just happened. In one mighty jump I had ascended halfway up the cliff towards the surface. The cube split itself equally onto my arms and legs. Somehow I knew exactly what to do next. Slamming my hands into the rock they slid easily into the stone as pieces of rock exploded outwards. I fit my feet easily into those holes and did the same with my arms above. It was a steady and easy climb towards the surface as I carved my way up the cliff. I was almost at the surface when I felt a sense of warning surge through me. I glanced downward and saw the metallic creature slithering up the wall towards me. I instantly knew that the cube could not form a shield and keep myself attached to the surface of the cliff at the same time. I hastened my climb as I began to feel the cliff vibrate under me.

I was pulling myself up onto the surface when the creature caught up to me. It wrapped around my legs and began to pull me downwards. The cube focused itself on the outside of my legs and I could feel it’s vibrations as it fought to force the metal alien off of me. Without the cube’s assistance on my arms I scrambled awkwardly to get a grip on the rocks of the surface. I was about to be pulled down when an idea struck me. I had no idea if it would work but I had no alternatives. One of the rovers was nearby on the surface, only a dozen feet away, and I willed the cube to my arms. I felt a resistance at first but it appeared to obey my commands and I felt the strength leave my legs and surge through my arms again. I almost passed out from the pain and vibration as the snake creature constricted itself around my legs, crushing them. Slamming my left arm into the rock to steady myself I through my right arm outwards as if throwing a ball. The pieces of the cube flew forward just like I imagined a whip would and somehow the last piece stuck firmly to the frame of the rover. Jerking my arm back and up the rover flew upwards and arced over my head. I tasted the iron tang of blood in my mouth. I was biting my lip to fight the pain and not pass out. I pulled my arm back down and watched as the rover completed it’s arcing flight and suddenly momentum brought it down into the bottom half of the creature attached to the cliff. The cube surged back onto the bottom half of my body at the last moment and pulsed with the same bright silver light. The rover exploded at the same moment as the creature was pushed off of me. I watched, precariously hanging onto the cliff’s edge, as the creature fell entangled with the wreckage of the rover. The cube moved again and formed around my right hand. I held out my palm and aimed it towards the alien. At the moment the creature hit the bottom I willed destruction towards it and the cube pulsed out a sparking ball of light. It flew downwards at high speed and slammed into it. There was a massive explosion of light and the force blew me up and over the cliffs edge onto the surface. I had taken all I could and immediately lost consciousness.

If you get this message then you know we are not alone. You have my video log. Stay away from Matilda! There is only death on this rock. Do not approach anywhere near it. Do not look for me. I do not know what or who I am now.

And please...

make sure to purchase some life insurance!

© Robert Jones and Robots and Rockets, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Robert Jones and Robots and Rockets with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.