hungryghostredman
Bluelighter
Commander Khazek felt the familiar lurch as their craft emerged from the void. He threw up in a matter of fact manner using the receptacle provided by the East India Company.(the name being a historical joke, little appreciated by most of its employees.)
He had been granted this post as a reward for his long service in the asteroid belt mining colonies. As a child he had been a keen consumer of the pulp science fiction magazines which had undergone a renaissance in the late 16th Century(moslem era) due to the advent of pangalactic travel(and relaxation of the Sharia laws). So when he left Istanbul University at the age of 25, his first thought was to join the newly-formed company.
Between then and now, he had mostly been concerned with the surveying and transporting of precious metals and minerals (especially the heavy lead that the engines needed to make the Jump) But all the time, in the secret recesses of his heart, he had haboured a wish for a mission such as this.
His wives laughed at him. They said he was a dreamer; better suited to the age of sailing ships. They reminded him that in the thirty years man had been exploring the Milky Way, not the slightest trace of extraterrestrial life had ever been discovered. He bore their mockery with patience. It was not for women to be blessed with the kind of pioneering ambitions that disturbed his fasts.
Then the news came. An unmistakably artificial radio signal was emenating from the constellation Orion (astronomers continued to use the pagan names, openly since the secular counter revolution,...a mixture of arabic and ancient greek...it being to much trouble to rename the stars.) It seemed from its cycle that it originated on a planet orbitting the second star of Orions belt...nothing more could be discovered without visiting the area.
The signal was what astronomers had always hoped for: sequences of mathematical constants such as Pi, and what appeared to be a representation of the DNA helix. The message, if such it was, ended with the Fibonacci sequence. (the sequence of numbers in which each is the sum of the previous two, thus, 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34...it occurs frequently in nature)
The Confederation of Moslem Nations, together with NASA (still clinging to a kind of shabby respectability despite the collapse of the US ecomomy) quickly agreed on a course of action: a reconnaissance mission. The feeling among the greybeards was that if contact between species was to occur, it was going to be the humans in charge, inshallah.
Hence the commander was drawing closer to the blue-green planet, tentatively called 'new earth' by his crew until they could ascertain what the nativs called it. He gave the order to descend to a geostationary orbit, and then activated the muezzin call, to summon the crew to the prayer deck. Facing New Mecca was easy this far from Earth; it was always behind you. He irradiated his hand and feet, and waited for the crew to assemble.
The Imam was last to arrive. He laid out his mat and began the 'shahada':
"Ashadu alla ilaha illa Allah wa ashadu anna Mohammed rasulu Allah"
(I bear witness that there is no god but God, and that Mohammed is his prophet)
A short time later, the commander returned his attention to the landing. He called over the cheif engineer.
"What can you see? Have you found a suitable landing site? Any signs of life?"
The engineer dipped his head slightly.
"According to our scout probe, the atmosphere is similar to Earth. Remarkably so. My recommendation is that we suit up anyway. Terrain: there seems to be a large flat plain directly beneath us. To the north of that is what I can only describe as a city; it is from there the signal seems to be coming. I recommend we follow the signal down until we breach the atmosphere, and then use our retroplanes to land a few kilometeres south of the city."
The commander nodded his assent.
"O.K. Tell the crew to prepare themselves."
The engineer scurried off to relay his orders. The commander took his seat in front of the screen and belted himself in. The descent began. As the craft entered the atmosphere the heat sheild covered the screen, leaving the cabin shrouded in an eerie red light. He closed his eyes and offered up a silent prayer. A sudden drop in pressure announced to his experienced senses they had touched down. He released the seat belt and stood up.
The crew began to congregate in the exit chamber. It fell to the commander to say a few words:
"Men. None of us know what is waiting for us out there, but if there are living creatures, it is unlikely they will be anything like what we expect. Stay calm, however hideous they may appear. God created them too. So keep your safety catches on, and no sudden moves. We probably seem as strange to them. And don't interpret anything as aggression until they actually kill someone. We don't won't to turn this first contact into a diplomatic incident. Our species may have much to learn from one another."
He felt that was enough; his crew were well trained. They responded with a mumble of enthusiasm. A hiss of escaping gas as the hatch slowly opened.
The crew, led by the Imam, cautiously took their first steps on this new planet. The preacher took a handful of sacred soil from New Mecca and sprinkled it on the ground, blessing it with a prayer for the safety of the crew. As per the order they were all wearing suits. The commander ordered a low ranking technician to remove his helmet first. After an hour he was experiencing no ill effects. After two, the commander gave permission for the rest of the crew to do likewise. The air tasted sweet after six months of recycled.
They started towards the 'city' they had seen from orbit. As they approached they could see it really was a city. The tips of the tallest buildings emerged over the horizon. He noticed a certain resemblance of one of them to a mosque. Strange how quick one was to make such ridiculous assumptions.
They drew closer, and a cloud of dust seemed to draw closer to them. Looking through the optikon, a group of figures resolved itself. They were humanoid at least.
"looks like a reception commitee" , he grunted, to no-one in particular.
The caravan of figures got closer and closer. The crew were nervous. Soon the two groups were close enough for visual contact. The aliens did look remarkably human. A few were female; the commander gestured to his men to stop staring. He couldn't drop his gaze.
The two parties stopped 20 feet apart. For full thirty seconds, neither made a sound. They stood examining each other. Then one of the aliens, presumably the leader, dressed in flowing robes, strode forward to greet the waiting men.
