New World

New World

I awoke from my deep sleep. The only sound I could hear was a whirring noise coming from the anti-gravity engine located somewhere below the surface I was lying on. I released the inner latch on my chamber door and stepped out, nearly losing my balance. My legs weren't accustomed to carrying my weight and the light reflecting from the polished interior of my surroundings caused momentary blindness. I was relieved to stretch my legs for the first time since my journey had begun, several months ago.

I performed as I was duly instructed at the time of my departure and implemented the exterior sensory antenna. Good news! This newly discovered planet's climate could support my life form and the sensors also detected a food source. I was elated to receive this crucial information and was reminded just what my mission was. My immediate task was to survive, find a viable food source that could sustain my planet's growing population and report what I found on this lush, fertile globe.

The creators of the mission had the confidence that I, and others like me, would carry out our primary responsibilities to the best of our ability with urgency and completion. Final words had been spoken before we boarded our ships and the armada left our solar system.

The door to new worlds is open and ripe for exploration. If you walk through that door, things are really going to change for our species. This newly discovered planet offers us hope for the future. We need not tell you space voyagers the importance of your mission. Our children and their children…generations to come cannot go hungry on our dying planet. We are doomed if you do not succeed.

My responsibilities weighed heavy on my mind as I formulated what course of action I would undertake. After months of being in suspended animation, I was hungry. Very hungry.

Exiting my ship and looking off in the distance, I observed what I perceived to be a gathering place for the entities that inhabited this alien planet. I saw many crude structures standing side by side, almost built one upon the other. The distance could have been deceiving, but the structures' height, if I were positioned along side, would reach my brow.

Hunger pushed me forward. I approached the dwellings with caution, at times wading in waist deep water. A short distance from the dwellings I spotted a sentry, standing upright, on an island. The sentry was clothed in a flowing robe and stood with its right arm held high above its head and in the right hand it held a torch. In the left hand, the sentry clutched a tablet. There were strange symbols on the tablet. With some determination I bent and took note of the marks.

JULY IV MDCCLXXVI

After further examination I noticed similar symbols at the bottom, close to the feet of the sentry.

Give me your tired, your poor...

My attention to the symbols was broken when I saw several small bipedal creatures scurrying about the island. I scooped up a handful of these fleshy beings and swallowed them whole. I hadn't eaten in a long time. With the next mouthful I took my time and chewed, savoring the flesh.

My mission was an amazing success; I had obviously found a plentiful food source.