Encounter

The blue clouds of dust and gaseous wastes swirled violently several kilometers above the metallic crags below. The silvery tips of the rocky landscape jutted out in every direction. As the rays from the alpha sun swept across the masses of minerals and crystals below, a few sparse portions of the rocky towers began to desolidify from the intense heat and rain down into the gulleys at their bases. The glare from the two distant suns reflected off the top of the immense domes of the space colony GammaGoddard IV.

Inside, rising apartment buildings, speckled with scurrying inhabitants, sparkled gently in the fraction of glow let through the shaded, glassy panes of the canopy above. In the center of a transportation tube hanging between two of the largest centers of commerce in the colony, a young, Earth-born male was about to be introduced to his very first non-humanoid being.

"Calle, I want you to understand something. Eroch is very different from anyone you have ever met before," warned Calle's father.

"I know, Dad. You've only told me about him three million times," assured the eager boy.

"Alright. I just want you to be ready for this," he returned.

The two stood patiently at one of the monorail's stopping terminals and watched for the unusual physique of a Templarrond to emerge from the sliding doors.

Calle Benson had lived his entire twelve years of life on Earth—except for the past three months. He and his father moved to GammaGoddard IV so that Mr. Benson could keep his job as a solar research technician. Calle had met several other of his father's alien co-workers, but all had been humanoid and very much resembled the natives of Earth. He had been waiting for this moment as long as he could remember.

The boy looked up in awe at the immense creature slowly emerging from the sliding doors of the monorail trail. A busy-looking man rushed around the large, tan tail of the beast, trying to jump through the doorway before Eroch could get there. A plump lady further back in the train holding her daughter's hand whispered something to her child and motioned her away from Eroch's moist hand reaching out for the handrail. A teenage boy in a metallic dress suit was cut off directly in back of Eroch. "Lousy Temp," mumbled the boy. Eroch's bug-like head swiveled a full 180 degrees. "Sowry," boomed the alien's dark, contrabass voice, attempting to mimic human speech to the best of his ability.

"Eroch! Hey, let me help you, bud," said Mr. Benson, reaching out to his colleague's stubby hand. The two beings looked strangely compatible to Calle as they slowly walked across the terminal.

Eroch's gaping mouth widened as he spoke, "Yoo most be Colle."

Staring dumbly at the giant slug-like body of the creature, Calle answered quietly, "Yeah. Hi."

He met the being's extended hand with his and was shocked at Eroch's gentle grip. He was also startled by the slimy coating of the alien skin; however, the moisture evaporated within a few seconds of contact, much to Calle's relief.

"Tonight we're gonna go to the HoloMax and play some of Eroch's tapes of his home," announced Calle's father.

"I've hod zem tranzlayted to yor longwayge," said Eroch.

"Great!" exclaimed Mr. Benson. "Should we head there right now, then?" He waited for a reply, but then offered an alternative. "Or should we treat Eroch to some good ol' human cuisine?"

"Oh, thonk yo, bot I'm afraid I hov an onusual doiet," explained Eroch.

"Well, then, I think Calle and I can hold out till after the films."

The motley trio wandered through the crowded cylinders connecting the buildings on every side. They walked past droids of every shape and size, holographic advertisements, and bustling elderly people in hoverchairs. Without fail, every human managed to lift up his eyes and glare at the prominent visitor. Very few of them had ever really known a Templarrond, but everyone had heard the rumors—anything from the Temp's habits of eating children to their tendency to flatulate flames. But Mr. Benson knew that Eroch was a genius and had helped their corporation in countless ways. He trusted Eroch.

The three friends, upon reaching the HoloMax, reserved a room and watched Eroch's family in 3D surround-sight. Calle looked all around at the projections of Templarrian architecture and landscapes. The Templarronds on the tape all seemed extremely intelligent.

They emerged from the high-tech theater several hours later and went back to the Bensons' apartment. Calle and his father got comfortable on their couch. Eroch explained that he was content to squat on the floor, which was just as well, because none of the Bensons' furniture would have held up under the weight of the alien. They discussed the tapes and chatted about their recent experiences. Eroch enjoyed the view out to the shiny stalagmites protruding from the rough surface on the planet outside. He expressed a desire to wander out in the mountainous terrain just beyond the plexiglass, a dream that could never be fulfilled had he been a human. But there were some advantages to being a Templarrond.

