Episode 2: Hello, Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Near Jupiter’s orbit, the Goodbye Earth encountered a massive structure.
Drawn toward it, the ship continued its approach. Amidst this, Emotion, the ship’s AI, seemed to be handling the situation, as the warning alarms temporarily ceased. Kaito’s mind calmed down as a result.
At the same time, he realized he was being forced to make a decision.
“What should we do, Master Kaito?”
“Do what?”
“Well, should we continue toward that structure or try to escape?”
If they were to be taken into the structure, there was no guarantee that whoever awaited them would be friendly. For all they knew, the beings inside might not even share the same values as Earthlings.
On the other hand, escaping wouldn’t guarantee survival either. The ship was already heavily damaged. While Kaito hesitated, the countdown to their demise continued.
In Kaito’s mind, the decision was already made.
“Let’s go.”
“…Are you sure?”
“If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well do everything I can. Can you add the information that, as far as is officially known, that I’m the first Earthling to make contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, will you?”
“Of course.”
The ship gradually slowed as it approached the structure. Just as Kaito thought Emotion was reducing their speed, a whirring sound echoed through the cabin.
“Master Kaito, the ship’s controls have been taken over. It seems escaping was never an option. My apologies.”
“It’s fine. Guess this was our destination after all.”
Kaito had no idea where this structure came from, but it was clear that whoever built it was far more advanced than Earthlings who had barely made it to Jupiter’s orbit.
The encounter was inevitable.
If that was the case, he might as well make the most of it.
He headed to the locker and retrieved his life support suit.
“So, what kind of creature am I going to meet?”
“You’ve watched too many classic movies,”
Emotion quipped, though the remark lacked its usual sharpness.
Drawn in, the Goodbye Earth was naturally welcomed into the interior of the massive structure. It seemed this structure was a gigantic spacecraft.
Emotion had already severed its link with the Goodbye Earth, and someone inside this structure was now controlling the ship.
Suddenly, Emotion fell to the ground. Kaito felt a heavy load on his body. It was gravity, but the weight felt oddly nostalgic. That said, it wasn’t as unbearable as he’d heard. Maybe it was the result of his daily exercise, or perhaps the gravity here wasn’t as strong as Earth’s.
Emotion made a whirring sound. Kaito picked it up and connected it to the gravity control unit installed on the wall of the main room.
“Thank you, Master Kaito.”
“You’re welcome. So, there’s gravity here, huh?”
The gravity control unit activated, and Emotion floated up gently.
The ship continued to move automatically. The fact that they were now under gravity’s influence suggested their destination was near.
“Master Kaito doesn’t seem too anxious. Vital signs are normal.”
“At this point, curiosity wins out. It doesn’t seem like they’re going to kill us without a word.”
“What makes you think that?”
“If they wanted to kill us, they’d have done it already.”
“Perhaps.”
“Though we might be taken as Earthling specimens for study.”
Even as he said it, Kaito doubted that was the case.
A civilization capable of building such a massive structure clearly had superior technology and resources. There was no need to go out of their way to bring Kaito inside.
Or perhaps they were the ones who caused Earth’s civilization to collapse. If that were the case, Kaito wanted to ask them why. Purely out of intellectual curiosity.
Emotion, seemingly exasperated by Kaito’s optimism, remained silent, only emitting a soft whirring sound.
It was a machine intelligence with a surprisingly expressive range.
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The ship came to a stop.
Without hesitation, Kaito opened the exit door. He was already wearing his life support suit, so he figured it would hold for a while. It would be a mistake to underestimate the curiosity and drive of an Earthling who had already let go of their attachment to life.
Emotion analyzed the air composition outside and advised, “Don’t take off your suit.” Clearly, the environment wasn’t suitable for Earthling survival.
Kaito stepped out of the Goodbye Earth and onto a light blue floor. The ceiling, walls, and floor were all different colors, perhaps for some specific purpose.
Looking back, he saw the Goodbye Earth for the first time from the outside. It was a patchwork mess, and a shiver ran down his spine at the thought of how it had held together this long.
“Hello, extraterrestrial beings,”
Kaito said, turning on his external microphone.
