Friends Like Us
Early on, we thought other sapient life would be like us.
When our ancestors looked up to the stars and pooled their knowledge, it made sense that life could only form in circumstances similar to ours. And if it did, then it only made sense it would follow a similar path to us. We imagined the aliens coming to us, perhaps their carapaces would be of iridescent green color, or they would sport an additional set of limbs, or less eyes.
Then we, the sethl, took to the stars ourselves, still alone, our unions working together in a common goal of learning what is beyond our home.
That is when we learned that life, in its beautiful chaos, was not so simple as to follow a single expected pattern. We found worlds teeming with life and ones only budding with it, and no two were the same. Though circumstances for life to begin were in fact all similar, the paths it took from there diverged drastically. From worlds where no animal life at all existed, ecosystem entirely of plants cannibalizing each other, to worlds where no organism exhibited any psionic resonance, to many worlds where other forms of animal life than arthropods took the top spot.
Yet one thing we could never find was creatures that truly think. We considered taking the most intelligent animals of some worlds and artificially improving them, pushing them into the realm of sapience, but such undertakings were ultimately deemed unethical. Just as forcing an individual into a union against their will was long ago deemed an act of cruelty and tyranny, forcing a creature that did not develop sapience of its own into it would just be another cruelty, not justifiable by our collective loneliness.
So, instead, SAM was born. Search for Alien Minds, a project to either find another thinking being in this universe, one that wasn’t one of us, or prove that we are truly unique and alone. We sent out long-range psionic transmissions, mechanical probes and looked through the magnifiers across the stars. While our unions spread and we advanced further into prosperity, we kept trying and trying, yet to no avail. We never gave up, yet hope has long dimmed.
That was, until one of the probes gave us a 6/5 investigation target. After scanning a star system and sending data, it self-destructed via a local star, as was our protocol for avoiding disrupting the locals, should they exist, but the data it sent was... incredible.
Different investigation levels meant different things detected that could indicate potential presence of alien life. Each point increased it by one level. Planet within parameters of what we have learned to be capable of fostering advanced life. Presence of a stable, oxygen-based atmosphere. Presence of liquid water. Presence of complicated, non-naturally-occurring material alloys. Signs of large-scale artificial terraforming. And lastly, one that would automatically bring investigation rating 6 even if all other criteria failed - artificial-seeming structures outside the planet’s gravity well. This one ticked off all 6.
We have been fooled before, assuming natural rock formations or major colonies of burrowing animals to be structures indicative of civilization, though when something was enough of a pattern we always investigated. But this was the first time we discovered something that could only possibly be created by fellow sapients.
Excitement buzzed. All unions linked up, even countless lone individuals established temporary links just to be in on the biggest event in history of our civilization - planning of the First Contact.
Eventually the course was settled. A large colony ship, slightly refitted to house a lot more scientific equipment, staffed by the brightest individuals, both from various unions and loners, aided by many more that would be present only in mind. The travel to the system of our potential friends would be long by our FTL standards, and we decided not to waste time creating a series of communication links along the way to keep the unions connected. The ship will be its own union and go on ahead and make contact, while the frontier unions would create a pathway of beacons towards it until we are connected. The plan was not the safest, but in our collective excitement, nobody cared much for our own safety as the vessel departed on its journey. We had a First Contact to conduct.
***
Arriving to the solar system where the expected civilization was located had everyone giddy. Several of those more used to lone existence rather than being a part of a union gathered on observation decks, watching through viewports, while the more union-minded observed through camera screens or others’ eyes instead. We were still in a single union aboard this vessel, and though cut off from the grander one, our dedication to the cause kept us focused.
A below-average sized planet, covered in what looked like bountiful oceans even from far away. We originally planned to enter orbit, but as concerns of interfering with the planet’s natural moon and its orbit were brought up, we settled for an orbit around the fourth planet from the star, red and barren. With the stable position taken, we began preparations.
Throughout our voyage we prepared for many possibilities. We knew we did not wish to spy on them for prolonged periods of time. To peer at them without them being able to return the gesture would be most unfair. But we needed to gather at least some information before we would attempt contact. In the end, we decided to be minimal with our information gathering.
The probes sent to their planet’s orbit quickly delivered us basic information. The species was one of terrestrial mammals, below average in size. They were as alien as one could get compared to us, though not in a repulsive or dangerous way. At least some artistic unions might consider them visually appealing, even. Their development was rather advanced, which was to be expected with artificial satellites they already launched.
