First Contact

What took you so long?

Internships suck, decided Dave, pushing his chair back from his workbench to rest his eyes for a moment. Theoretical physics by now seemed a seriously wrong turning — he had friends with half his abilities creating cool apps further down the Valley, in startups which were more like playgrounds.

And he knew this would be another late one. Doctor Krauss and Professor Latham were even more excited than usual, which meant their arguments could be heard right across the machine room.

Ever since they had trained the first prototype phaser (I’m sorry, but that’s what they called it) on a sugar cube and seen it go poof, they had been arguing daily about where the sugar had been sent.

With intricate mathematical argumentation, Latham supported his assertion that their machine was a portal to another dimension. From equal and opposite physical precepts, Krauss maintained that they had opened a transportation gateway to another physical location within this universe— he just couldn’t say exactly where.

What they were both agreed on was that a larger and more stable version must be built without delay, while the funding landscape remained favourable. Hence the construction of the machine room, the enlistment of Dave and a dozen other (mainly paid) staff, and the current quandary.

The giant phaser was now ready to test, with the capacity to disappear a full-grown adult, but a notable shortage of volunteers willing to advance the cause of science at who knows what personal cost to themselves.

Hamsters, dogs, a monkey and even bits and pieces of machinery had all gone through the portal since it had been completed, but no-one knew where they ended up, and it was clearly a one-way trip since, wherever it was, there wouldn’t be the corresponding machinery over there to send them back.

When you have built the first telephone, who do you call?

Enter Robbie the Robot. Dave sincerely hoped that it was named in an ironic spirit, or as homage to the Space Family Robinson, but he suspected it was more a failure of imagination on the part of his otherwise brilliant mentors.

Robbie was equipped with sufficient AI smarts to adapt to a wide variety of situations in which he might find himself on “the other side”. More importantly, he had probes, sensors, cameras and an advanced communications module to ensure that everything experienced there would be beamed back to base, always assuming that he didn’t pitch up in Alpha Centauri or Dimension Z.

And Dave was ready to take centre-stage as Robbie’s handler, thanks to spending most of his teenage years perfecting his drone piloting skills, and video-recording the adventures of his vehicles for posterity. Sure, he had lost a handful of drones, but never without capturing every detail of their demise in pursuit of social media fame.

The king-sized portal was no longer a point and shoot affair. By now it had acquired the form of a short tunnel, where the subject entered at one end and disappeared before it reached the other.

The monkey could not be convinced to wander down the tunnel, and so had to be strapped to a chair and slid along rails. At the end of the rails both the chair and the monkey disappeared as planned.

Robbie would make the journey using his own legs, with Dave at a control desk just outside the mouth of the tunnel. Dave took a gulp of Gatorade when the klaxon sounded and made his way to the workstation. Show time!

The machine was powered up to its maximum setting, as Robbie was twice the height and weight of the monkey. Dave was tinkering with the robot’s settings at the control desk, just before launching Robbie on his way, when he heard a growing murmur from the assembled scientists.

He looked in their direction, only to find that they were looking in his direction, or rather, past him towards the end of the tunnel.

Coming through the white haze into which Robbie was meant to disappear was first one, then another, then maybe half a dozen humanoid forms, all striding briskly in his direction. Dave dropped his controller, mouth gaping.

Behind him the scientists were starting to shout, but Krauss and Latham apprehended the situation instantly, and stepped forward to greet the emissaries of the new world.

Each was trying to get slightly ahead of the other, hands outstretched, to be recorded for all time as the first human to make physical contact with our neighbours.

Dave spoiled all of that by recovering his senses and stepping forward to meet the First-Through.

— Hello. I’m Dave. Who are you?

They were just like us, Dave thought, except a little fuzzy at the edges if you focused too much on their outline, rather than just taking in their general appearance. And when they responded, the words just popped into Dave’s mind without him even being aware of them having spoken.

— We are the People. We have been waiting for you to reach us.

Krauss and Latham had caught up by now.

— I’m Doctor Krauss, and this is my colleague Professor Latham. This is our experiment — we are so proud to be here on this unique day for both of our peoples.

Second-Through inspected Robbie for a moment and then turned his attention back to Dave and the scientists. Third and Fourth-Through had somehow inserted themselves between the main console and the technicians, impeding any access to the controls, and leaving the big phaser humming.

— Apologies, said Second-Through. My friends just need to secure the portal. We have waited so long for you to open the door to us.

— How do you communicate in our language? asked Latham. We would be delighted to know more about your technology and way of life.

— We look and sound how you would wish us to look and sound. This is not technology. Operation of matter on matter is your gift, not ours, which is why we had to wait for you to open the gate for us.

— Yes (First-Through picked up the thread). Our gift is the operation of thought on thought, which is why you see and hear us in the way you do.

There was now a steady stream of the People pouring through the tunnel, moving past Dave and the scientists, out among the technicians and onlookers, and generally making themselves at home.

— I think we should shut the portal down for the moment, and notify our authorities of your arrival, said Krauss firmly.

— Thanks, but that won’t be necessary, said Second-Through.

— No, of course that won’t be necessary, agreed Krauss enthusiastically.

— Is this the part where we offer to take you to our leader? joked Dave.

First-Through almost seemed to smile.

— Hmm… but I’m already here!

Many thanks for reading!

Story based on an original idea by my twelve-year-old daughter, who has insisted she retain all future movie rights. It’s my first standalone story for a long time, but you may appreciate one from my daughter and an oldie from me.