First Contact

The day of first contact with an alien species started off like any other day. I woke up early, made my morning coffee, and got ready for work. I don't know why I walked outside since I usually had my cup of coffee inside the house, but for some inexplicable reason I wanted to smell the fresh air. There was an eerie fog, it hung over the air like some sort of messenger. I caught it out of the corner of my eye, hovering in the sky. It must have been 20 miles across with an almost ethereal chrome or metallic glow. I just stared at it for a while like a deer in headlights. My objective reality had always been that we were alone in the universe until that moment. I don't know how much time passed, minutes felt like hours. I was in a state of cognitive dissonance it was almost as if I was having an out of body experience, like I was watching myself watch this object. I felt the same way the Aztecs must have felt when they saw the Spanish ships on the horizon headed towards their shores. I walked inside in a sort of haze, I was in shock. I poured myself more coffee, and it overflowed on the countertop because my cup was still full. At this point I grabbed my phone while trying to still my shaking hand, and I searched for one word "news". The news headlines felt like a smack in the face, it was what my brain already knew but my perception of reality had yet to catch up to. There was a tingle of goosebumps all over my body, the headline read "First Contact with Alien Species". The shock started to wear off, and I started ask myself questions.

"What did they want?"

'Why were they here?"

It was at this moment I noticed the street lights were turning on and off. Was the power grid affected? The digital clock in my kitchen was also displaying strange symbols. I remembered all those abduction stories about how people would have their radios go nuts, and their electronics would go crazy. I was completely covered in goosebumps at that point. That is when I switched to fight or flight mode. I checked my refrigerator to see if there was enough food, and if there was power. The light turned on when I opened the refrigerator so at least I had that. The water was still running from the tap and I quickly filled a few containers full of water. Then I locked the doors as fast as I could. In hindsight probably should have locked the doors first, but my mind was still recovering from the shock. I didn't grab my phone again, I just sat in bed and stared at the wall. I kept repeating the same phrase in my head over and over again like a mantra

"we really aren't alone, we really aren't alone"

When I finally snapped out of it I checked the news again and the reporters knew about as much as I did. At 6:00 AM Pacific Time about 30 craft measuring about 15 miles in diameter entered the atmosphere above every major metropolitan area with a human population over 1,000,000. They hadn't established any sort of communication, hovering silently over these cities. That's when I started to see the arguing online, and media personalities arguing with their coworkers on live television. The Pope made an address on TV, one for the history books they would say. He ended his speech with the line

" We must find a way to love each other, that God has chosen this vast universe not just for humans, but for other species as well. For the way that we love each other is the way that we will show others how to love us."

The cynic in me had to mutter a response " but we don't love each other, we spend most of our time fighting against one another". There was also scattered news reports of mass suicides, looting, rioting, and highways completely jammed with people trying to escape the cities where the craft were hovering. It really felt apocalyptic so I made a decision that I was not going to go to work that day, my boss be damned. About midday there was a news report that some radio stations were playing some sort of music that was completely alien, that they had been hijacked somehow. At First it was rural radio stations then it was all radio stations across the globe. The music was peaceful, calming, and I felt relaxed; it almost seemed like a church choir. This was the real first contact, they were speaking to us! I can't even explain the sense of peace that washed over me in that moment. They weren't here to hurt us! My entire life I'd felt disconnected to my fellow man yet in that moment I felt an indescribable feeling of interconnection. It was as if I could feel my neighbors feelings telepathically! Despite how obvious the message of peace was the military did not hear it, since every one of these craft had military jets flying around them. In New York a nuclear equipped stealth bomber was also flying around its respective alien craft. Can you imagine flying at near the speed of light for almost 30 years only to be welcomed by a military force carrying nuclear weapons while you're broadcasting a message of peace, how would you feel?

What happened next didn't shock me much, we were always going to bungle first contact with an alien species. It's human nature to destroy itself, whether it's human vanity, greed, avarice, or our war like nature. It is said that when a technology is significantly advanced it almost comes off like magic. At 8:00 PM Pacific Standard Time those alien craft set off some sort of electromagnetic pulse. The hands on my watch are still stuck on that time, that was 11 years ago. They then left without warning or any other messages. Our species was sent back almost 500 years in one instance, no more technology, no electricity, and none of the affected technology could be repaired. When the dust settled we no longer had rule of law, most governments collapsed. Scattered accounts say that we no longer have the fossil fuels to rebuild our society. I am imparting this message to my descendants, if we ever rebuild our society we must build it back up on love. We must show these creatures the kind of love we would want to be treated with if they ever return. I hope that this message is passed down in both written, and oral history not to be forgotten by the sands of time. Learn from our mistakes, don't repeat them.