The concerning part was complete lack of any psionic resonance. Some union members exhibited concern at our ability to communicate with them in absence of it, but we still had written communication and were not incapable of audible intonations to carry meanings across either, even if they were rather archaic.
The issue came from the fact that we were, rather expectedly, noticed.
The sapients have been sending analogue transmissions at us since the moment we entered the system. Deciphering them revealed a lot of information about their languages and communication systems, and as that data was offered freely, rather than sneakily extracted from their systems, we did not feel guilty about using it.
With it, we had enough to attempt contacting them back. Their transmissions were overwhelmingly leaning towards sending one overall message - peaceful intentions and desire for peaceful coexistence. Our union could not be more overjoyed. We fabricated a device capable of sending transmissions back in the same inefficient analogue manner, no psionic reinforcements that might make them imperceptible to the mammalian sapients, ‘humans’ as they call themselves. Our message was simple. We wished to learn of them and create a bond of cooperation with these different people.
It was a short back and forth, which our impatience played a good part in, but a meeting was successfully arranged, on their homeworld no less. We had a designated time and landing spot for our craft. Doing our best to gather only the best individuals to represent our race, no more than a dozen for the whole vessel, and half wouldn’t even leave it.
Finally, we were ready. We descended down to the planet, broke their atmosphere, witnessed their yellow sands, green forests and blue skies on the way down before our shuttle landed on foreign land for the first time in history.
***
‘Last check.’ The organizer announced to the scientists about to leave the craft to meet the small group of humans outside. Our sensors could detect a lot more humans gathered in a large circle around the landing spot, armed with varied weaponry, likely to ensure the safety of the meeting.
‘All communication devices functional.’ I sensed from the technician that just finished checking the last of those. Communication devices were screens with built-in translator suites and floating besides the scientists, they’d display the text of what we wished to say. Synthesizing human speech was not something we wished to attempt without more knowledge, lest we offend them. Understanding their speech would be handled through the translation data being transmitted through us to the translators back at the main ship, who would relay the translations back to us.
I was not to be among those who would be in First Contact, but I was still individually excited to be here at all. My duty was merely to handle the shuttle’s maintenance in case of any unpredictable malfunction. Right now though, I was standing right on top of the boarding ramp, making sure it was ready.
‘The human group is approaching the shuttle. They are getting too close to the ramp’s touchdown area. Communications, can you warn them to step back?’ One of the observers spoke.
‘Negative, we’ve got no screens on the exterior and we’d need to do contact with their main union.’ Comms spoke back.
‘Okay, damn this, just lower the ramp now and fast. We can’t suffer a long delay that communication will require, nor can we risk harming them by lowering it when they’re in the touchdown area.’
It hit me a bit too late what they were discussing.
‘Wait, I am still-’ I began, but my thoughts scrambled as suddenly there was a lurch. With the shuttle unsealing on the planet, artificial gravity was replaced with natural one. I was warned this planet would be above what we’re used to in terms of gravity but my lack of individual experience in managing high gravity made me lose focus. And with the ramp under me lowering rapidly, I lost my footing.
In normal gravity, a stumble does not even affect one’s walking. But any higher, and you need to be used to it, and not just collectively, but individually, to easily recover. Add to that the rapidly shifting ramp underneath you and... I find myself desperately skittering forward just to not tumble and roll. The sudden burst of blinding natural light after a good while inside a ship did not help my attempts at gathering my footing.
The rapid descent I was undertaking was stopped when I barreled into something. Something relatively soft and easily knocked over. I used my bladed limbs, pushing them into the sandy ground to stabilize myself. Adjusting my vision, I looked down to witness them. The human. Looking back at me. They were underneath me, with my blade arms being by the sides of their small head. I could not tell what the expression on their face was, but that individual could not possibly be happy with my fumble.
Then I recovered enough of my mental faculties to hear the collective panicked scream of the entire union. The human said something, and while I’d expect the union to provide a translation, right now everyone was scrambling to recover from what was among the worst possible scenarios.
It took way too long for the clarity in the union to return, and for translation of human’s words to be broadcast.
‘Excuse me, but could you get off, please?’ That was not the response I’d expected. Such clumsiness warranted frustration, but the human was polite and understanding. I immediately complied, taking a few steps back. The human stood up, looking up at me. They only came up to the tips of my lowest manipulators in their resting state.
‘Get your translator to apologize, now!’ I felt the union collectively yell into my mind, but couldn’t comply. I did not have one! I wasn’t even supposed to be down there, interacting with them!
