New Hope: Book 1
9

Ellie activated the switch of the lock to the landing pod and pushed the door energetically with both hands. She made it before her oxygen ran out. It was a narrow escape. The indicator was showing ‘empty’, which confirmed what the captain suggested earlier: they had filled the tanks on Earth with more oxygen than the minimum instruction specified. How lucky! thought Ellie, gratefully. I’ll have to thank somebody one day for being better safe than sorry. If not for them, I’d be breathing only carbon dioxide now. That’d quickly take my breath away, she joked in her mind.

When Ellie got to the airlock and shut it behind her, the powerful engines pumped terrestrial atmosphere into the room in seconds. The oxygen mix in the suit was becoming unbreathable so without waiting too long, she took off the helmet and gasped for air. The captain’s voice resounded over the speakers.

“You’re here! Finally! My calculations say your oxygen should have run out ages ago. I was beginning to wonder how I would go about getting you,” joked Julius. Although, he was the kind of man who could have actually done it, which would not have been sensible considering his health condition.

“You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice!” said Ellie joyously. “I suspect my long nap under the stars prolonged my supply,” she added. “But it was becoming unpleasant. One might say I was running on fumes.” Ellie knew that it was safe to joke about serious matters now that the danger had passed.

Julius sighed.

“If crashing on the Moon and surviving doesn’t get you into the history books, then surely the whole world is going to talk about you and write scientific articles for spending almost an entire night here on the surface. The Guinness Book of Records is also your oyster. Nobody’s ever done anything like that before. You’re going to be on everyone’s lips.”

“I can live with that,” she replied, still taking off the elements of her suit. “I’ll be there in a second. Let me just change.”

Ellie came aboard and headed straight for the cockpit where the captain was waiting for her. Julius embraced his colleague at once, forgetting the formalities and procedures. Ellie could have died, and over the years of working and practicing together, he felt attached to her and started treating her like his own daughter.

Ellie felt a little awkward at first. She was not used to openly showing her emotions in front of Julius. But she accepted the embrace and reciprocated. When he let go, he examined her, looking for physical injuries.

“You look okay at first glance. Is everything good? You said you blacked out and laid on the ground for several hours,” said the captain. “What happened? Did you hit your head or something?” he asked.

’No, nothing like that. I didn’t hurt myself.” Ellie was mentally preparing for the inevitable. She had to tell Julius what she’d witnessed. “I think it’s best if you sit down for this. What I’m about to tell you might seem unbelievable but I must ask that you keep an open mind,” she added.

Ellie spent the next half hour telling the captain everything she encountered on the Moon’s surface and what she experienced. She tried to remember every single detail, knowing that even things that seem unimportant, might be quite meaningful in these circumstances. Julius interrupted her a couple of times, asking her to fill in some blanks or explain certain ambiguities. But mostly he just listened without making Ellie feel like he thought she’d lost her mind. They have known each other quite long, after all. As bizarre as her story seemed, Julius decided to give her a chance and not reject it as untrue at the outset.

Ellie finished her story. Julius sighed and began to think. A couple of minutes of awkward silence later, he said,

“I believe you, Ellie. This story is so incredible... So unbelievable even... I can’t imagine how you could make it up. I trust you believe what you experienced, completely. And since you’re convinced what you described happened, how could I not accept that it did?” he said straightforwardly and warmly. “I wonder what that orb was? And what it all means?” he added.

“I know it sounds strange,” started Ellie. “But I think I’m starting to understand what happened.”

Julius raised his brow.

“Do you? Have you ever come into contact with antigravity gadgets that produce power like a small nuclear plant?” he asked.

“No, that’s not what I mean. I don’t know how, but I’m thinking it was a test,” she replied, somewhat embarrassed. “You remember when I said that before I blacked out I saw various images, smelled things, and heard different sounds?” asked Ellie.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask about that. Experiencing things like that could mean a head injury or concussion. We didn’t have the smoothest of landings. You said yourself, you hit your head hard on the wall. Then again, you also said that you didn’t get into any accident or injure yourself out there on the ground, so I’m willing to accept that these images you saw were not only a figment of your imagination,” said the captain.

“Exactly. When I was in contact with this object, when I held it, or to put it more precisely, it welded my hands to it, I saw something strange. I saw a similar orb on the green landmass, near the sea, and it was surrounded by a group of people. They were dressed differently... Not like today’s people. They reminded me of ancient Greece or a time before then. I don’t know why, but I’ve got a feeling this scene really took place. It happened a long time ago - maybe thousands of years ago,” she said, almost in disbelief of her own words.