The Bensons left Eroch to sleep in their living room, grabbed a couple of sandwiches, and prepared for bed. A few hours later, as Calle dozed off in his silk covers, he heard a grumble from another room. He lay awake. He listened. Another inhuman growl rolled in from the living room. It had to have been Eroch.

Calle was just about to call for his father when a shadow appeared in his doorway. It was Eroch. The mass of slimy flesh on his abdomen swung around and struck Calle in the face. Calle tried to beckon the computer to turn on the lights, but his mouth was pinned shut by pounds of moist flesh. Suddenly a juice oozed from Eroch's tail onto Calle's tender skin. A searing pain shot through the boy's nerves. The grumbling returned. It was much louder now. In a matter of seconds, the small human's skin was completely corroded. The giant predator placed its body on top of Calle's remains and ingested its kill in one smooth enveloping gulp. One last grumble erupted from the murderer's inner organs as a stream of blueish flame shot out of its posterior end.

Eroch took two large bounces toward the Bensons' window and swatted it with a powerful blow from its tail. He repeated the process twice more. Mr. Benson awoke at the thuds emanating from his son's bedroom. He rushed to the scene and looked in horror at the stains on the floor. He watched helplessly as the final swish of the demon's tail smashed through the glass, sending the entire apartment's supply of air screaming through the jagged edges of the smashed portal. In a second, Benson was sucked into the low-pressure, noxious atmosphere of the inhospitable planet as Eroch wriggled out onto the rocky terrain and bounced away remorselessly into the distance.

Some Interesting Information

The Sky Is Falling

Through the hours of dreamy sleep,
The Sandman through the night doth creep.
Heav'n forbid our dreams would die
If on our pillow foreigners leap.

Corrupting truth with fearsome lies,
As a ruptured realm frees Lord of Flies.
Intruders from the outer lands
Watch us with malignant eyes.

As oceans steal the grains of sand,
Our dreams are stripped with evil hands.
The private palace in our minds
Cannot protect us from their plans.

The room comes filled with lights that blind,
And in walk men of different kind
With eyes that paralyze my limbs
Which will real life and nightmares bind.

My mem'ries past that point are dim
While we flew high like cherubim
My captor fills my head with pain.
His voice was hoarse, his face was grim.

He strapped me down with table chains,
Injected juice which swelled my brains.
With no defenses for my fear,
I am left to go insane.

When I woke a light was near;
So bright it filled my eyes with tears
That light's been with me through the years,
And in my life, at will, it peers.

No private thoughts are now protected,
My every whim is checked; inspected.
My plans to kill the fear; rejected.
Through the wasted hours neglected.

The golden face, the silver suit
Forever will my mind pollute.
I just lay deaf, blind, and mute,
No cross or banner to salute.

The blackest eyes, like depths of space
Came to all my peace erase.
The specks of light upon his face
Came with terror's cold embrace.

With cold, black steel the rapture comes;
Delivers me from dingy slums.

Fast the city lights now fade,
Along with all that man has made.

A billion points of burning light
Invade the black, eternal night.

As blue and green is swept away,
The last threads of my mind are frayed.

I am pressed to sleep again,
My body quiet, cold, and thin.

Upon return I slowly rise
And open wide my weary eyes.

As often as my story's told,
I cannot reobtain my soul.

I live in impotence and fear,
Knowing they are always near.

Why I Believe In Life On Other Planets

Well, to begin, I'll just ask the question: "Why not believe in life on other planets?"

From Christians, the most common answer you'll get is that the Bible doesn't tell us about the existence of aliens, therefore, there are no aliens.

True, the Bible doesn't explicitly tell us that there is life on other planets. But my rebuttal to this argument would begin by stating the obvious fact that the Bible doesn't explicitly tell us that there is not life on other planets, either. The argument that "The Bible doesn't say it, therefore it isn't true" is like making the argument that "Since the Bible doesn't give us detailed instructions on how to boil pasta in water on a gas stove, it simply cannot be done." Or, "Because the Bible didn't tell us about DNA, it does not exist."

