3.1 - Micromegas

Timeline Omega

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2013.01.01

20:13:01 Eastern Standard Time

An address by the man, whom many regarded as the leader of the free world, was broadcast on all channels,

“My fellow Americans,

Today, I come before you with news that will change the course of history. During 'Ad Astra's' ongoing attempts to establish a permanent base on the moon, they uncovered an object that is not of this world. It is an artifact that has been buried deep within a crater for thousands, or maybe even millions of years.

This discovery is not just significant for our country but for the entire world. It is proof that we are not alone in this universe and that there is so much more out there waiting to be discovered.

We will be working closely with our international partners to study this artifact and unlock its secrets. We will do everything in our power to ensure that this discovery benefits all of humanity.

Thank you,” he concluded his address.

“Thank you, Mr. president. This is indeed an event of historical proportions,” said the announcer of a local channel, “For more details, we will now switch to the official statement from 'Ad Astra'.”

“Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening.

A little more than two weeks ago, a black, orb shaped artifact was found and recovered at our lunar construction site of 'Von Braun'. It was judged to be inactive at the time of discovery. It then activated upon direct contact, and proceeded, among other things, to jam our communications over the next 10 minutes. The artifact then went back into a state of hibernation. A sample collected from its outer shell revealed it to be covered in a mixture of an unknown metallic alloy fused with a self repairing organic structure. The origin and purpose of the sphere, as well as its creators are, as yet, unknown. The recovered artifact has been placed inside an isolation chamber, and will not be brought to earth, but remain contained on the moon. However, given the level of technology needed to travel between the stars, and the time it could have laid dormant, we might be facing a potential threat of immeasurable magnitude.

There were, as yet, no attempts by the artifact to establish any kind of communication with the local astronauts. Which might be a sign that its main purpose is observation or espionage.

We can no longer assume that we are alone in this region of space, and whatever is meant to be the receiver of the signal from the artifact must be at least millennia ahead of us in terms of technological development.

Let me end this with a quote,” he said.

“'...unluckily a little animalcule was there in a square cap, who silenced all the other philosophical mites, saying that he knew the whole secret, that it was all to be found in the 'Summa' of St. Thomas Aquinas. He scanned the pair of celestial visitors from top to toe, and maintained that they and all their kind, their suns and stars, were made solely for man's benefit. At this speech our two travelers tumbled over each other, choking with that inextinguishable laughter which, according to Homer, is the special privilege of the gods.'”

He paused.

“And that,” the man said, as he finished his quote, “was from 'Micromegas', a story published in 1752 by Voltaire. Much has changed in these 260 years, but the conceit of man remains the same. Though maybe even this might begin to change today.”