I Will Love You Forever

Chapter 1, part 2: Visitor

Impossibly far away in terms that made any sense to Ken and Lu, a cylinder smaller than their pickup truck was just passing the orbit of Mars. It had been approaching the solar system for the last three Earth years, ever since it had detected unusual radio energy output as it passed along the galactic arm.

It had changed course and headed in the direction of the little yellow sun, focusing its immense abilities on determining the source of that energy. The closer it got to the system, the more complex and varied the transmissions became. By the time the tiny probe was entering the cometary oort cloud, it had determined not only that the transmissions were not natural, but that they were coming from the third planet out, and represented a crude technological civilization. By that time, it had learned to interpret which signals were representations of sound, and which were representations of crude visual images, presented in small segments, a rectangle at a time. It had been recording all manner of video and sound transmissions for the past two years.

The dominant species appeared to have many interesting traits, from the many scraps that were caught by the probe. The probe had learned the dominant language well enough to use it, and interpretation of video signals allowed it to develop proficiency with the language.

Now approaching the planet, it decided on a contact protocol. Every species was different, as was every planet. Judging by the signals it had received, the probe had determined that the dominant species here, which called itself Human and their planet Earth, was both paranoid and trusting, both aggressive and gregarious, and generally violent. They would have to be approached very carefully. The probe was not concerned about what the natives might do to it, although scorch marks along its side bore testimony to attempts to commandeer or destroy it in deep space. It was more concerned with failing in its primary mission, should it trigger a general paranoid response from the dominant species.

The probe decided on a low-level approach. From what it had seen of the ever-richer signals it was receiving, approaching publicly would almost certainly cause a violently paranoid panic-reaction, and might even trigger a planet-wide war. Only by approaching individuals or very small groups would it have a chance to make a peaceful approach. Above all, it must not be seen to harm any of the dominant species.

As it got closer to the planet, it realized the debris in orbit around the planet was largely metal. The civilization was already space-going. That had to mean they had the ability to see the probe, and perhaps had seen it already. It was certainly reflecting enough light from the local star to be visible. This was the most dangerous aspect of its approach. It could not afford to maneuver out here, or wait for more detailed analysis before getting on the ground. It needed to get down on the planet and hide as quickly as possible, then look for opportunities to make contact peacefully.

The probe analyzed its situation, and determined the course of action with the highest probability of a successful mission. The local system was at an early enough state of maturity that meteors would still be fairly common. It would have to pretend to be a meteor, coming in on a ballistic trajectory until it actually hit. It would create a fireball and a small crater, but then it could move out of the area and hide before any natives came to investigate. It scanned for open areas of low population where the dominant language was used. It was moving toward Earth in general, but as the instruments aboard it read more detailed data coming from the liquid water world, it adjusted its direction several times, until it was aiming near the center of one of the larger land masses.

Right at a little clearing in the midst of a wood.

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