The Voyager - #InternStory

“The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren't any space aliens. We can't be the best that creation has to offer. I pray we're not all there is. If so, we're in big trouble.”
― Ellen DeGeneres"

It was in the toilet that he had a brainstorm.
He was a charismatic man.Well built,tall with deep brown eyes set in a face with chiseled features ,he executed a classy ,sophisticated charm which transformed into a naughty twinkling in his eyes every time he grinned his boyish grin and floored numerous women.On the first sight, he could have passed for anything from an A-grade actor to a musician ,an artist ,a high-profile business man or someone who was pampered and brought up in a filthy rich household without having to work except shout out orders. But,No. He, Ronald Bender, was a Scientist.
Not just any other scientist but a scientist of high repute who had achieved awards & degrees double the amount of nuts in a Snickers Bar. Or double the amount of fries in a McDonald’s Happy Meal.He was the master-mind behind designing and creating the famous space craft -Lolo Popa 13,that landed on the Moon.However,the mission had to be aborted due to an oxygen leak and ever since,Bender was having a tough time getting his hands on the best projects.It was now ,years later ,that Dr.Ronald Bender was entrusted with a project requiring all the knowledge ,time and technology he could muster.
A recent trip to a new restaurant in his neighborhood had infected him with food poisoning. It was in the toilet,while shedding out loads of crap and looking at the dirt particles lodged between the floor tiles ,that Dr.Bender had a brainstorm.
“Eureka!I found it!”,he screamed,jumping up from the toilet seat.(Ugh,typical scientists, cannot control their actions in the heat of the moment).Initially deemed to float between the planets and transmit info about the planetary motions ,his idea would now help the space craft enter an inter-stellar space, travelling “further than anyone or anything” in history.”Hence,was born,the Voyager.Weighing more than 700 kilograms,comprising of latest technologies and highly equipped to capture pictures,sounds and densities between planets and stars.It had a special golden disk,called “BootyShake”( dedicated to Bender’s ex-girlfriend ,who did a li’l “BootyShake” every time she tried to lure him to bed).This “BootyShake” was coded in such a way ,that after the estimated exhaustion of the Voyager’s fuel in the year 2025,the space craft ,if & when ,found ,years ,centuries or ages later could be decoded and the data could be analyzed by any creature with intelligence.Thus,with seemingly unmatched technologies ,extreme hype,pomp & show,The Voyager,was launched and Bender was awarded yet another honorary degree for coming up with such an execution.
A full trajectory and a month later when Dr.Ronald Bender was analyzing and noting the progress of The Voyager,came another “Eureka” moment.He jumped out of his red,velvet- cushioned chair and ran to call his sub-ordinate and friend,Swag.Now,Swag,just as his name suggests, was slow,thrived on dope and generally dressed like a hippie in baggy pants and patched vests with a cap pulled down over his unruly hair.How he became a scientist was a matter of great surprise and disbelief to everyone working in the laboratory.
“What in the name of hell,Bender,do you want now?”,Swag drawled with his street accent.
“Eureka!Eureka!Come here Swag ,look at this!Look at Our Earth from the eyes of The Voyager”, excitedly chirped Bender from beside the hi-tech computer.Swag walked over and peered at the dimly lit screen propagating an image of brown and green light-bands and a blurred brownish black, starry background.
“Where is the Earth?All I see is a mass of lights and what looks like dog-poop!”
“There,”pointed Bender at the screen and went to coin the phrase that would be etched in history-
“IT’S A PALE BLUE DOT”.
Years later,The Voyager lay forgotten,floating in the oblivion of starry darkness,exhausted of fuel and waiting to be rediscovered.Dr.Bender had expired a few years earlier.He was thinking about building a new Droid when he had yet another brainstorm,in his toilet.The euphoria made him so ecstatic that he was unable to take it &passed away,within the four walls of the damned toilet. The Earth,in the meantime,had undergone transformations. Remember Swag?Well, his mind was quite the opposite of his slow demeanor.He had created a robot to assist his baby sister who was the apple of his eye& physically handicapped .Since he spent almost all his time in the lab,he wanted her to have a nanny.Not trusting the various applicants,he built a fully functional Robot Nanny who did everything from changing diapers to singing rhymes and stirring up baby food within minutes .This brilliant invention took over the Robotic Industry with such a rage that very soon even adults were buying Robot Nannies to take care of them.These “Customised for Adult” Robots gave massages, proofread contracts,cooked delicious meals and did a great job at housekeeping. Now,even Swag,aged 95 , had his very own Robot Nanny to take care of him in his last days .Such was the Era of Robots in the new ,Revolutionized Earth.Very soon,The Robotics Industry took over all the other companies.There were Robot Housekeepers,Robot Drivers,Robot Teachers and what not.There were Robot-Sub-ordinates who worked under people at offices.They did all the work and were paid ten percent of the salary the employers earned.Soon,the government started facing problems though with these Robot-Office Workers.Why? Well,the Robots refused to pay taxes.
The Earth turned into a hub of robots,dumpsters,pollution,E-waste and extreme urbanization which turned fatal to animals and other species. Humans,hence,were forced to take action and evacuate the planet, transporting themselves and their belongings to the new civilization at Planet Mars.
Before shifting,there were innovative contests held for humans an robots alike on Planet Earth.The contests went like –“Who can create the most creative continent design for Mars?”.The winners selected by the Robot Judges were given an extra pass to bring along their Robot Housekeepers.The continent designs were incorporated and hence began the journey to the new Planet. The setup on Mars was pretty much the same as Planet Earth with a few differences.The land was barren with no sightings of plants or animals.The temperature remained cold throughout the year resulting in the trend of covering the Robots and spaceships with customized overcoats.Oh yes yes,Humans cannot make do without technology.After transporting themselves to Mars they felt the necessity to build hi-tech labs, spaceships for travelling to and fro in the slightly dense atmosphere.It took time to adjust but very soon,Mars became the new “home sweet home” .Homo sapiens eventually adapted, evolved and lost memories of having ever been on Earth.With generations passing by,The Humans became Martians and Mars was the only Planet they had ever known.
-*.*.*-

