Chara and the Planet

Chapter No. 39

Chapter No. 39.

Ryan entered the command deck that evening and sat in a seat behind the pilot's station that Chara occupied.

"What's next?"

"I am taking us to a possible habitable planet three thousand light years from our current location," she replied. "It could be the home world of the Roswell aliens."

"I thought they were fictional," Evan said.

"Evidently not," Ryan said. "They are the aliens that abducted the humans and brought them to this planet."

"Why?"

"Good question. There is not enough evidence to answer that question." He turned to Chara. "Who is best to examine your scans of the alien remains?"

"Myra is capable of doing that," Chara said.

Ryan stood up. "I'll go see if she's up to it."

When Ryan arrived at Myra's door, he didn't have to wait to enter. The door swished open, inviting him to come on in. He found her sitting on a couch listening to her android companion, Viva, sing.

She smiled. "Good evening, Ryan," she said. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

"I need your expertise."

"Oh my, I'm flattered. What about?"

"Chara made some detailed scans of the alien's remains. I would like to hear your opinion on what might have led to its demise.

"I assume it's in the database," she said.

"Yes, it's under Roswell, A-1."

The screen appeared in midair, allowing Myra to move the recordings using hand motions. After several observations of Chara's scan results, she offered her take on it. "The skeleton's bones are like ours, but there is one difference that could indicate the cause of death. The scan detected large quantities of strontium 90."

Ryan's right eyebrow shot up. "That's a product of fission reactions."

"Yes, and it ends up in bones because it's similar to calcium."

"Is there a way to determine how long this alien was dead?"

"Well, strontium 90 has a half-life of roughly 29 years. Judging by the radioactive level that Chara measured, I would say it was about ninety to a hundred years, assuming that it was exposed to a sizable amount of the radioactive element back then."

"Interesting. I think that the humans we found down there have been there at least a hundred years, and it could have been even longer. I doubt that the people were exposed to the radiation. It would have been a disaster if that would have happened. I think we have to assume that this alien was exposed before he landed on the planet."

"Maybe it happened on their ship," Myra suggested.

Ryan shrugged. "Maybe, but we'll never know for certain." He sighed. "Thanks for your help."

She smiled. "I am always at your service, Ryan."

Ryan gave her his signature smirk before he departed and went back up to the command center and took his place behind Chara.

"Myra said the alien died from radiation poisoning. She noted your scans of strontium 90 in the bones. She estimates that it died over a hundred years ago, based on the radioactive level."

"He could have been a victim of a radioactive leak on his vessel."

"That's what I think, but it's just a theory."

"It could be a clue as to what sort of propulsion system they're using."

"Maybe it's what they use to provide power," Ryan said.

"If they were using warp drive, fission power would not be used."

"That would suggest that they're using some other means to cheat Einstein," Chara said.

"Or they found a way to increase their warp speed using fission."

"I will consider that idea," Chara said.

When the humans gathered at the main food synthesizer for their communal supper, the alien subject was definitely on everyone's mind.

"So, are we in danger from these Roswell aliens?" Evan asked.

"Don't know. They brought the humans they abducted to that planet at least a hundred years ago. I don't recall any reference to them during my career at Space Command."

"What about the skeleton you saw?"

"We believe that the alien died because of exposure to strontium 90. Assuming that there were no other alien deaths noted, it would suggest that he was the victim of a localized exposure, possibly on his vessel."

"Do we even know that this alien skeleton you saw was that of a so-called Roswell alien?" Martha asked.

"There's no way to verify it. The description of them given to us by the abducted humans matches the reported Roswell aliens, but that could just be a coincidence. The Roswell incident was shown to be a farce."

"I would think that we shouldn't be fearful of them, whatever they are," Myra said. "They may have abducted the humans, but they inserted them on a habitable planet and left them live out their lives there."

"Why would they do that?" Even asked rhetorically. "Why would they go to all that trouble."

"Maybe they were attempting an experiment to see if humans could live and thrive on a planet other than Earth," Myra said. "Maybe they're curious like us."

"Maybe we'll see if they're still around," Ryan said. "Chara is determined to find a technologically advanced species, especially one that has created sentient robotic beings."

"Are we leaving this mission up to her?" Evan asked.

"Yes. We are in the minority and dependent upon her tolerance. As far as I am concerned, it's the best situation we can expect."

"I agree," Myra said. "They're adamant about training us to be entertainers. I think it means that they are interested in studying us."

"When are we going to see you entertain?" Evan asked with an ornery grin.

"They'll tell us when we're ready, so hold your horses."

They laughed.

Ryan wasn't sure if entertainment was a good idea. It was obviously sexist, but he realized that the androids didn't consider sexuality as a component of their function. As Myra suggested, it was their way of trying to understand us. Evidently, they wanted to know if we were able to tolerate doing what they were forced to do. Maybe it was also a way for them to absorb some human characteristics that they didn't possess.