BY AMIR R. ALLEN

Characters: 

Navlif - Leader of the Balpist Nation 

Derfla - Leader of the Numa Nation 

Kydan - Second in Command  

Balpist Nation Rebna - Second in Command 

Numa Nation Torphep - Oldest Sage

Numabalpist Broderick - Captain of the Stellarnova Fleet 

Myrna - Coordinates Chief: Stellarnova One 

Calvin - Chief Engineer: Stellarnova One 

Welsey - Mission Specialist: Stellarnova One 

So many questions had been answered; it was simply a different world. The question of whether there was life on other planets had been answered conclusively. The question of whether or not there was a God, or a heaven, had also been concluded. With the invention of Stellarnova technology, the race to find another inhabitable planet had accelerated a hundredfold. Pangeamerican scientists were a conglomeration of the best minds that Deoxy technicians had engineered. When Pangeamerica was known as planet Earth and fragmented under ten thousand flags, the collective mind was not yet capable of even a small percentage of the advancements of the last one hundred years. 

During a space mission, one of the early pioneers of space travel had commented that he had found no sign of God in the stratosphere. With the God-particle experiments, Pangeamerican scientists had been able to recreate what had been known as the “big bang,” only on a small scale. They touted their impressive findings as proof that there had existed no first mover. Based on these experiments, scientists developed an interstellar map, which they then used to guide them to life on another planet. The universal scale produced by the God-partide experiments had pointed them directly to the proverbial needle in the haystack. And because the odds of this inconceivable find had technically surpassed the odds of the prophecies found in the Bible, intellectuals had asserted that that was near enough to empirical proof to disprove the existence of God. Jean Paul Sartre books began to surpass the perennial best-selling Bible, and Deoxy-engineered births began to outnumber the rates of natural conceptions and births. It really was a new world. 

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Charles Calvin and Broderick Majors were lab partners. From the time they were six years old, they had attended every school together and had spent more time studying and conducting experiments together than they had with their own families, neither finding time to marry. They went to work for Stellarnova Technological Solutions as a research team after receiving their doctorates and obtaining patents for their groundbreaking work, work in interplanetary communications. Their work initially pointed to the existence of life on other planets, but it would be 13 years before they blew the scientific community wide open with irrefutable proof of intelligent, sentient beings living in community on a planet in the far regions of the Boot Nebula. 

NT-HE-BIL:3, also known as Numabalpist, was a planet with hydration, vegetation, relatively short lunar and solar cycles, and a countless number of life forms on its surface. At least one of these species included highly intelligent, sentient beings that were capable of receiving and sending signals to and from Calvin and Broderick’s Interplanetary Communication System. The Numabalpist beings and Calvin-Broderick at Stellarnova had not worked out a formal language, but they were building characters and phrases based on a system of affirmative and negative prompts — essentially yesses and nos, and a few other expressions. 

Myrna Reynolds and John Welsey were the two other team members on Stellarnova One. Myrna was the coordinates chief and, as such, she was responsible for guiding Stellarnova One from the Milky Way through the cosmos and to the Boot Nebula. Welsey was responsible for ensuring harmony within the team and would certainly be a captain of his own ship and fleet one day due to his immense knowledge and his ability to solve the most unique and complex problems. He could do the jobs of every other person on the ship and was by far the most indispensable crew member. 

The captain, coordinates chief, chief engineer, and mission specialist were all braced for entry into the atmosphere of Numabalpist. 

“We will be piercing the three layers of atmosphere, and after that, we will begin a rapid descent. This is nothing like Pangeamerica’s (Earth’s) atmosphere, people. Let’s watch our pressure levels. We will begin now to accelerate our entry, and then on my mark, if we don’t slow this ship to a crawl in order to rotate 180 degrees and reverse thrust, we’re toast.” 

“On my mark,” Welsey shouted over the roar of the engines and the atmospheric turbulence.

“Five, four, three,” yelled Broderich. “Two — Mark! Stellarnova One is on the ground, I repeat,” said Broderick, “Stellarnova One has touched down.” 

As the crew checked their equipment and donned their self-containment suits, each individual was filled with a mixture of excited anticipation and a clinical professionalism. They would document this once-in-a-millenium, long-awaited meeting between human beings and alien life forms for the entire world to see. All of Pangeamerica stood breathless, waiting to see if they would be gaining interplanetary friends or if they would be making intergalactic enemies. 

The team of scientists began to explore the planet Numabalpist, instantly observing its vast array of life forms, for it was teeming with life. The cameras in their suits recorded the vistas and landscapes as they surveyed the planet’s surface. The data that was being collected would take years to dissimilate. No one stated the obvious, yet each one of them was fixated on the anticipated meeting with their interplanetary hosts. When would they materialize? Would they be friendly? Were they capable of face-to-face communication, hospitality? Every member of the team wondered the same things. 