Staring into the benumbing darkness Cadence could find her heartbeat rising.She was a Martian born in the traditional Martian way(mid-air,in the SpaceAmbulance).Her fascination with the starry brilliance of the atmosphere surrounding the planet began when she turned old enough to count stars.Born into a family of scientists,her life revolved around the labs and studying the sky whenever time permitted. Blessed with a smart mind as well as a smart mouth she was an envy of the girls and a challenge to the boys.Her ambition was to become a Teadlane like her great-great-grandfather.Cadence’s competence and love for the field of electronics,robotics,radio signals and scientific discoveries soon led her to pursue her dream.She now had her very own lab with highly equipped,self-created machinery to generate and receive signals from others stars/planets in the galaxy.
-*.*.*-

"They're made out of meat."
"Meat?"
"Meat. They're made out of meat."
"Meat?"
"There's no doubt about it. I picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard my recon vessels, and probed them all the way through. They're completely meat."
"That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?"
"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines."
"So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."
"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the machines."
"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat.Do they have a brain??"
"Oh, there's a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat! That's what I've been trying to tell you.” She rolled her eyes at him.
“Listen,Cadence,its been decided.They have to be destroyed and ripped into pieces,Looks like a threat to the Planet.Nonetheless,I might just let you keep one of these Meat-Heads if you bribe me with enough kisses.”
She walked upto him and her lips melted in his mouth as he sucked at her lower lip.
He was Vibe.
Vibe’s name suited his multi-faceted personality.He could radiate a luminescence so attractive that even deadened souls would awake and at times, walk with such an aura that even cherubs would look forlorn.
Vibe was a Karar.
His job was to decide whether somebody lives or dies.The designation of a Karar was an honor bestowed upon only a selected few.His first task was to establish contact and find out about strange evidences of alien signals coming from their very own Planet.It was during this special task that he met Cadence. They spent most of their time trying to solve the task when one find day they got into an argument.In a fit of rage,Vibe smashed a bottle of water near the spike-buster and the fuse blew up.It was in the darkness when her fingertips accidently brushed his lips that he froze, a tingling sensation running down his spine.It was at that moment as he glowed with this new feeling,radiating his trademark Good Vibe,that his eye caught hers. Big brown glowing Vibe eyes stared into Big Brown scared Cadence eyes.It was then,when Cadence broke into a shy smile, that Vibe fell in love.Ever since,they were inseparable.
One fine day,long after they had destroyed the Meat-Heads and were out on a nightly stroll,Vibe’s transponder started beeping.
“Beep..Ping…Beep..Ping..”…. “Oh,shut up,”Said Vibe,pulling it out of his pocket.
“What is it, Vibe?”,Cadence looked up at his handsome face troubled by a frown.
“It’s a very weak signal,I suppose there’s something..or someone..nearby.”
They walked further ,changing directions with the change in the strength of the signal and very soon reached the edge of a gaping hole in the road.
“Oh boy,looks like a Meat-Head dug its bureau down here”
“Yeah and now its beeping us for a house-warming party with the other buggers,ain’t it?”
“ha ha ha…come on babe,lets see what’s in there,”Vibe held out his hand and he and Cadence leaped into the blackness.They landed side by side with a thud spattering each other with the slimy mud.Peering into the gloomy darkness,Cadence said,”Looks like the Meat-Heads prepared gravy for their brains here.” Vibe snorted and tapped his opal ring which was an insignia of every Karar.The ring started beaming like a flashlight immediately.They sprinted ahead for a few meters and came to a halt.Covered with slime yet shining in its splendid silver-grey paint,in front of them, lay The Voyager.
-*.*.*-