The Bible, as I have learned in church, can give us certain knowledge of God; that is, it can reveal to us many, many truths about God and His will for us and our world that we can be certain of, BUT it does not give us exhaustive knowledge of God; that is to say, it doesn't tell us every single tidbit of knowledge about God. Since God is infinite and omnipresent, if we were to know each and every detail about God, we too, would need to be omnipotent, and the Bible itself would need to be infinitely long.

I would also like to point out that this line of thinking is what led the Catholic church to execute the great astronomer Galileo for insisting that the earth went around the sun, and not the other way around. Church leaders at the time were so convinced that the earth was the center of all creation, that they accused anyone who disagreed with them of heresy. They used the Bible as their grounds for this belief, although the Bible certainly does not make any claim that the earth is the center of the solar system. We now know that the Earth is not the center of the solar system, it is not the center of our galaxy, and it is not the center of the universe. I believe God might be trying to reiterate the fact that "It's NOT about US!" Yes, God loved us so much that He became human and died for us, but it's still not about us. God would get along fine without any of us.

The next major argument against life on other planets that I've heard from fellow Christians is that "Jesus died for our sins on our planet, so how do these extraterrestrials get saved?" My simple answer to this is "I don't know." And then I would add: "But if there is life on other planets, God does know." In other words, if another race of beings needed to be saved from their own sins, God would find a way to do it. Since God is infinitely more creative than I am, I'm sure He has come up with something far more glorious than I could even imagine, but just for fun, here are some of my own hypotheses: 1. Human-being Jesus travels to the aliens' planet and He dies for them there. 2. Human-being Jesus travels to the aliens' planet and tells them that He died for everyone's sins on Earth. 3. God is born as an alien, grows up on their planet, and dies for their sins there. 4. At some point in the future, human beings travel to distant planets as intergalactic missionaries and tell them about Jesus.

I think, however, it is quite likely that many of God's creations might have never chosen to sin in the first place. Imagine that: God creates a planet with sentient beings, and they actually choose to obey Him. The great Christian thinker C.S. Lewis was able to imagine life on other planets, and he wrote a trilogy of space-based adventures describing how extraterrestrials might exist in a Christian universe. In Out of the Silent Planet, Lewis chronicles an adventure to a planet full of innocent creatures; creatures that never fell under the curse of sin. The story makes the point that, even though mankind chose to sin and rebel against God, that God was glorified even more greatly on Earth, since God was afforded the chance to become one of us and to heroically save us from ourselves. His purposes for other races on other planets might be very different from His purpose for us.

The second book in the trilogy, Perelandra, takes place on a world with only two indigenous sentient beings, a male and a female. Satan manages to show up to tempt the female character into disobeying God, but God sends a human to tell her about what happened on Earth, and to encourage her to obey God's commands. Hear that? A space-missionary, yo...and you thought I was a heretic for suggesting such a thing. Is C.S. Lewis a heretic, too? And, Joss Whedon...well, I'm pretty sure he's not even a Christian...but he did the whole intergalactic-missionary thing, as well, in Firefly and Serenity.

Furthermore, the very magnitude of the universe suggests that something else is going on somewhere out there. I mean, yes, if it pleased God to create such a ridiculously gigantic-beyond-all-comprehension, immensely, stupifyingly, stupendously, humongously enormous space just to make us humans gasp at how amazing creation is, then yes, He absolutely succeeded at that, and that would be just fine. But, if He chose to create a multitude of worlds and planets and societies just as great or greater than ours, wouldn't that be just as amazing, and perhaps, even more so?

Of course, I'm not saying you have to believe in life on other planets, I'm just making the point that it's not that ridiculous if you do. I personally doubt that any extraterrestrials have ever visited this planet yet. I think we are being isolated in the universe for a specific time for a specific purpose. But of course, this is all conjecture, and I just encourage you all to keep an open mind. But one thing is for certain: Jesus Christ is alive, and He is my Lord and Savior.