Julius sat quietly and patiently listened to his colleague’s explanations. Ellie continued.

“I know it’s hard to believe it, but something tells me that the people I saw were being tested and failed whatever was being done on them. Maybe they were not there yet mentally or they didn’t have the proper technological advancement, but I believe this orb decided it was too soon to... do something,” she concluded.

“Something?” asked Julius.

“I don’t know... Take them on a spaceship and fly to a galaxy far away, maybe, or transfer them to a higher plan of existence, give them a winning lottery ticket? I don’t know exactly…” she joked. “Maybe pass on some secrets to them?” she then added.

“What secrets, Ellie? You think this orb told you something?” Julius asked in disbelief. “What was this orb doing on the Moon, anyway? Who put it here and why?” he asked. “You said you saw a green landmass on Earth, right? So how did it make its way up here, 200 thousand miles away from Earth?” he added.

“Yes, I think the orb told me something,” Ellie replied confidently. “Thousands of years ago, mankind was not ready for anything that could happen in contact with it. I think we are ready today, which is why it showed me what it did,” she added. “I really have no idea what to make of all this, Julius. It wasn’t a step-by-step manual, only ambiguous images. But I have no doubts that I saw them!” said Ellie. “And those glyphs...” she continued, “I’m convinced that the hovering orb was sent to Earth thousands of years ago to see if there’s intelligent life. Sufficiently intelligent to reveal certain information. Safely, because the creators of the orb didn’t want to affect the development of our species. Or at least they didn’t want to repeat some mistake. Their aim wasn’t to control our evolution. They wanted to wait until we achieve enough on our own to reach the stars,” she said.

“What are you talking about, Ellie? What do you mean by repeat some mistake? You mean to say that the creator or creators of the orb were here before and they made some mistake?” asked Julius.

“I don’t know, Julius. At this stage, these are just weird feelings. I don’t have the full picture, yet, but I know it was all planned. I mean the orb was planned. It was meant to be found,” she said quietly and hesitantly.

Ellie took a deep breath, trying to get her thoughts together. Her mind was a mess. More and more information was starting to reach her from her subconscious mind and running through her brain like a river stream. Though a waterfall would be a better way to describe it. When Ellie started telling the story, she hadn’t known she had such information. It was all opening up to her just now like somebody had uploaded software into her brain, which disclosed the important information when it was relevant.

“The orb, as it was simply named by its creators, was placed on the Moon so that we find it at the right time - once we reach our planet’s natural satellite on our own, it will mean that we have the sufficient knowledge, technology, and understanding of the laws of physics. And they will be able to pass on their knowledge safely about how to find them,” she said. “They want to meet us. They want us to find them and get to them,” she explained.

“As soon as the orb discovered that we are in the orbit, it had to somehow, I don’t know, scan our spaceship? Maybe that way they decided that this stage of our species’ development was the right time to take the next step.”

“Ellie, but we’re not the first people on the Moon. People landed here already half a century ago. More than once!” argued Julius. “If it’s as you say it is, then why didn’t the orb notice our landing pods before?” he asked confused.

“It did!” Ellie replied with confidence. “But it decided it was not yet time to make first contact. The technology used by the Americans and Russians back then wasn’t perfect. Rockets would explode, astronauts were killed in fires inside the capsules. You know all too well that it was practically a miracle then that anybody could actually fly here. Let alone land here! For instance, Apollo 13 - the thirteenth spacecraft from the series. When it seemed as though all the defects on the ships had been fixed, it had a catastrophic failure at the very beginning of its mission. Its passengers almost lost their lives during that adventure. What about Challenger and Columbia 30 years later?” she added. “Back then, spaceships were basically rocket missiles with the added function of turning off the firing. Even that didn’t always work... The computers used then were much less powerful than today’s calculators. We didn’t have the Internet, we used analog radio signals, people were dying of diseases that no longer exist now. We produce energy from the atom, wind, and sun - not from coal. Plus, we’ve also learned not to go killing each other in wars that broke out almost daily. We just weren’t ready!” she sighed.

“The orb did not pull down any spacecraft because we - as a species - weren’t able to effectively use the information it wanted to convey.”

“What do you mean ‘pull down’?” the captain asked. The expression of confusion on his face was slowly changing into a frightful look.