Vibe shook his head in despair.He had had a long day passing judgement. Eleven lives were terminated and two were allowed to live.The terminated ones comprised of those who were down with sickness,mentally inefficient,delinquents and one was just a sad old widow.(A Karar’s job was to make sure the Planet wasn’t populated with inept people).He was sitting with his feet propped up on the electric panel,wondering how to crack the Code.
“Put your feet down or I will shoot you,mister,”Cadence walked into her lab and picked up his phaser lying on the desk. “What’s up with the forlorn face?”,she asked him.
“I’m just wondering,its been a week since we dragged this god-forsaken space-craft into your lab premises and started repairing it.We haven’t been able to figure out the decoding of its disk yet.I’m frustrated with the lack of progress,it is all I think about day and night.”
“Ahaan..ahaan? mmm-hhmm okay..” Cadence walked around him and started humming a tune and immediately started swaying her butt side-to-side.
Vibe burst out in laughter and asked,” Since when have you turned so provocative?”
“Well,I do have news for you ,”She winked and went on,”You see,while you were busy making life-changing decisions,I found this VCR inside the craft.On inserting the Golden Disk,it started playing a video which displayed information about this craft and how to operate it.There were recordings of a lot of stars,planets which looked like dots,sounds,different data about densities and temperatures etc.Also,it ended with a handsome man describing how he created “The Voyager”and why this disk is called “BootyShake”,hence my provocative dance for you sweetheart,” she ended her oration with a kiss on his cheek.
“Oh my goodness,this is astounding!Do you know what this means?Since we never launched such a spaceship anytime in history,there is definitely existence of life-form somewhere out there!”
“Uhh..well..Vibe..now since you mentioned it..I was wondering if you wanna come along and travel with me into Space..The Voyager had an auto-programming to retrieve its route and unveil the grandiose stars..and my love for science propels me to go explore the unexplored,”she looked into his big brown eyes searching for an answer.He nodded and broke into a grin.They spent the night exploring each other.
-*.*.*-

“Oh My God,I will kill it today!Cadence?Cadence!? are you there!?When are we getting out of here!?”
“What happened,love?”
“That creature with the long hair is a good deal in the way. It is always hanging around and following me about. I don't like it; I am not used to company. I wish it would stay with the other animals.But the weird part is,it talks.Talks like our great-grandfathers in the old,ancient English.”
“Okay,but Vibe,honey we don’t really know anyone else and we don’t know where to go..” Cadence tried to placate him.
“I went examining the great waterfall. It is the finest thing on the estate, I think. The new creature calls it Niagara Falls-why, I am sure I do not know. Says it LOOKS like Niagara Falls. That is not a reason, it is mere waywardness and imbecility. I get no chance to name anything myself. The new creature names everything that comes along, before I can get in a protest. And always that same pretext is offered -- it LOOKS like the thing!”Vibe was fuming.Never before was he overshadowed and dominated and he sure as hell wasn’t enjoying this part of his space travel.

“Look Cadence,I will tell it I am a Karar and It will have to Die.I have made Its life decision!”
“Vibe,honey this isn’t our Planet.I bet it doesn’t even now what a Karar is!Did you try asking It what It is?”
“The creature eats too much fruit. It says it is not an It, it is a She.When I need her I should call it by its name.It is superfluous I tell you! And…Her name is Eve.”
Vibe and Cadence had departed on their Space expedition months ago,after refurbishing The Voyager and gathering the required information from the “BootyShake”. En route the probe started experiencing some problems and thus,here they were stranded near the polodone of a strange planet.Initially,on steering the probe towards the planet they had worried about aliens and extra-terrestrial life-forms.Yet,once they disembarked and traversed through the land they were at peace.There didn’t seem to be anyone around.The temperature was more than that of their Planet leading to them getting deep sun-tans.It was difficult for Cadence & Vibe to eat the weird-looking fruits growing on giovane wood.They were thankful for the Food Replicator they had carried on-board.They adjusted themselves to the surroundings of this strange,uninhabited & beautiful Planet.Days passed as Cadence worked on repairing The Voyager with the limited resources they had while Vibe explored the environment around him,soaking up the breeze and getting amazed each day by new-found discoveries.It was during one of his explorations into a so-called Jungle where he came across this creature..Wild,hairy with claws and beady eyes.It lived in the hollow of a big banyan tree,slept on a patch of grass and walked with a slump.Vibe first tried to stun it using his phaser but then realized it was harmless.It was so smitten that it started following him around every day,all the time.There was another striking feature in the creature.It talked.
-*.*.*-

