Interim Report

They say there are aliens among us. Here is the Interim Report that one of them sent to their commander...

Dear Rator,

I trust that this message finds you in good health and that you are prospering. I am writing to you about planet E239-280-3 which you assigned me to cover for the Council (may they be fair and righteous). I tender herewith my first Interim Report.

1. The planet is very hospitable for our race; the atmosphere is very similar to ours with similar pressure and gas make up. It is slightly richer in Oxygen and has trace elements, too numerous to detail in this letter, the data transmission will provide full details, of course. But these elements are inert gases that would have no effect on us.

2. I have been on this planet for two hundred and sixty of their years and I have seen many changes in both social and scientific areas of development. Unfortunately, these beings seem to excel in the science of war. Many of the advances in science come to fruition because of their determination on how to kill each other more efficiently. They started with primitive single-shot firearms that were not very accurate and shortly they achieved the rifled barrels that made their weapons more accurate. Many conflicts were fought over the years and it was difficult for me to stay out of the conflict because no matter where I lived, I appeared to be of the age to be “in the military.” During the early period, I would just change locations frequently and they would lose track of me. Then early in what they called the twentieth century, they caught up with me and I was impressed into one of their army brigades. The way the war was fought gave the average soldier a good chance of receiving a mortal wound especially with the invention of the machine gun which sent hundreds of projectiles (bullets) towards the advancing troops who were cut down like trees. I myself was wounded and taken to one of their hospitals. The projectile was dug out of me and I was bandaged up. When no one was looking, I used my medical kit and healed the wound so that it would not become infected. Before I could be discharged, a disease started to affect everyone. They called it influenza or the Spanish Flu. I did not contract it as the virus was unable to figure out how to multiply in my off-world blood but millions died and the war ended with the victors taking revenge on the losers. Today there is a virus that is affecting the whole world called, "The Corona Virus." It is pretty much out of control which baffles me as well. They have what they call a vaccine that instills immunity in their systems and while many have taken it, there is a minority that sees it as a political game and they refuse the medicine. There are the ones that are populating the hospitals and dying. What a waste of life. Again, primate stupidity rears its ugly head.

3. There was a brief time of prosperity between conflicts and it appeared that these primitives were catching on that war was a game that produced no winners. Another conflict broke out which they called World War Two and millions died either on the field of battle, in cities that were firebombed, or by being killed in an industrial setting called a concentration camp. The latter was completely baffling to me as there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to kill the people that they targeted. The DNA types of the killers and the killed could not be more alike. I was able to stay out of this conflict by disguising myself as an old man, unfit for service due to age. This conflict ended when one side (The Allies) built and used an atomic weapon against the tribe called the Japanese. Hundreds of thousands were killed by two bombs.

4. Other wars followed and I will not bore you with the details as they were all small in nature but numerous. Also, one tribe, the Americans were in a deadly contest with another tribe, the Russians for supremacy and rule of the world. They built stockpiles of nuclear fission bombs including those made with a Hydrogen core that were exponentially more powerful than the bombs that destroy the two cities at the end of the second world war. This they called the Cold War and this planet teetered on the edge of destruction so much so that I was tempted to activate the emergency beacon. But as a scientist, I know it was my duty to keep the data flowing.

5. There is abundance on this planet in food, water, and minerals. There is, however, a tendency for selfishness. While some countries have more than enough, they do not share with other countries. Also, the power of Russia is in decline and there are those that say that the power of America is also in decline. There is a country ruled by a ruthless dictator called China that is doing everything that it can to change the power structure on the planet. There is growing tension between America and China and some pundits forecast a shooting war in the future. Should this occur, I will sound my rescue beacon and abandon this planet because in short order it will become a nuclear wasteland that even my advanced body and shields would fail.

6. They have the makings of becoming a peaceful civilization but for some reason some of them feel superior to others because of the color of the skin that they have. It makes no sense to me because once again the DNA between the tormentors and the tormented are indistinguishable from one another. It is another example of how this planet, in spite of some of the modern inventions that they have, is so very primative. Their history is replete with examples of the mistreatment and even extinction of indigioeous peoples as lands were explored and conquered by force of arms.

7. This planet may become toxic to life in short order due to tons of carbon-based effluents being pumped into the air and water. There is already melting to the polar and antarctic ice and danger that lower lands may end up being underwater. To their credit, and this gives me hope, several of the tribes are banding together to attempt to reverse the trend to higher temperatures.

RECOMMENDATION FROM ONSITE AGENT:

It is my recommendation that the council postpone the first contact of this planet until such time as they show that they are able to live in peace with each other, that they clean up the mess that they have made of their ecosystem, it is scary how they treat their planet. Expending our money, our talent, and resources at this time for this planet would likely cause more trouble to the Council than it is worth.

That is my report. I wish you and yours health and prosperity and will transmit my data on the “W” band every thirty earth days.

Please let me know if there is any other data that the Council needs to make a judgment on the case of Earth and I will endeavor to obtain it.

With affection,

Ekim J Aloups