Mash
TMF Master
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2009
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I'd been thinking of writing something short and interesting like this for awhile now. Decided to just throw it together and see what it looked like. There will be no sequel to this; it was just a story to appease my crazy little imagination. Enjoy.
___
“What is it this time?” a low, raspy voice questioned as alarms started blaring around it. A small figure gazed fixatedly at a small screen, odd symbols whizzing across the monitor; “It would appear that they’ve launched another probe.”
The voice wheezed, clearly frustrated; “What is its destination?”
The small figure clicked repeatedly on a small series of keys, glancing at the monitor again; “Outer solar system; probably one of the smaller gas giants.”
The alarms died down, prompting the lights to flicker back on at full functionality. The voice expressed its frustration in the form of a guttural snarl, “How long until we’re within range of its sensory equipment?”
The smaller figure shuddered, before making more keystrokes, “It should be able to detect our light and heat emissions within 600 days on this dwarf-planet.” the figure rasped, “Or within 10 of their Earth years.”
The voice let out an exasperated sigh; “Fine. Prepare a signal message for Proxima Centauri. Tell them that we will be departing early due to some unforeseen events.” The voice paused, “Also, include that the humans are advancing at an unprecedented rate. Threat level 7.”
The figure nodded and began preparing the message, “Ah- If I may, sir…aren’t you exaggerating all of this? The humans are still centuries behind us technologically.” Its superior chuckled, “Not at all. I may be under exaggerating the whole scenario, really. Are you aware of the system we use for determining the threat level of sentient species?”
The figure shook its head, prompting the voice to proceed. “Our system is based off of two things. First, we find out when the species first experienced extra-planetary travel. We then compare how much time has passed since then, to their current technological and scientific understanding.” The voice paused, allowing the information to sink in. “After we have compared that data, we then look at the species’ military exploits and activities. We use these two sets of data to determine their overall threat level.”
The figure nodded, enraptured by the explanation, “So…the humans are technologically advanced…as well as prone to violence?”
The voice grunted an affirmative, “Precisely. Their immaturity as a race leads them to fight relentlessly. In other words, they have a lot of power, with almost no self-control. Should our races ever meet, there would undoubtedly be an outbreak of violence.”
“B-but sir, if I may once more- the humans would stand no chance against us! They still use metallic weaponry!” the figure said, chuckling slightly.
“Don’t be so arrogant.” The voice commanded, making its subordinate freeze. “Yes, they are still technologically inferior to us, but not for long. Their technological and scientific understanding has been increasing at an exponential rate DESPITE the fact that they are constantly bickering amongst themselves. I shudder to think what they might accomplish should all the fighting stop.”
The voice sighed, “On second thought, make that threat level 8.”
The figure froze, giving its superior a shocked look, “B-but sir! L-level 8 is…”
“I know!” the voice yelled, its volume rising, “I know the consequences of sending out such a threat level, and it certainly is regrettable after all the research we have done on this species…however, this threat needs to be nipped in the bud.”
The small figure shuddered once more, before returning to the monitor, “Very well. Maximum threat level initiated; sending requests for armed escorts and extermination teams. Estimated time of signal arrival, 4.2 Earth years. Estimated time of arrival after approval…7.6 Earth years”
The voice sighed, “Prepare for departure. Let’s go home.”
___
“What is it this time?” a low, raspy voice questioned as alarms started blaring around it. A small figure gazed fixatedly at a small screen, odd symbols whizzing across the monitor; “It would appear that they’ve launched another probe.”
The voice wheezed, clearly frustrated; “What is its destination?”
The small figure clicked repeatedly on a small series of keys, glancing at the monitor again; “Outer solar system; probably one of the smaller gas giants.”
The alarms died down, prompting the lights to flicker back on at full functionality. The voice expressed its frustration in the form of a guttural snarl, “How long until we’re within range of its sensory equipment?”
The smaller figure shuddered, before making more keystrokes, “It should be able to detect our light and heat emissions within 600 days on this dwarf-planet.” the figure rasped, “Or within 10 of their Earth years.”
The voice let out an exasperated sigh; “Fine. Prepare a signal message for Proxima Centauri. Tell them that we will be departing early due to some unforeseen events.” The voice paused, “Also, include that the humans are advancing at an unprecedented rate. Threat level 7.”
The figure nodded and began preparing the message, “Ah- If I may, sir…aren’t you exaggerating all of this? The humans are still centuries behind us technologically.” Its superior chuckled, “Not at all. I may be under exaggerating the whole scenario, really. Are you aware of the system we use for determining the threat level of sentient species?”
The figure shook its head, prompting the voice to proceed. “Our system is based off of two things. First, we find out when the species first experienced extra-planetary travel. We then compare how much time has passed since then, to their current technological and scientific understanding.” The voice paused, allowing the information to sink in. “After we have compared that data, we then look at the species’ military exploits and activities. We use these two sets of data to determine their overall threat level.”
The figure nodded, enraptured by the explanation, “So…the humans are technologically advanced…as well as prone to violence?”
The voice grunted an affirmative, “Precisely. Their immaturity as a race leads them to fight relentlessly. In other words, they have a lot of power, with almost no self-control. Should our races ever meet, there would undoubtedly be an outbreak of violence.”
“B-but sir, if I may once more- the humans would stand no chance against us! They still use metallic weaponry!” the figure said, chuckling slightly.
“Don’t be so arrogant.” The voice commanded, making its subordinate freeze. “Yes, they are still technologically inferior to us, but not for long. Their technological and scientific understanding has been increasing at an exponential rate DESPITE the fact that they are constantly bickering amongst themselves. I shudder to think what they might accomplish should all the fighting stop.”
The voice sighed, “On second thought, make that threat level 8.”
The figure froze, giving its superior a shocked look, “B-but sir! L-level 8 is…”
“I know!” the voice yelled, its volume rising, “I know the consequences of sending out such a threat level, and it certainly is regrettable after all the research we have done on this species…however, this threat needs to be nipped in the bud.”
The small figure shuddered once more, before returning to the monitor, “Very well. Maximum threat level initiated; sending requests for armed escorts and extermination teams. Estimated time of signal arrival, 4.2 Earth years. Estimated time of arrival after approval…7.6 Earth years”
The voice sighed, “Prepare for departure. Let’s go home.”