“Our landing zone was originally too far away from the orb. We wouldn’t have found it. Remember? When we were deorbiting, we left our trajectory by several hundred miles,” explained Ellie. “The orb decided to increase the chances of contact with us,” she added, preparing mentally for what she was about to disclose. “The orb took control of New Hope’s navigation system and it lead to our emergency landing.”

“Say what?!” Captain Cousteau blurted out in a high-pitch voice. “You want to tell me that this orb, or whatever it’s called, is thousands of years old and it was placed there to pull down a spaceship hundreds or thousands of years later?” he asked in disbelief.

“Well, yes…” replied Ellie will less confidence. “How else would you explain losing control of our flight trajectory? None of the instruments were reacting to your commands, and it seemed as if someone else was piloting the landing pod. You know why?” asked Ellie. “Because it was there. I don’t know how, but it’s the only logical explanation in these circumstances. If you need proof, watch the recording from my helmet. You know that our suits are equipped with mini-cameras that record everything around us... So if my words are not enough for you, you’ll find proof in my suit,” she added.

“You got me wrong,” said Julius in a calmer tone. “I’m just worried about you. You claim that some flying ball had the power to take control of a spaceship, it gave off energy in amounts that were out of this world, and now it looks as if it could interfere with human minds and memories,” he added anxiously. “I’m terrified that this thing could have such power. And you claim that it’s only some test!” he added. “If a test can do all that, what can its creators do? My thoughts aren’t considering how to accept the invitation they extended through you but whether to respond to it at all,” he explained.

Julius was more and more convinced that mankind is not ready for any contact with an advanced civilization. It did not matter if they were ancient people with much more advanced technology than today’s or beings from different worlds. Captain Cousteau always secretly supported the theories of ancient astronauts and he believed that life on Earth cannot possibly be the only life in the universe. But he never thought he’d ever be a part of such a narrative and able to verify the validity of these theories.

“It’s also not that I don’t believe you,” said Julius. “I think it is clear that something strange happened here. The landing pod’s failure, the radio interferences on the Moon, and then their sudden disappearance seem to confirm that there’s something there.”

“Thank you,” said Ellie, relieved. “Without your trust and faith in my words, it would be difficult to add one more thing.”

“What do you want to add?” asked the captain with concern again. “Is there something else?”

“I think we have to find the creators of the orb. I really think we must try. It’s all got some hidden meaning, and I want to know what that is,” said Ellie. “I also know where to start looking,” she added.

“Where?” asked Julius.

“On Earth. The creators left us some pointers on the green landmass that I saw when I was in contact with the orb, just before I blacked out. I saw these strange buildings among green fields, except that where the sky should be, there were... rocks? I know it sounds strange, but that’s how I saw it. Vast green fields, lots of weird buildings, and this strong conviction that all this is located somewhere in the south,” she said. “We have to find it.”

“Our planet is huge,” argued Cousteau. “And there are countless green fields in the southern hemisphere. If that’s even the place we’re meant to look. But I don’t recall anybody in the civilized world ever finding some enormous, ancient building in an enormous cave,” he questioned. “That’s what you described, you know?”

“First, I think what I saw looks a lot different today. Someone would have found all this ages ago, after all. If this was not a figment of my imagination,” she muttered. “I also know that the scene that was shown to me was one from mny, many thousands of years ago. Plus... It’s not about a civilized world,” she added mysteriously.

“What do you mean? asked Julius.

“Did you know that Antarctica was not covered with ice for the entire year?” asked Ellie with a twinkle in her eye.

“Yes, but the last time Antarctica was green was millions of years ago!” he replied. “Nothing could have survived that many years until our time.”

“You’re right, Antarctica was covered in forests about 50 million years ago. But still, tens of thousands of years ago it melted partially and it gave the grass and smaller vegetation a few months each year with temperatures that allowed life to form and develop on a part of its area,” said Ellie. “I have a feeling that the structure I saw in my vision was somewhere in that part of Antarctica. And we have to find it. I don’t know how, but I know this is the most important thing anyone could ever do! We will find the answer to all the questions there...” she added.

“Ellie, that continent has been frozen for centuries. Even if we knew exactly where to look, how would you get through to the structure you described that’s hiding dozens, if not hundreds, of feet under snow and rock-hard ice?” asked Julius.

“That I don’t know. Yet. But I do not doubt that we could think of some way,” she said confidently.

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