“No way in hell!Nooooo…this cannot be it..No way,no way!” His screams dwindled with the setting sun.
They were stuck on this strange,uninhabited & beautiful planet.Stuck with the long hairy creature who claimed to be Eve.
“It is all your doing!Do you see what you did?Now we can’t go back,you fool!,”Vibe screamed at Eve as she whimpered and hid behind the Banyan tree.
“Calm down Vibe,poor creature..I wonder if she has a brain..Surely,she meant no harm to the machines.It must have been a mistake.”
“Cadence,are you kidding me!?If she has a brain,I’m sure it’s made of Meat!Do you realize what has happened?This creature sneaked into The Voyager!BootyShake is in fragments,there are splinters of the electric panel all over the floor!There’s no electricity,the machines won’t start up and we have lost the programmed route back tour Planet!WE ARE STUCK HERE FOREVER!” Vibe glared at Eve,his nostrils flaring.
Eve winked at him from behind the tree and flashed a wicked smile.Vibe gasped.Cadence blinked.Nobody spoke for a minute.
“You know what?This whole planet is ours.I am sure there isn’t anybody else except Eve,or else they would have shown up by now.Oh my!Do you see what could be done here?We start from scratch.Build technology.Roads.Homes.Civilisation.And it will be Ours.We will Rule this Planet,” Cadence was speaking at an impossibly fast rate and her face was flushed with excitement.She ran back to The Voyager to look for something.Eve came out from behind the tree and whispered to Vibe,”I will not let you go.You will stay with me.” His expression was horrified as the creature dragged him into the hollow of the Banyan tree and smothered him in a tight hug.

- *.*.*-

She was an Alien to them.Over the years,she evolved and transfigured into something as apt as them.It was her sheer love for him that she ventured to create a whole new world.She did all she could to win his affection and attention.One day,he finally came to her.She was Eve & He was Vibe.Together they ruled the world they had created over the years.Of course,not to forget Cadence.Eve liked Cadence.Eve often went to her for advice,support and other matters too at times.The three of them lived in alliance in their magnificent castle.They had built a whole new civilization. Technology,roads,homes,labs,robots and people.And Vibe,Cadence & Eve were now immortalized.How?Eve was blessed with a single fruit which,when shared with someone,would make her & her partner immortals.She chose to share it with the two Martians.Since she was a Teadlane,using her advanced knowledge and love of science,Cadence had built her dream world full of up-to-date technology.Vibe was a Karar here too.He made sure the Planet was not too populated.In their world,humans were born as neuters and they got to pick their gender in college, like a major.The world ran smooth with these 3 rulers.They did have one major issue though.
“I tell you,We should name it Caelum.Latin for Heaven.”
“Grrr..No..it does not LOOK like Caelum.”
“Oh come on Eve,we have been debating about this for years!What does it LOOK like,if not like the 930 names you have already rejected?”
On Eve’s insistence ,they had named the Planet “Earth”.
Eventually Cadence & Vibe had realized that The Voyager was built using elements from this Planet.They had also discovered fossilized evidence of how their ancestors had actually evacuated Earth and colonized themselves on Planet Mars.Repeated attempts to establish contact with Mars had failed.Cadence & Vibe had found their roots here,on their very own Earth,in their very own World.
-*.*.*-

Years later.
A Teadlane on Mars while trying to figure out something in the Galaxy is smitten by the strong wave emissions and signals coming from somewhere ,two hundred and twenty million light years away.These signals were indicative of the existence of life forms and hence of a great value.He summons his friend,who teleports instantly and lands beside him.
-“Euraaayyykeioo!Look ,Dayum ,Look-I found a planet! I believe we can inhabit it!”
-“What does it look like?’”
-“Uhhh..
IT’S A PALE BLUE DOT.”