The Pyrrvhian Probe

As I've noted on my other blog, Blog Mummies of Hollywoodland, the title of this blog, Father of Modern Bloggetry, is an homage to Robert Goddard, the Father of Modern Rocketry. He was instrumental in establishing the space program and developing the technologies that help launch satellites and shuttles into orbit. So, I've decided this blog will primarily be dedicated to all things space and sci-fi related; a haven for geek-dom.

This post is from a story I wrote in a Penn State class taught by Dr. Alex Wolszczan, an astronomer who co-discovered the very first planet outside of our solar system in 1992. Unfortunately, the planet he discovered orbited a pulsar, and the astronomy community wasn't terribly excited at his finding, because pulsars are stars that pulse like a beacon, and emit huge amounts of radiation, and certainly could never support life of any kind. However, in my humble opinion, his discovery was an historical breakthrough, and it encouraged other astronomers to search for planets within inhabitable star systems. Since then, over 200 planets have been discovered outside our solar system. Dr. Wolszczan's class focused on "The Drake Equation," a famous formula that predicts the number of intelligent civilizations in our galaxy.

The equation states that the number of intelligent civilizations capable of interstellar communication equals the number of stars that are "born" each year in our galaxy times the percentage of those stars that have planets times the number of inhabitable planets orbiting each of those stars times the percentage of those planets that actually develop life times the percentage of those that develop intelligent life times the percentage of planets with intelligent life that transmit evidence of their existence into space times the duration of those intelligent civilizations that transmit signs of their existence into space.

Each scientist or astronomer or layperson plugs in their estimate for each of the variables into the equation. As you might have guessed, answers range from .00000000001 to 100,000,000,000. In other words, even with this equation, humanity is still divided into those who think our existence is a unique occurrence and those who think the galaxy should be teeming with intelligent civilizations. I think my personal answer to the Drake Equation was 38...and trust me, that's a weird answer. The vast majority of people (and astronomers) get numbers well below 1 or well above 100,000.

Anyway, this story has nothing to do with pulsars or the Drake Equation, I just thought I'd give you some background. And, FYI, Dr. Wolszczan gave me a 100% on this assignment:

The Pyrrvhian Probe

Vush was resting in his lab one evening lazily working on his computer system, checking on what was referred to as "star system 821" to the Pyrrvhian government. Plucking away at the moist lobes on his computer console with his tendril-laden arms, he accessed the files on the system's active history of fascinating pulsed emissions. Now Vush was a very intelligent Pyrrvhian, but he had a tendency to waste time tasting the newest flavors of Pyrrvhian dishes over the computer network of food samplers. (Pyrrvhian technology is so advanced, that the programs can manipulate the chemical formations of organic materials and provide and infinite variety of tastes over a sort of Pyrrvhian "internet.") So Vush's overseer made it a habit to check on him periodically to make sure he was earning his keep as the planet's foremost "skywatcher."

"Vush! Wow! You're actually doing some work for once." Vush. Yes, "Vush" is the closest approximation the average human would be able to make in trying to say his name. Of course Vush, or at least the sound of the word "Vush," was nothing remotely like his actual name--Vush's Pyrrvhian name was actually a series of chemical gases emitted through the Pyrrvhians' frontal torsoid appendages, received and interpreted by another's sensitive nasal canal as one's name. (This was how everything was communicated with the Pyrrvhians, but we will leave this story in English for the sake of simplicity.) The word "Vush" is just a human imitation of the sound that the aliens' scent appendages produce as they emit their series of chemicals.

Vush raised his long, slender head and turned towards Gyloc, his boss. "Of course!" he said, slightly insulted. "I'm checking out that weird system just outside the range of where our probe went a few years ago...that, uh, 821; System 821."

"Hmm. Let me see those files." Gyloc stepped closer to the computer. Vush cringed a little at the sound that Gyloc's torsoid scent appendage produced. Vush suspected he had not cleaned it for several days, and Pyrrvhian scent appendages tended to make an unpleasant little wheezing noise, which was audible at close proximity, if the appendage was not maintained properly.