That knowledge caused the union to descend right back into maddening panic. In absence of access to useful advice or even the countless contingency plans among the panic, I elected to apologize the more usual way. I straightened myself up, properly pushed myself upright with my legs and then curved down just enough to reach the human with my antennae, giving them a touch on the head.
The gesture of assuming such a stiff pose was submissive, and I hoped the human would recognize it, but they just stood there, watching me with their enigmatic, unreadable little face. The awkward moment lasted way too long before the actual scientists equipped with translators rushed down, their floating translator screens already displaying apologies on my behalf.
The human spoke, and the union quieted down as the translators announced the response.
‘“It’s fine.” Then the human pauses. Then they say, “Accidents happen.”’ They narrated.
That was good! I shuffled aside, remaining upright and stiff. The scientists in charge of talking took similar poses to me, as they projected a question to the human. Something about their companions running off. Which was true... While I did not see it at first, their fellows have rapidly departed after my unceremonious entrance.
The human responds, and their speech includes several long drawn out noises and the translators relay it to everyone, though I noticed that the long sounds were clearly not carrying any meaning.
‘“They...” pause. Long pause. “They are no longer needed.” Another long pause. “Well...” Short pause. “I...” Short pause. “I can handle it all...” Pause. Repeated sounds of amusement/joy.’
That was gladdening. Humans seemed to have found one representative of their union, while the others were likely simply escorts. And them indicating joy could mean that they will hold no resentment towards me.
There was a bit of a short discussion in the union that was too frantic for me to process, but it concluded that inviting the human aboard was the best way to return the mutual gesture of hospitality. They let us into their abode, and it is only fair we do the same in return.
The scientists instructed the human to follow them, and I got a personal instruction to simply stay close and within sight but out of the way. They believed that I would cause another incident if left unsupervised... I’m a better operator on individual experience than everyone else on board, those loner weirdos are at fault for lowering the ramp without warning instead of calling the humans and waiting just a bit longer!
Regardless, I would not let this unfair treatment sour my experience. Aliens! Thinking, talking! We’re talking to one! I touched one! We were still before the age of preservation back when we were on the similar level of technological development, so perhaps that is something we can grant them. Do they still have ideological wars? Have they developed the Unity of Unions yet? They lack psionics, so surely they have some alternative... So many questions to answer.
The human did accept the invitation, although the way they walked seemed very shaky. There was a momentary bit of discussion in the union about it, but as human voiced no complaints or objections, we could only assume it was normal, or they were being overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation.
Once we were on board, scientists started engaging in a more active discussion. They decided to give a brief overview of our society, as we currently know little about each other. Finding differences like that was probably what I was individually most excited about.
But the moment the conversation started, the human voiced a surprise, transcribed by translators.
‘The human is surprised that we have not accessed their data network.’ Was what they relayed.
Of course we didn’t! That’s obvious. While we have made an intentional choice to keep our data networks open for viewing to potential outsider entities, humans were still before interstellar travel in their development. They have no reason to assume their network could be accessed, so it being so open does not equate to invitation to access it. And yet...
‘The noises they are making right now are more of those amusement/joy indications. They are very repetitive, but it matches the linguistics we had.... Now they’re saying... “We operated with the assumption that you looked through it already, so you feel free to do that I guess...?”. They then follow it up with more amusement noises.’
Then I felt it. Some individuals, the curious ex-loners who joined this union for the mission back on the main ship, failing to understand the effect it will have precisely on them, instantly entered the human data network and connected it to our own... Including the union’s network.
The flood hit us. Overwhelming flow of information flooded the network. It was incredible how much of it humans had, but at the same time... The ex-loners were extremely lacking in the most important individual experience a union member can have - managing their connection.
I joined a union as soon as I was mature enough to do so, and was used to handling sudden information floods, be it from links to other unions or data dumps. I knew how to lock myself out from the union without detaching myself from it and so did all the others. Yet so many on this expedition were loners who temporarily joined... Creatively-minded ones did not mesh well with uniform direction of the union. Even this ‘union’ was a mess, constantly talking over itself. I couldn’t wait to return to a proper one. So, in lack of the skills related to being a part of the union, they were all currently being overwhelmed into paralysis by the information flood.
But then I realized the true magnitude of the issue. The data flood wasn’t stopping and won’t for a good while. And the only people onboard the shuttle that weren’t currently blankly stuck in place as their brains were taken along for a wild ride were myself and the pilot.
The human looked around, their small, focused eyes requiring them to twist their heads as they kept looking at the scientists around them, who just talked to them through their translator screens only to freeze. The human looked even smaller when surrounded by so many of my fellows. They appeared to be secreting liquid, which was concerning. We were not unfamiliar with the concept of species that do so, but usually it’s a sign of either aggression, stress... or fear.