After a brief silence, a voice came from seemingly nowhere.
[Hello, Earthling.]
The Earth language was surprisingly fluent.
Kaito wasn’t too surprised. He had already dismissed some of his earlier assumptions about why they were here.
At the very least, it was clear they had observed Earth’s civilization enough to respond to his greeting.
[We’ve prepared a space with an air composition suitable for Earthling survival. We’ll open the passageway. Please proceed.]
“Thank you.”
Without a sound, a section of the wall opened. It didn’t look like a door, and Kaito couldn’t figure out how it worked.
With no reason to resist, Kaito walked through the opened passageway. Emotion followed slightly behind.
The ceiling was white, and the walls emitted a faint green glow. As he walked, Kaito noticed the lack of seams in the passageway, which struck him as odd.
“Emotion, anything unusual?”
“Nothing in particular. The air composition hasn’t changed.”
“Got it.”
He continued walking down the slightly curved passageway.
Occasionally, mechanical sounds could be heard from beyond the walls. After walking for a while, he finally reached a wall.
As he stopped, he heard a whoosh of air behind him. Turning around, he saw that the way back had been sealed.
“Emotion?”
“Our position coordinates have shifted slightly. It’s not that the door closed, but rather that our location has moved.”
“Hmm.”
Kaito hadn’t felt the floor move. This must be a demonstration of their technology.
Then, Emotion made a whirring sound.
“The air composition in this area has changed. I don’t see any vents, though…”
It seemed puzzled. If Emotion couldn’t figure it out, Kaito certainly couldn’t. He waited for something to happen, and suddenly, the wall in front of him slid to the right, revealing another passageway. At the end was what appeared to be a door.
That must be their destination. As he approached, the door opened silently, splitting in half vertically.
“Welcome, brave—or perhaps reckless—traveler. You are the first Earthling to actively make contact with us.”
“Hello, extraterrestrial beings. I’m Kaito Crouch from Earth. This is my partner, Emotion.”
“Hello.”
Seated in the center of the room was a bipedal figure. Compared to an Earthling, it had much more body hair, but its appearance was surprisingly human-like.
Its facial features were similar to a human’s, but its entire body, including its face, was covered in fur. The reality of encountering an alien civilization hit Kaito, and he couldn’t help but gasp.
Emotion spoke up. “It’s safe to remove your suit in this space.” Kaito took off his helmet. Even if their cultures were different, it was only polite to show his face to someone who was doing the same.
“Thank you for your polite greeting. May I call you Mr. Kaito?”
“Of course. How should I address you?”
“My apologies. You may call me Ritmiele.”
“Understood, Ritmiele.”
The name felt slightly awkward to pronounce. Perhaps it was some kind of translation software.
Ritmiele, a bit on the hairy side, made an expression that resembled a smile and gestured for Kaito to sit. The chair seemed to grow directly out of the floor.
Kaito sat down but wasn’t restrained in any way. Emotion positioned itself slightly behind him, so Kaito pulled it onto his lap.
“We’ve been observing your kind for quite some time.”
“I see. You brought my ship here to study us, then?”
“Yes. We also considered this our last opportunity.”
Last opportunity. If they had been observing Earth, they must have known about the collapse of its civilization.
From Ritmiele’s words, it seemed no one else had made the same choice as Kaito.
“So, no one else tried to leave Earth?”
“Correct. Of the 186 individuals residing in the planet’s outer regions, 142 returned to the surface, 25 remained where they were, and 18 took their own lives. Given the passage of time, it’s unlikely the remaining 25 could reach this location.”
“I see.”
Kaito felt no particular emotion about this.
Most of those in space were either staff stationed on space stations or criminals exiled as punishment.
While some, like Kaito, were exiled as a form of societal pressure relief, the majority were serious criminals. Kaito hadn’t paid much attention to them, but the fact that most had returned to the surface suggested Earth’s collapse wasn’t as catastrophic as it seemed.
What intrigued Kaito more was Ritmiele’s mention of a “last opportunity.”
“You said this was your last opportunity. What did you mean by that?”
“Yes. This was the final opportunity to welcome the members of Earthling.”
“Hmm?”
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