The alien extended his hand, opened his mouth and spoke:
"Ashadu alla ihala illa Allah wa ashadu anna Mohammed rasulu Allah"
He had been granted this post as a reward for his long service in the asteroid belt mining colonies. As a child he had been a keen consumer of the pulp science fiction magazines which had undergone a renaissance in the late 16th Century(moslem era) due to the advent of pangalactic travel(and relaxation of the Sharia laws). So when he left Istanbul University at the age of 25, his first thought was to join the newly-formed company.
Between then and now, he had mostly been concerned with the surveying and transporting of precious metals and minerals (especially the heavy lead that the engines needed to make the Jump) But all the time, in the secret recesses of his heart, he had haboured a wish for a mission such as this.
His wives laughed at him. They said he was a dreamer; better suited to the age of sailing ships. They reminded him that in the thirty years man had been exploring the Milky Way, not the slightest trace of extraterrestrial life had ever been discovered. He bore their mockery with patience. It was not for women to be blessed with the kind of pioneering ambitions that disturbed his fasts.
Then the news came. An unmistakably artificial radio signal was emenating from the constellation Orion (astronomers continued to use the pagan names, openly since the secular counter revolution,...a mixture of arabic and ancient greek...it being to much trouble to rename the stars.) It seemed from its cycle that it originated on a planet orbitting the second star of Orions belt...nothing more could be discovered without visiting the area.
The signal was what astronomers had always hoped for: sequences of mathematical constants such as Pi, and what appeared to be a representation of the DNA helix. The message, if such it was, ended with the Fibonacci sequence. (the sequence of numbers in which each is the sum of the previous two, thus, 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34...it occurs frequently in nature)
The Confederation of Moslem Nations, together with NASA (still clinging to a kind of shabby respectability despite the collapse of the US ecomomy) quickly agreed on a course of action: a reconnaissance mission. The feeling among the greybeards was that if contact between species was to occur, it was going to be the humans in charge, inshallah.
Hence the commander was drawing closer to the blue-green planet, tentatively called 'new earth' by his crew until they could ascertain what the nativs called it. He gave the order to descend to a geostationary orbit, and then activated the muezzin call, to summon the crew to the prayer deck. Facing New Mecca was easy this far from Earth; it was always behind you. He irradiated his hand and feet, and waited for the crew to assemble.
The Imam was last to arrive. He laid out his mat and began the 'shahada':
"Ashadu alla ilaha illa Allah wa ashadu anna Mohammed rasulu Allah"
(I bear witness that there is no god but God, and that Mohammed is his prophet)
A short time later, the commander returned his attention to the landing. He called over the cheif engineer.
"What can you see? Have you found a suitable landing site? Any signs of life?"
The engineer dipped his head slightly.
"According to our scout probe, the atmosphere is similar to Earth. Remarkably so. My recommendation is that we suit up anyway. Terrain: there seems to be a large flat plain directly beneath us. To the north of that is what I can only describe as a city; it is from there the signal seems to be coming. I recommend we follow the signal down until we breach the atmosphere, and then use our retroplanes to land a few kilometeres south of the city."
The commander nodded his assent.
"O.K. Tell the crew to prepare themselves."
The engineer scurried off to relay his orders. The commander took his seat in front of the screen and belted himself in. The descent began. As the craft entered the atmosphere the heat sheild covered the screen, leaving the cabin shrouded in an eerie red light. He closed his eyes and offered up a silent prayer. A sudden drop in pressure announced to his experienced senses they had touched down. He released the seat belt and stood up.
The crew began to congregate in the exit chamber. It fell to the commander to say a few words:
"Men. None of us know what is waiting for us out there, but if there are living creatures, it is unlikely they will be anything like what we expect. Stay calm, however hideous they may appear. God created them too. So keep your safety catches on, and no sudden moves. We probably seem as strange to them. And don't interpret anything as aggression until they actually kill someone. We don't won't to turn this first contact into a diplomatic incident. Our species may have much to learn from one another."
He felt that was enough; his crew were well trained. They responded with a mumble of enthusiasm. A hiss of escaping gas as the hatch slowly opened.
The crew, led by the Imam, cautiously took their first steps on this new planet. The preacher took a handful of sacred soil from New Mecca and sprinkled it on the ground, blessing it with a prayer for the safety of the crew. As per the order they were all wearing suits. The commander ordered a low ranking technician to remove his helmet first. After an hour he was experiencing no ill effects. After two, the commander gave permission for the rest of the crew to do likewise. The air tasted sweet after six months of recycled.
They started towards the 'city' they had seen from orbit. As they approached they could see it really was a city. The tips of the tallest buildings emerged over the horizon. He noticed a certain resemblance of one of them to a mosque. Strange how quick one was to make such ridiculous assumptions.
They drew closer, and a cloud of dust seemed to draw closer to them. Looking through the optikon, a group of figures resolved itself. They were humanoid at least.
"looks like a reception commitee" , he grunted, to no-one in particular.
The caravan of figures got closer and closer. The crew were nervous. Soon the two groups were close enough for visual contact. The aliens did look remarkably human. A few were female; the commander gestured to his men to stop staring. He couldn't drop his gaze.
The two parties stopped 20 feet apart. For full thirty seconds, neither made a sound. They stood examining each other. Then one of the aliens, presumably the leader, dressed in flowing robes, strode forward to greet the waiting men.
The alien extended his hand, opened his mouth and spoke:
"Ashadu alla ihala illa Allah wa ashadu anna Mohammed rasulu Allah"
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