Short, Light, Free Chapter 33: Unfortunate Opportunity I

It's been five years since this s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p has arrived on Earth.

No one knew where it came from except that it simply hovered above The White House.

Or rather, thirty feet above the whole of Was.h.i.+ngton D.C. region.

The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p was so huge that even with such great distance, it was able to cover half of the state.

All sorts of tests have been carried out.

Experts claimed that the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p was at least thrice the size of Was.h.i.+ngton.

It didn't move an inch since five years ago.

According to the specialists, however, it was indeed moving.

Moving along with Earth's rotations.

No one knew the source of its power as machines haven't been able to conduct tests on it.

Not it's temperature, weight, or even size.

Because the whole of Was.h.i.+ngton became a forbidden area.

Previously, the military has hot a guided missile to it but upon reaching a thousand feet in height, it lost its power and was left floating motionless in the air.

The military was afraid that the missile would fall back down once the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p leaves.

As such, they no longer launched any attacks after.

People talked about an alien invasion.

Every country was involved in such discussions in the first year of its arrival.

The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p never moved, it was as if it was dead.

People gradually forgot about its existence even though it became a sight even more famous than The White House. Even if you're in Colombia, you'll see it once you raise your head up.

It blocked the sun in the day and the moon at night.

The trees and flowers illuminated by the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p have all withered.

Even the American president had to leave the White House upon the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p's arrival.

Everything was different today.

It has been five years now and everyone's already forgotten to check on it once in a while.

Until it shot a white beam of light down.

The light beam pierced through the horizon and set off the ground alarm.

Citizens in Was.h.i.+ngton were instructed to evacuate into the air-raid shelter within ten minutes.

The military started advancing toward The White House. They've been waiting for this day since five years ago.

They forged forward with all kinds of tanks that had anti-aircraft guns in them.

The white beam of light shot down on the roof of The White House and a strange black figure descended slowly.

"It's a human," a sniper reported.

"Are you certain about that?" the soldier beside him asked doubtfully.

"Very clearly. He's our people," the sniper confirmed.

The soldier spoke into his walkie-talkie, "It's a human inside, Captain."

The captain then spoke into his walkie-talkie, "It's a human, Officer."

The message was pa.s.sed upward in this manner.

The Defense Minister, Gerard, picked up a binocular and observed the light beam for a long time.

Tears started forming in his eyes.

He put it down and rubbed them a little.

The black figure was now standing atop The White House. It was a human indeed.

It was a man.

"h.e.l.lo, humans," the man greeted.

His voice was heard very clearly by everyone present.

Silence.

Gerard spoke up, "Who are you?"

The man looked at his hand and answered, "The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p seemed to have landed five years earlier than expected and I've just woken up from hibernation. Sorry to have caused any inconvenience to you earthlings."

"You just woke up? Who are you exactly?" Gerard asked, already dialing for the president.

"I've come from Planet Resplendent. Our people are 98% similar to you earthlings, except that we have a longer civilization. We attribute the phenomenon to Earth's incapability to further progress to 'reincarnation'.

"Reincarnation?" Gerard repeated.

"Earth will regenerate every fifty million years, which is unlike Planet Resplendent. As such, our technology is much more advanced. Whenever you guys are about to reach our realm of science and knowledge, Earth will be destroyed. The most Earth has done was to discover medium-term technologies but even then, it still underwent reincarnation," the man explained with some hand gestures.

"You mean our earth is constantly being replaced?" Gerard asked in astonishment.

"We've been studying you ever since we discovered Earth. Earth has already reincarnated sixty-three times throughout Planet Resplendent's history. Each reincarnation is slightly different. Language, skin color… the only thing that remains the same is the system of life, which is why we look alike," he continued.

"If what you said is true, why are you speaking to us in English?" Gerard questioned.

"No, I'm not using your language. Our planet transmit language differently and I can use a language you are familiar with to communicate with you," he explained.

"This… can you give me ten minutes to discuss this with the president?" George requested.

"Sure thing," the man replied.

Gerard raised his phone up. "Mister President, did you hear everything?"

"Very clearly. Are they aliens?" the president asked over the phone.

"I think so." Gerard nodded.

"This is cla.s.sified information. Stop the satellite broadcast. Figure out his motive," the president instructed.

"My goal is simple. I just have a question," the man responded.

"You heard me?" the president asked.

"Yes I did," the man answered.

"What is it? Speak," the president urged.

He was in Los Angeles at that point, a good four thousand kilometers away.

"The average lifespan on Planet Resplendent spans across one to one and a half reincarnations of Earth. My teacher's been fortunate enough to live through two reincarnations and conduct thorough studies. He discovered something you guys call 'faith' which remains a constant regardless of reincarnation and other changes. It is also something that we do not possess. Because there is only so much we can observe, we decided to visit you to find out for ourselves what exactly faith is," the man conveyed.

"Your arrival's a big thing for us. We have to reevaluate our understanding of the world so could you please give us some time to answer your question?" the president asked.

"It's not urgent. I can stay around for about a thousand years. I'll leave before your next reincarnation. Of course, there's no way you guys can avoid it. We've been here many times and after each reincarnation, none of you actually remembers us at all. We come with a different goal each time because you earthlings are indeed very similar to us. We regard Earth as a point of reference for us," the man finished.

The president crinkled his brows. "How are you going to understand our faith?"

"I would like to take eight earthlings back to my planet to educate us on what faith is. Because your lifespan is only about sixty years, I'll have to freeze their bodies before taking them away."

"Please give us a few days to consider your proposal and find suitable candidates," the president responded.

"Alright." A white beam of light brought the man back into the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.

Gerard asked over the phone, "What is faith, Mister President?"