While it was wrong to make assumptions based only on general patterns, especially considering our kind has been surprised by the diversity of life in the universe before and my own lack of individual experience in the field combined with my inability to access collective experience properly... I decided to err on the side of caution.
I gently tapped a nearby scientist’s translator screen, hijacking it with my own psionic resonance. They were too busy getting overwhelmed by human networks to use it right now anyway. And with that in control, I sent my message to the human, whose attention was now focused entirely on me, the only sethl still moving.
‘Are you stressed or afraid?’ I told the screen and it translated and transcribed the message into illegible human writing. I noted the human’s facial features shifting, their eyes growing bigger as they loudly responded. But I couldn’t understand the response without a translator...
Carefully, avoiding the stream of data, I reached into the union. Trying to relay general messages through it would be pointless, but if I can find a specific individual, I could connect to them directly... And I was in luck. Only some translators back aboard the main vessel were ex-loners. The rest were at the ready and only mildly panicked about how the first contact just got even messier.
‘The human says they’re not afraid at all.’
I did not need to be able to reach into their feelings to be suspicious of their honesty. Lying within a union was impossible, but lying between unconnected unions? Easy. That secretion on their head must mean something, yet I did not wish to accuse them of deception.
Another approach was necessary. The union was still processing the flood of information, but the information was there now. Which meant that if I were careful, I might extract some data. People who were in the unions before were probably already combing through specific portions of data relevant to their postings and interests, while waiting for the ex-loners to snap out of the overload. I just had to be careful as I waded my consciousness through the flood of information for a specific query...
Human emotional expressions. A quick comparison to the face of the human onboard confirmed my worst fears. The human was struggling to hide their fear. I used the translator to relay my words to the human.
‘You are afraid. Why?’
The human’s expression of fear grew in intensity. I felt the mental weight of the still-conscious part of the union observing the interaction with great judgment. Any words carried by them were, however, muffled by the flood of imagery featuring small fluffy mammals. In meantime, the human started speaking. Thankfully, the translator individual I contacted was still listening and started translating verbatim, rather than relaying words.
‘I am not afraid. I am not scared.’ The human kept denying. I had to do something, the scientists would be out of it for a while and I knew full well how dangerous fear is to a union. Though it is possible this one is a loner, fear is still of great threat to a sapient.
‘Tell us what you fear.’ I made the screen say.
‘I... I’m not...’ The translator paused, and when they spoke again they no longer translated directly, narrating instead. ‘The human is... vocalizing joy. Loudly... This is unorthodox. If your findings are correct, they are afraid. Perhaps there is a misunderstanding?’
The human kept making those repeated noises, clutching at their face with their little graspers. Slowly the noises slowed and quieted down, while the alien collapsed to their knees. I had to suppress instinct to try and assist in getting up, as that might not be a welcome thing in their culture. Then they spoke something slowly.
‘No... They... it can’t...’ The translator began, instilling dread in me already. ‘The human just said... It's us. They’re afraid of us.’
The conscious part of the union buzzed loud enough to overshadow even the information overflow. There were repeated questions of what it was. Our technology? Our blunders? Our general alien nature?
The translator, to whom not just me but everyone capable was now listening closely, had the answer.
‘It’s specifically us. The sethl. Our appearance... Their entire species is naturally fearfully repulsed by arthropods.’ They relayed, and the emotional instability felt in their words spread through the union like a wildfire. As if our connections weren’t already strained with the information flood, now all of us were collectively experiencing the horrible realization that the first sapient we have discovered other than ourselves hates us on a fundamental level...
I felt all my limbs lower in defeat. We... were still alone. Humans are afraid of us... As if on cue, some of the still-conscious researchers started actively presenting examples from the information flood. Humans expected aliens to look like many things, but anything that looked like us... Was seen as a monster. That’s what we were to them. What cruel irony for the universe to inflict on us...
‘Technician. Use the translator to request the human to leave the shuttle. Pilot. Once they are gone, get the shuttle back to the main ship. We are leaving the system. We must get the news to the rest of the Unity at once. A relationship with the new sapients is impossible due to the stress our presence causes. We will likely have to isolate from them.’
It was the coordinators, speaking in unison. That was rational and logical. Stress of constant fear from our presence would make any sort of coexistence impossible. The damage we have wrought upon their unions’ stability just by revealing our existence must have been immense already.
I sent a quick signal to the translator I was using.