A flicker on the horizon in front of them alerted them to the presence of — something. And behind them, something else flickered like a mirror in the distance. Their field of view waved and wrinkled like heat waves running from the desert floor. Naturally, they formed a circle; the looks in each other’s eyes betrayed the fact that they had been surrounded. They turned now, back to back, attempting to focus on whatever was materializing. And whatever it was making its presence known was colorless, shapeless — everywhere. 

There! Another one came into clear view, then 10, 20, 50, 100. And on the other side now, hundreds more. Beings. They were as different as the animals in the zoo. So many types of beings, and they were obviously able to communicate with each other, each scientist noted. Some of the beings were tall; some were squat. The number of legs, arms, eyes, antennae, and other appendages varied also. The crew stood in disbelief of what they were now witnessing. Sentient beings, creatures formerly undiscovered, capable of communication. Some of these had doubtless communicated with the Calvin-Broderick system. 

When one of the aliens grabbed Myrng and Broderick and began to make its way off with them, all hell began to break loose. 

And so, when Calvin and Welsey were likewise accosted and dragged in the other direction, things began to escalate very quickly. A cacophony of shrill sounds and grunts of all types could be heard from the now frantic alien beings of Numabalpist. They were clearly divided and violent in their efforts to lead the crew of Stellarnova One off and into the hidden recesses of their planet. It was all happening so fast. The crew was now in grave danger of being ripped apart; these beings had no idea of their own strength nor of the fragility of the human body. Unbeknownst to the crew, including Broderick and Calvin, the people of Numabalpist were arguing, speaking in their own language about matters of great importance. 

Navlif: “We must have all four of the visitors in the southern region for training and instruction in the Balpist tradition.” 

Derfly: “We have these two. We will not surrender them to you, and we demand that you turn the others over to us under threat of war.”

Kydan: “According to the great legend, they should be treated with great reverence and respect. They have great knowledge and are able to complete the lessons.” 

Rebna:  “This has nothing to do with the great legend. The legend spoke of only one Great One. These four might be able to help with the lessons, but they are not the great ones. They only share the imago dei, but we are apparently their equals.” 

Navlif: “Rebna, you possess some knowledge of the lessons, but you are no expert. The Compilation has not been seen for eons. When our people began to search the stars, they left the Compilation to the Elder, and he does not speak anymore. The legend is lost.”

One of the alien beings of the Balpist Nation let out a shrill, flutelike sound, and once he had, the two factions of aliens again engaged in violence. There were casualties; the crew of Stellarnova One was at risk of being torn apart. 

Some of the aliens could be seen leaving and returning with weapons of various types. The fighting and arguing had, at this point. reached a crescendo. By the look of the weaponry on either side of the battlefield, one thing was certain: Mutual destruction was assured. And that seemed to be the consensus of all involved — this was going to be the war to end all wars. The Compilation was lost, the legend was lost, all hope was gone. These new visitors had lit the fuse, and everything was coming to a head. A countdown of shrieks and huffs had already begun on either side, each nation holding the other in its crosshairs. This would be the end of the Citizens of Numabalpist, as well as the four-man crew of Stellarnova One. 

When the sounds of war, the shrieks, and the countdown took on a muted quality, no one immediately understood that they were being acted upon by an outside force. One by one, the aliens began to lower themselves to the ground until they all lay flat on the surface of Numabalpist. The force could only be described as a strong wind or a gravitational pull. They were all being forced to the ground under the crushing weight of whatever this was. No longer could the sound of fighting be heard, only the wind. 

In the distance, a very ancient-looking alien could be seen approaching the Numabalpist battlefield. As he approached, there was a sound like singing now on the wind. While the other beings were being pressed to the ground, acted upon by some unseen force, this ancient alien moved freely and gracefully through the crowd — singing. He made his way to the epicenter, where the citizens of Numabalpist lay flat. The Numabalpist beings peered up as the ancient-looking alien approached, anticipating what wisdom he might impart. 

The wind-forced weight subsided, and a collective sigh could be heard from all who were there. The citizens of Numabalpist eyed the ancient alien with great awe and respect. This was certainly the elder that Navlif and Rebna spoke of, and he was carrying something. It looked like glass with water flowing freely inside. The ancient one lifted the object over his head as he prepared to address the citizenry of Numabalpist. The vitriol and anger that was present just moments before was no longer there. Some of the beings actually appeared to be crying. The war had apparently ended with the entrance of the elder; crisis averted. Every creature sat down, eyes fixed on the ancient one in wrapt attention as he began to speak. 

Torphep said, “I will read from the Compilation from beginning to end that we would all remember from this day forward. Though the Compilation is written in a language that has not been used for eons, everyone here, including our guests, will be able to hear it in their own language. There will be a great healing, and we will receive wisdom in all things when we have read. And with that, I will now begin.” Torphep began to read from the Compilation: “In the beginning was the Word…”