Mission for the Universe

By Boris Tzaprenko

The machine arrived from far away, really far away, somewhere at the end of the omnidirectional and endless abyss of outer space. How can one fathom where and when it left? On a human scale, the distance it had traveled was almost infinite, its speed was almost unlimited, and its journey had lasted virtually forever.
It was now almost over.
It chose a spot to land near a small village in the middle of the American continent.
It was six minutes past eleven o’clock when the machine alighted in the grass, in a small wooded area. With its mind set on its mission, it was ready to go to work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boris Tzaprenko
• Release date: May 4, 2012
• ISBN: 9782366250206

Boris Tzaprenko

antispéciste, donc végane abolitionniste.Sympathisant du minarchisme.

Book preview

Mission

for the

Universe

By: Boris TZAPRENKO

Published by Boris TZAPRENKO at Smashwords

Copyright © 2009 by Boris TZAPRENKO

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Translated from French by:

Paul Théorêt

http://ilsera.com

All rights reserved.

Protected under the prescriptions of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

The machine arrived from far away, really far away, somewhere at the end of the omnidirectional and endless abyss of outer space. How can one fathom where and when it left? On a human scale, the distance it had traveled was almost infinite, its speed was almost unlimited, and its journey had lasted virtually forever.

It was now almost over. Its speed was so great that it had to decelerate seventy hours at 100 g. While passing Jupiter, the machine left a few parts of itself there. Then it placed itself in orbit around Earth. It studied the planet for a while, looking for a place to land, remote enough not to attract attention, while being near enough to be able to study the local inhabitants. It sensed the electromagnetic waves emitted by mankind, but lacked the knowledge required to translate those that were sounds into sounds and those that were images into images. It chose a spot to land near a small village in the middle of the American continent.

***

It was six minutes past eleven o’clock when the machine alighted in the grass, in a small wooded area. With its mind set on its mission, it was ready to go to work. It can’t be easily described, because from one moment to the next, the thing could be completely different. The only part of itself it couldn’t change was a small half inch cubic element. During its entry into the Earth’s atmosphere and up to now, the five hundred pound mass took the form of a six foot diameter sphere. It rolled to the edge of the woods. A prairie lay before it. Below, a farmer was repairing a fence. Using the powerful instruments of detection and perception within itself, it observed him for a while. Then it changed its shape to take the form of this man. The farmer got on his tractor and tried to start it. But the motor refused to come to life. Annoyed by his lack of success, the farmer stopped pulling on the starter, Fucking shit! he let out in a hoarse voice, Piss me off!

Could it be possible that the motor understood this language? In any case, on the next try, the motor came to life letting out a puff of smoke. The man then left on his rebellious steed.

Taking on a perfect imitation of the farmer’s form, the machine started to walk to a nearby town, visible in the distance. On its way, it passed a small house with a garden. It was enclosed in a newly painted white wooden fence. The machine stopped right in front and started to observe a woman stooping to pull weeds. Noticing him, she rose up and cried, Gerry! What are you doing here, staring like an idiot?

Since the machine didn’t answer and kept on staring, she added, You look funny… Have you been drinking? You’re drunk? Admit it!

Fucking shit! said the machine, using the farmer’s voice. Piss me off!

In perfect imitation, it also mimicked