‘You need to leave, now.’
The human, still carrying a scared expression that made my insides twist with pain, spoke.
‘They want to know why.’ The translator relayed.
‘Tell them the truth.’ The coordinators instructed.
I complied, trying my best to remain composed even as half the union was unconscious and another half was in active grief.
‘You fear us. We cannot coexist. We will be departing and you will not have to be afraid of us ever again.’
Relaying those words to the translator screen filled me with sorrow, and the rest of the union resonated with it. My limbs trembled, as the human read the message. Then their expression of fear shifted slightly. I did not have the mental capacity to determine the meaning of the shift from the information dump, so I just listened numbly to the human’s speech, letting the translators handle it.
‘They... don’t want to go.’ The translator relayed. ‘They are demanding we stay.’
Without even waiting for coordinators’ instructions, I quickly send a response of my own.
‘You are afraid of us. We do not wish to cause you stress. We will depart and you will not have to experience our presence again.’
The human actually yelled something out and reached out, grabbing at one of my graspers. I could feel their grip... The tremble in their hand, further indication of their fear. My whole body froze. The disparity in our proportions made an anxiety wave run through the entire union, how easy it was for me to even accidentally hurt the human being suddenly being very clear. With me stopped, the human kept speaking, and I couldn’t understand. My antennae twitched nervously as it took a bit before the translator relayed the human’s words to us.
‘They... no, it... makes no sense... They are saying they don’t want us to go. They... they want to... They want to coexist and work together with us. Despite the fear. That’s... definitely translated right. But it makes no sense...’
The translator’s comment there definitely felt resonant throughout the union. It did not make sense. A union too resonant with emotion was prone to instability in some ways. There is a reason loners exist. They utilized emotions and unorthodox thinking that might end up diluted within a union even with advanced control over one’s connection to it. But still, it wasn’t uncommon to find unions overwrought with emotions. Disgust at malfunctions within sewage systems, satisfaction of finishing a major collective project, joy the entire Unity shared upon the discovery of the humans... But fear was one emotion that was known to be, ironic though it may be, the scariest. A union full of fear loses coherency. It becomes an echo chamber of ever-rising panic. We have successfully eliminated all sources of potential fear from our existence since the early unions, but the lessons learned stay with us. To think that humans would subject themselves to the risk...
‘They... They are saying more.’ Translator’s words echoed, as I remembered I was still there and the human was still gripping me and talking. ‘They believe there are ones who won’t be nearly as afraid, and most who are will overcome it. They... they are saying that this is something for us, as species, to work together now that we found each other. And...’ The translator paused for a long time, the information from human networks still pouring in being the only thought as all who blocked out that flood were waiting for the sentence to finish. ‘And... they don’t want to be alone. Not after experiencing the joy of knowing someone else is out there.’
Empathetic sorrow resonated in a tsunami throughout the union. I felt some of the ex-loners even getting snapped out of their information overload by the feeling, though unfortunately none of the ones aboard the shuttle.
‘Abort the earlier orders.’ The coordinator directed. ‘We will have a lot to discuss once the information flood ceases and the rest of the union is restored to full consciousness. But for now, we will give it a chance. Though we may endanger humans... With their motive being the same as ours, we cannot deny them their courage.’
I thought of a way to express the feeling back, but being overwhelmed with the aftereffects of the emotional wave, no coherent words found their way to my brain. So instead, I just replicated the gesture human did to stop me and indicate the desire to cooperate. I reached down and firmly grasped their free grasper with my own. Then I stared back, right into the human face.
They spoke something in a weirdly quiet voice... and then collapsed, making me scramble to catch them. There was a wave of frantic panic momentarily spreading before the translator managed to make their words heard.
‘They said... That they were glad and that we should call their command... That they couldn’t ‘handle it’ anymore... and to ask ‘the others’ to prepare a spare set of ‘pants’.’
Immediately a buzz started about sending a communication to human command and discussing potential courses of further action, both in regards to the clearly information-overwhelmed liaison they sent aboard our ship and towards our general future together. The mood was shifting, the earlier whiplash slowly but certainly being replaced with happiness again. They were like us, they dreamed of not being alone after all! We all felt that happiness.
I was the only one feeling a lot of anxiety on top of that still, as I held the human. How long do I have to do so until they wake up? The ex-loner scientists in the room were still frozen still, and information flood in the union was not stopping any time soon. And I had no idea if I could lower the human to the ground safely.
I suppose I will just have to hold them up until they awoke again or the humans sent some of their own to assist. Hopefully it won’t be long.
***