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The discovery of the spear changed everything. All the cameras were focused with intent, filming the alien-made weapon from every angle and getting Owen’s in-depth analysis. Elliot re-enacted his discovery of the spear, minimizing the horseplay with the full knowledge that this could be history in the making. The biologists speculated madly and Hubcap helped them tear up the area looking for more signs of intelligent life. There were none, but the shell fragments with holes were evaluated in a different light.
“It’s the same exact scrape markings on the blade of this spear,” one of the biologists was arguing. “This has to be intentional carving!” He held up the most intact shell fragment, a blue-black dome with a crack in one side and two holes on another. It reminded Elliot of a bowl designed to leak.
“It certainly could be the same marks,” Owen admitted. “But we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. What would the purpose be for holes like this?”
The scientists all began suggesting ideas. Then one smart fellow looked from the shell in his coworker’s hand to the one on Hubcap’s head, and came to a conclusion of his own. He plucked the discussion piece out of the man’s hand and swapped it with Hubcap’s hat.
The robot stared out through what were now obviously eye holes in a helmet.
Elliot made appreciative noises and complimented the stylish algae. Hubcap posed as cameras circled.
“Well, all right then,” Owen said. “It’s not a perfect fit, but it would be a bit much to expect any sentient alien to be built like a human, much less a robot.”
“I feel vaguely insulted,” Hubcap said.
Owen ignored him and focused the conversation on this new revelation. The group came to the quick conclusion that these were armor pieces of various types, though it was next to impossible to reconstruct how they might fit together without knowing the body shape of the people who had carved them.
“This is big,” Owen said, hand over his mouth. “We’ll need to start searching the area for more signs. I can’t believe they missed this in the original explorations.”
“How much detail did they go into back then, anyway?” Elliot asked. “The planet is pretty huge. Surely that would be a massive undertaking to do it right.”
“Well, that’s assuming they were interested in doing it right,” the crew chief whispered. He glanced at the nearest camera. “But you didn’t hear that from me.” He spoke in a normal volume. “The people who do the scans of a new planet are highly trained, with some impressive technology. When they get the time and money to scan a planet in the way they’re trained to, it is unlikely that they are going to miss anything. But then, the universe is a big place, and intelligence can take any number of forms. If this is something we haven’t encountered before, then it’s possible that the scanners just aren’t capable of detecting them.”
Hubcap looked at the primitive spear. “And what if they just missed something? What is this going to mean for the whole operation here?”
Owen raised his hands in an exaggerated shrug. “It depends entirely on the aliens. Our setup is funded on the promise that we avoid significant damage to the native ecosystem, and if we find out that we have ruined some intelligent being’s way of life, then we’re probably going to have to pack up and go home. But if there’s any way of coexisting with whatever natives there may be, then that will be our only option.”
“Wow, alien intelligence,” said a tall man with dusty lavender hair. “I never expected to meet any here.”
“I know!” agreed the man beside him, who was shorter with dark skin and hair the same lavender. “This is gonna be amazing!”
Elliot nodded and agreed with the duo, recognizing them as the runners Larry and Jerry from the beach the other day. Without their body armor, they were easier to pick out of a crowd. Anodized purple wedding rings glinted while they gestured excitedly.
“I’ve never been part of a First Contact,” the shorter Larry was saying. “We’re going to be famous!”
“Yeah! And just imagine: what kind of bizarre creature did the probe teams miss?” Jerry enthused. “We could learn mindblowing things from them!” He beamed, as excited as a kid entering a theme park. “We’ll get to name stuff!”
Owen laughed. “Yes, well, somebody will. I’m sure a lot of that will be right place, right time...”
“Oh man, I can’t wait to be in the right place!” Jerry danced on the rock, his motions speeding up.
Owen began to look concerned. “Well, we’ll just have to take it one step at a time,” he said, his hand creeping towards his SedEgg pocket as Jerry refused to settle down. Larry glanced up in obvious worry.
“Oh, this is gonna be great!” Jerry exclaimed, hopping in place and waving his arms. “I’m gonna get a personal headcam to wear all the time, and maybe I’ll be there when we first meet them — Wow, this will be fantastic!”
“Jer,” Larry said, reaching for his arm, but missing it as the tall man jittered about. Other workers edged toward him too, and he didn’t seem to notice.
“Oh, I wonder if they’ll have a sense of humor,” Jerry said to no one in particular. “And pets! Do they have alien pets? Who knows?” He grinned and flung his arms in the air, accidentally whacking Larry. “Oh, I can’t wait!” With that, he leaned back and deliberately tipped into the water.
Owen grabbed for him and missed. “Jerry!”
The biologist happily splashed about in the murky river, sending waves of spray toward the rocks. Larry dove after him. The slow-moving water tugged them both downstream as half of the crew poured in as well, stamping Jerry’s chest with SedEggs and supporting him when he collapsed. Hubcap stood sentinal on the rock with his knees bents and his vision undoubtedly scanning the water in ways human eyes couldn’t.
Elliot joined the line of people helping to haul Jerry’s limp body back onto the rock, with Larry at the front. He was glad to see that everyone made it up without either frenzying or being eaten by mysterious river creatures.
The science team worked in concert to bring down a collapsible stretcher that would allow the crew in the aircar to haul Jerry up to safety. Xian the medic applied extra antiseptic to the SedEgg puncture wounds, in case of river contamination, then helped strap him in. Hubcap watched the procedure with as much hawklike intensity as Larry did, while Elliot kept out of the way alongside the cameras. Soon the patient was up in the car and the rest of the team were taking their turns climbing the ladder. Owen sent up the spear and shell fragments tied in a bundle on their own line. The workers scrambled after. Elliot hurried to keep up.
When he reached the top of the ladder, Graham offered him a hand. The senior cameraman helped him out of the way of the next person, then spoke in a low voice. “Congrats on the discovery. Hey, the guys tell me there’s been a lot more outbreaks of frenzy lately. Maybe even more than Mr. Lee let on.” He glanced around. “Everybody’s expecting someone else to flip out any second now, so keep your eyes open.”
Elliot agreed quietly that he would, and he moved to pass the word on to Hubcap, who was stepping off the ladder behind him. If the frenzy swept through the car, then the robot would be the only person left with the ability to sedate the others.
“Hey Hubcap,” he said with deceptive casualness. “How well can you fly an aircar?”