Exploring the Human Civilization Enigma - Episode 7

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You are fed up, dear reader, with the visit of these weird creatures on this strange night. Now, in the pre-final episode, we—you and I—have to put an end to this whole thing. What we know is that these three creatures know a lot about what happens here on Earth; secondly, they are very friendly and are not to be feared; and thirdly, you have become accustomed to their presence and talking to them, which is obvious from the previous episodes. Now, how will this end? The morning is about to break and there will soon be light.

These creatures are rational, intelligent, developed, and liberated; they come from a faraway planet they promised to tell you its name and location. After you stop the alarm bell, which drew their attention, you look at them in astonishment, especially when the sunlight enters the room and passes through their bodies. You ask yourself again: What is that? Is that really happening? Or is it all just a dream? Light should have caused their bodies to cast shadows on the wall; but this is not the case here.

You ask the tallest: “Excuse me” …However, he asks you first: “Please let me ask you first: What is that noise that came from this small thing beside you?” You answer spontaneously: “It is the alarm clock that helps me wake up on time every morning”.

“Please tell me, why is there no shadow for you on the wall as a result of the sunlight? Or on the floor as a result of the lamp light?” The fattest answers: “What do you mean by shadow?” The tallest answers him on your behalf: “Shadows my friend are those dark shapes formed when light falls on an object”. The fattest replies: “Oh, I see”. Then, he continues while looking at you: “Shadows form due to many factors; the most important factor is when light falls on a solid body. However, and as we told you before, we have special nature that you consider supernatural on your planet”.

The shortest tries to interrupt, but you stop him, saying: “Please, there is no need to continue; I want to put an end to what is happening here. I have to go to my work, and you did not tell me yet the reason behind your visit, or the planet you came from”. The shortest answers quickly: “We asked you to show us a place where we can talk to all the planet’s inhabitants, but our talk was deviated many times to other topics. Come on, tell us about the appropriate place where we can unveil our identity and deliver our message to the largest number of people living on this planet”.

A brilliant idea pops into your mind; you think of recording a video of them and uploading it to the Internet, so that as many people as possible can see it as these creatures want. However, when you ask them to get ready for shooting, the shortest asks: “Excuse me my friend; this idea is not as good as you think. If you try to shoot us, we will not appear in the video as our bodies resist shooting, just as they do not form shadows.

You reply with more confusion: “How shall I help you talk to the planet’s inhabitants then?” The tallest answers: “Write about us buddy; write about us somewhere popular, or you can send to news agencies our news and description”. The shortest comments on this idea saying: “Yes, send to news agencies and to Internet websites after translating this info into all languages. Then tell your friends and acquaintances to spread the word, so that our followers will increase”. You rub your forehead in amazement.

Is this idea rational? Who would believe me? Of course, people would assume that I have gone insane; suddenly, you continue: “You do not know my friends and acquaintances well. People here only believe physical things that they can see with their naked eyes and hear with their ears; the age of prophecies and unseen things has ended. Please, excuse me, I ran out of time; why do you need to talk to the planet’s inhabitants anyway? Is not one person enough? I am here, you know me and I know you; I am not afraid of you and you spent a whole night in my room. What do you want to tell people? What is the secret behind this request? Tell me…tell me.

Goodbye for now until we meet again in the next and final episode.

Illustrations by Mohamed Khamis.

The episode was published in SCIplanet printed magazine, Summer 2015 issue.

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SCIplanet is a bilingual edutainment science magazine published by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Planetarium Science Center and developed by the Cultural Outreach Publications Unit ...
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