Extinct Doesn't Mean Forever by Phoenix Sullivan (bill gates book recommendations TXT) 📗

a wake behind for the Fringe to follow. The debris floating in orbit was too small and fragmented to hide among. The heavily cratered moon showed more promise. The soil contained a high concentration of iron and several clusters of metal spread across the surface. It might be enough to fool their sensors, if they didn’t look too closely.

The Fringe vessel was still too far away for visual contact but they were closing the distance. Though designed for deep space reconnaissance, the Drifting Star did have several defensive options, including a decoy drone. Packed tight inside was a complex set of counter-sensors, navigation and power system. Once released, the decoy would spool up its small jump drive and wait to be scanned. The Fringe would see the signature of a small scout ship just beyond the edge of visual range before the decoy skipped away.

He released it and set course for the largest cluster of metal on the surface of the moon. The thrusters ignited, giving the ship a boost as it arced toward its target. The image of the moon’s dusty surface filled the console. The Drifting Star banked for its approach and Indigo closed his eyes. The booster engines fired a tenth of a second too late and the ship touched down hard, throwing him forward.

Indigo groaned as he pushed himself off the floor and scrambled back into his chair. At the rate the Fringe had been closing on his position they would be in visual range soon. One by one he shut down every nonessential system and switched the engine core offline. Within moments the ship was running on minimal reserve power, the darkened cabin illuminated by the refracted light from the external cameras. Indigo’s heavy breathing cut the silence as he watched the console.

The space around the decoy twinkled and it was gone. The decoy had enough fuel for three skips, hopefully buying Indigo enough time for the Drifting Star to complete repairs. If the ruse worked, he would be long gone before the Fringe returned from chasing the decoy.

Indigo waited in the darkness. The Fringe vessel drifted into view, passing over where the decoy had been. It lingered above his position. He held his breath, half afraid that even the smallest sound would attract their attention. If they decided to investigate the moon’s surface, he would have nowhere left to run.

After what felt like a lifetime, the warship skipped away and Indigo released a long sigh of relief.

~~~

The engines sputtered to life. With power restored, the ship’s subsystems resumed repairs and Indigo got the first good look at his surroundings. The artifacts scattered around the perimeter of the ship didn’t appear to be native to the moon. Spacecraft and other debris from the nearby planet perhaps. The design seemed crude in comparison to the Drifting Star, but Indigo wasn’t one to judge. Before the Fringe invaded his world, the Oshen barely looked to the sky with anything but a passing interest. These aliens looked to the heavens and saw something more than just pinpricks of light on the canvas of night. They reached outward and set foot on another world.

Indigo took control of one of the remote probes and sent the small, angular device drifting toward the ancient landing site. Magnified images reflected off of Indigo’s wide eyes as the probe’s lens swept over the landscape. One object seemed deliberately placed: a rectangle of fibers with alternating colors of red and white, and a corner bit of dark blue with a field of white stars superimposed, affixed to a metal pole driven into the surface.

Several other objects rested nearby, but the largest artifact – a vehicle — drew his attention next. Four gangly legs, covered in silver and copper and gold, supported its weight, and scorch marks covered its flat surface. The composition of the burns belonged to a chemical accelerant, consistent with a rudimentary fuel. The probe followed the ladder attached to one of the legs. Light reflected off of a metal plate midway up. The probe paused and zoomed its lens in on the flat map representing the planet and the writing printed across the surface. The linguistics sub-system anatomized the block lettering, building a cipher. Translated text scrolled across the screen.

HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH

FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON

JULY 1969, A. D.

WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND

A small white pouch lay on the surface at the foot of the ladder. Tiny arms extended from the probe and pulled at the edges of the pouch. A round chip of metal slipped out and fell into the dust. Something had been written around the edge of the disc. Embedded in the center was a thin wafer of metal with microscopically small script etched onto its surface. The probe uploaded the image for translation and continued its circuit around the landing site.

Oddly shaped but precise indentations criss-crossed the surface of the moon. They tapered slightly from top to bottom and grooves ran horizontally across them. The probe hovered over one clear sample and stared at it for several ticks, contemplating the image.

The shape reminded him of footprints in the sand, like those left behind when the first of the Oshen crawled out of the water that was the only home they knew. The urge to know what lay beyond the edge driving them to reach into the unknown. The awe and wonder these people must have felt, stepping into the heavens and gazing back at their home, far in the distance. The excitement of knowing they were where no one else had ever been. These people, like his own, strove to break free of the bonds that held them.

Indigo tore open a nutrient packet with his teeth and nibbled while he read the messages inscribed on the small silver disc. Seventy-three messages, left for posterity by the race of Human. A species with binary gender spread across many nations. The text revealed these people had endured numerous hardships. And much like the