The section of wall was clear and Caroic could see the landscape outside the habitat. The plants grew tall, with thin brown trunks. She couldn’t believe those thin trunks could support all that green foliage.
She missed the tangerine sky of home and the rocky landscapes. The low growing plant life was sparse. Here, carbon-based life covered the planet like run-away mold; and yet this strange place of crystal blue and green was exciting.
Caroic tapped the clear material with her silicon finger. It made a dull thump. Her scientists had explained about welds and material strength. She didn’t remember the numbers, but the bottom line: it all had to be strong so the habitat didn’t explode in the low pressure. The low atmospheric pressure of the planet was the reason the plants could grow so tall.
This window was the closest she’d ever get to the world outside. She wondered why the toxic oxygen atmosphere out there didn’t just combust. Boom! Whole planet gone in a moment the first time a sentient started a fire.
“Hello, Ambassador Caroic,”
Caroic turned to the voice. The sentient creatures from this world had arrived. The squishy little things were clever and had created a technology to broadcast their likeness. It was so perfect, she couldn’t tell they were images.
“Ah, you’ve arrived at last,” she said, making it clear that she was not happy they were late.
“Welcome to Earth, Ambassador,” their ambassador said.
Caroic sighed at their lack of awareness at their tardiness. These creatures had a lot to learn. They also had a lot to offer.
Bearing Untold Stories 