The files flooded the screen. A myriad of unusual characters filled the monitor, each one representing a Pyrrvhian smell. Vush gently rubbed his tentacles on his tired, bony posterior end, which had been fused to a shallow indentation on the floor, (a cheap Pyrrvhian chair) for the past few hours.

"I figured we owed this little star another look, what with this planet they've found with spectral analysis and everything," explained Vush.

"Hmm...These patterns certainly are incredible," said Gyloc as he glanced over the star's past emission records. "Let's make a closer check around the 1420 MHz area again, shall we?"

Vush began rapidly prodding the tiny nodes as the characters on the computer changed. The pair of alien scientists adjusted their frequencies until something unusual flashed up on the screen. A series of "o's" and dashes rapidly flowed across the gelatin-covered monitor.

Gyloc and Vush waited intently as the sophisticated computer arranged the "o's" and dashes in hundreds of patterns until what appeared to be a picture of a humanoid being and nine circles beside him appeared to the curious aliens.

"Oh my heavens! There's a repeating pattern there. Call President Blaff!" exclaimed Vush.

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It has been more than 110 earth-years since the probe Gyloc-Vush left Pyrrvhia. The probe was stocked with gallons upon gallons of Pyrrvhian communication chemicals. The probe's state-of-the-art fusion drive can propel it at 99% the speed of light. It was due to arrive in the system about 55 years ago, and the probe was programmed to directly transmit all information to Pyrrvhia upon entering the system, taking spectral analyses of any planets encountered in order to detect the presence of methane, molecular oxygen, or nitrous oxide in the atmosphere, and upon its detection of these chemicals, will attempt to land on the planet's surface. It is equipped with standard video equipment to document the encounters after landing.

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Galdruk, the Pyrrvhian, was sitting at the head of the great scientific convention and watching, as the probe that his grandfather Vush helped launch sent back its transmission. The video footage warped back to the eager aliens, containing what many had hoped to be the Pyrrvhians' first contact with another civilization. The footage had already rolled through its findings on Jupiter, the gas giant that their spectral analyses had detected, and Mars, and now, the probe was approaching Earth. The detection of high amounts of methane and molecular oxygen on this planet brought the science community of Pyrrvhia to a standstill. The educators, the physicists, and the astronomers all perched themselves in the Great Gathering Hall as the screen revealed the probe's adventure. Relaying the smell through symbolic subtitles on the screen, they watched as the probe flared and flamed into Earth's atmosphere. Landing in a lush, green valley, the probe proceeded to hover across miles of grass and grain and stopped in front of a strange red box about ten meters wide, accompanied by two tall, silver, cylindrical structures to one side. The crowd of Pyrrvhians gazed in awe as a being appeared from within the strange red structure and cautiously approached the hovering probe. Hanging on the creature's every action, the Pyrrvhian scientists watched as the probe followed through with its programming and opened its communication hatch. A tube protruded from the opening in the side of the probe, as the human stood, trembling with fear. Reaching out slowly to touch the probe, the human was startled by the quick hiss of chemicals shooting out from the tube; a simple Pyrrvhian greeting. Suddenly, the man grimaced and lurched away from the probe. His face turned red, and he fell to the ground coughing, and within seconds lay motionless on the ground below the probe from the apparently noxious series of gases used in the friendly intergalactic message.

The crowd fell smelless and still. Galdruk solemnly placed his tendrils over his scent appendage, and his cranial lobe grew somewhat green, as it often did when he was grief-stricken or afraid. And now, he was both. And so he would remain until he knew that there was once again peace in the galaxy.

Alien Film Invasion: The Ten Best Alien Movies of All Time

We love extraterrestrials! Check out our freaky and fantastic picks for the greatest alien movies ever...

Alien movies have been a staple of the science fiction film genre since it began. From the cute and cuddly, to the gruesome and grotesque, outer space aliens have captured our imaginations, filled us with fear, and made us re-contemplate our place in the cosmos. Here are our picks for the 10 best alien flicks ever:

1) Our first pick is the original Ridley Scott "Alien." If the title of this film isn't imaginative, then the film itself makes up for it with originality, groundbreaking effects, and an H. R. Giger-designed monster. A young Sigourney Weaver heads up the brilliant cast, which also includes Tom Skerritt, Ian Holm, and John Hurt. While visiting a distant planet, the crew of the Nostromo picks up an extraterrestrial killing machine that begins terrorizing the people on board. It's as much a suspense/horror thriller as it is a science-fiction film.

2) Next is Steven Spielberg's touching alien drama, "E.T." Has anyone not seen this movie?

3) A new addition to our favorite alien movies list is the Peter Jackson produced "District 9." Shot documentary-style, this movie chronicles the arrival of an alien spacecraft, the extraction of its inhabitants, and their incarceration at a detention facility full of dilapidated shacks and shanties. It's a unique alien invasion scenario; malnourished prawn-like aliens travel many light-years across the galaxy to become oppressed by the human race.

4) Also making the list is James Cameron's "Aliens," a follow-up to the Ridley Scott film. This time Ripley finds herself in the company of a rough and tumble unit of space marines, armed to the teeth with cool weapons and tech gadgets, ready to fight their way through not just one alien this time, but a whole swarm of the vicious creatures. Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Paul Reiser join the cast for this critically-acclaimed sequel.

5) Although this film has hardly stood the test of time, we're going to have to drop another Cameron film into this list: "Avatar." Recently smashing box office records, employing brand new 3D technology, and introducing audiences to a new breed of blue extraterrestrials, this Golden Globe winner has already made its share of waves in the ocean of science-fiction filmmaking. Greedy humans begin mining operations on a distant planet, inhabited by a troublesome native population, the Na'vi. Military forces are deployed to "relocate" these aliens. Military scientists combine the DNA of human soldiers with that of the Na'vi, thus creating big, blue super-soldiers; or avatars, controlled remotely by the thought patterns of their human counterparts, of course. The avatars, bringing with them the cruel agenda of the human mining operation, intermingle with the natives. Big budget action ensues as Sam Worthington's avatar leads a rebellion against the well-armed human oppressors.

6) "Contact." Robert Zemeckis helms an adaptation of the Carl Sagan novel by the same name. The astronomy community is all aflutter after receiving a mysterious message from deep space. Jodie Foster's character, Ellie Arroway, is an astronomer at the center of all the commotion. Her foil, Palmer Joss, played by Matthew McConaughey, is a man of faith. They face-off in thought-provoking philosophical debate about God, science, and life on other planets. Pay close attention to the character named S. R. Hadden...Is he an alien?...Or is he an angel?...Or perhaps both?

7) "The Day the Earth Stood Still"(1951). Robert Wise directs. An humanoid alien, Klaatu, does his homework on planet earth to make the ultimate decision: whether it should be destroyed or not. Meanwhile, his giant robot buddy, Gort, intimidates the U.S. Army with fancy lasers that melt tanks.

8) The original "War of the Worlds"(1953) makes our list. This Oscar-winning sci-fi flick, directed by Byron Haskin, is as classic as they get. The first film adaptation of H.G. Wells' terrifying alien invasion tale is still worth a watch today. **SPOILER ALERT: Wells surmised that alien intruders would die from our common cold. Imagine how safe Earth is now we have H1N1.

9) Next up, "Lilo and Stitch." That's right, we put a Disney cartoon on this list. Full of off-beat humor and plenty of heart, it's a tale of a misfit Hawaiian girl adopting an intergalactic fugitive as a pet. The two title characters are sophisticatedly strange for a children's movie. Artfully drawn figures and beautiful renditions of Hawaiian scenery add depth and style to this quirky, Oscar-nominated film.

10) Another Spielberg movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" rounds out our top ten list. Featuring special-effects that still hold up to modern standards, this film, starring Richard Dreyfuss as Roy Neary, takes place in remote parts of New Mexico. Neary and others spot UFO's in the skies. Visions of a mountain and mysterious music run through Neary's head, eventually leading him to the rendezvous point where he'll meet advanced interstellar visitors.

If you love aliens as much as we do, then you've probably seen most of the movies on this list. But these are essentials, so if there's one you haven't seen, then you're missing out. Check it out today!