A Message From The Neighbours

By Vincent J Hyde

At last, Earth's Radio Telescopes detect an intelligent signal from a small Space Probe heading towards the Solar System. The Space Probe has locked onto the radio transmissions from the Earth and its speed is proportional to the signal strength it is receiving.

Is Earth in Danger?

The World Council decides

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen Culture Solutions
• Release date: Jun 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638120346

Vincent J Hyde

Vincent J. Hyde was born in September 1954 in Calcutta, India. While living in Calcutta, He studied in Saint Xavier’s College. He immigrated to Sydney, Australia, in February 1970. While living in Sydney, he completed his secondary education at Marcellin College and Merrylands High School, where he obtained his Higher School Certificate in 1973. He completed the electrical engineering degree course at the University of New South Wales in 1979. He earned a postgraduate diploma in illumination design at the University of Sydney in 1983. He worked as an electrical engineer at the New South Wales Public Works from 1979 to 2014 and retired from active engineering duties in 2014. Since 2014, he has been writing books to continue his professional development. He has written five books with the publisher Balboa Press, as follows: 1. Heaven and Earth 2. A Journey from Dust to Consciousness 3. A Message from the Neighbours 4. Earth’s Reply 5. The Alien World 6. Fields He is a current member of the Institution of Engineers Australia (MIEAust), Chartered Professional Engineer (Ret) No. 1387147.

Book preview

A Message From The Neighbours

Trilogy Book 1

Copyright © 2021 by Vincent J. Hyde.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-63812-033-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63812-034-6

All rights reserved. No part in this book may be produced and transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Published by Pen Culture Solutions 06/03/2021

Pen Culture Solutions

1-888-727-7204 (USA)

1-800-950-458 (Australia)

[e-mail]

Other books by Vincent J. Hyde

Heaven and Earth

A Journey from Dust to Consciousness

A Message from the Neighbours

Earth’s Reply

The Alien World

He is a current member of the Institution of Engineers Australia (MIEAust), Chartered Professional Engineer (Ret) No. 1387147.

Contents

Author’s Note

Introduction

Prologue

Chapter 1   The Times

Chapter 2   The Space Probe

Chapter 3   The Invitation

Chapter 4   The Message from the Neighbours

Abbreviations Used

About The Author

Explanation of the Use of Upper Case in ‘A Message from the Neighbours’

Upper case has sometimes been used to make it easy for the reader to follow the text. Choices of words and phrases presented in upper case are as follows:

1.A single word might have a vague meaning if considered by itself. However, in the context of A Message from The Neighbours, some single words have a particular meaning; hence they are shown as upper case text. An example: the word Space herein has a meaning associated with the region where the galaxies exist.

2.A two-word phrase might be required to be considered together and not considered separately. An example: the phrase Star System is associated with the star and its associated planets and moons. Also, Space Probe is the term used to describe the bullet-shaped vehicle in which Interface visits Earth.

3.The three-word phrase Field(s) of Knowledge is capitalized because it must be considered together.

Part of the message from the neighbours as shown by Interface’s image at the final meeting

Author’s Note

A Message from the Neighbours is based on many of the concepts developed in the other two books written by the author, namely Heaven and Earth and A Journey from Dust to Consciousness .

The characters mentioned in the book are not based on any characters alive today.

The author has studied in many of the Fields of Knowledge and wishes to thank teachers and other authors who may have contributed to the work in the Fields of Knowledge.

Introduction

This work of science fiction is set in the year 2500, when machines have made the world a very small place with fast travel from place to place and high-speed communications. Countries have evolved into One World, and the many Fields of Knowledge have evolved to become separate directorates of One World.

A director is elected to each directorate for a period of five years. The World Council controls the directorates and the election of directors. The World Council has equal representation from each of the continents, and the members of the World Council control funding to the directorates based on popular demand.

Everything has been discovered on Earth, and human beings are looking to Space for future new discoveries.

The universe contains five hundred billion galaxies. Each galaxy contains billions of Star Systems. Each Star System contains a star or a few stars with an average of about eight planets and hundreds of moons. This allows for the star to provide plenty of energy to its planets and moons so as to create a variety of possible climates where lifeforms may find it comfortable to exist. Surely, the Creator of the universe would allow Mind to develop elsewhere, with sensors different from those available on Earth, so that there would be the variety of life as we see on the Earth. Statistically, though most planets and moons may have conditions worse than the conditions on the Earth, there could exist a few places where conditions are equal to those on Earth and possibly a few places where the conditions are better than those on Earth.

Hence, there was plenty of funding for the Space Research Directorate. Director Samuels was elected director of Space Research in the year 2498. He was quick to encourage the use of space telescopes and spacecraft to develop the Space Research Field of Knowledge.

In the year 2500, a bullet-shaped Space Probe was detected by Earth-based radio telescopes and determined to be heading in the direction of the Earth’s solar system. The Space Probe appeared to have locked onto radio frequency emissions from the Earth, and its speed was proportional to the distance from the radio frequency source.

There was wild speculation in the media about the visit from what appeared to be an advanced alien civilization. The World Council decided that the Space Research Directorate should organize meetings with directors from the Science and Technology, Religious, Defence, Power Production, Communications, Human Welfare, and Funding and Economics Directorates to determine a plan of action.

The meetings showed how people within any Field of Knowledge defended their Field of Knowledge or directorate. A decision was made to send two nonaggressive astronauts, Dr. Lamb and Dr. Pawn, in an Interceptor spacecraft in the direction of the Space Probe. The Interceptor spacecraft would have no weapons only a strong radio frequency generator, and it was hoped that this would force the Space Probe to make contact with the Interceptor instead of arriving directly at Earth.

The plan worked, and the Space Probe not only slowed down but also actually connected via a cylindrical arm to the Interceptor entry door. A robot who called himself Interface entered through the door of the Interceptor and explained how he was programmed against aggression of any kind. He gave the astronauts a visual recording from the neighbours and an invitation to visit the neighbours’ Star System. For security reasons the recording could only be played once. Interface was careful not to disclose any information about the neighbours. When questioned by the astronauts, Interface detected aggression and decided to leave the Interceptor and return to the inanimate matter of the stars and his home world, much to the disappointment of the astronauts. The astronauts returned to Earth and were glad to have the visual recording to give to Director Samuels.

At the final meeting of the directors and the two astronauts, Director Samuels activated the small rectangular box containing the visual recording from Interface by placing it on the table around which the directors were siting. The instrument appeared to sense the surroundings and moved to the centre of the table. In a blaze of coloured light, Interface’s three-dimensional image appeared before them. Interface’s image showed the directors details of the neighbours’ Star System with eight planets. The visual recording provided details of the facilities on each of the eight planets. Interface’s image showed the importance of machines and robots in transforming the neighbours’ Star System planets into worlds that are capable of supporting life and providing fuel to support the inanimate star itself. Interface did not reveal any details of the neighbours for security reasons. Interface’s message showed that life, inanimate matter, and mind must learn to coexist with each other, producing machines and robots not only to extend the life of the star system but also to allow life to continue to exist if the Star System were to be lost or damaged.

Will Earth accept Interface’s invitation and choose to visit the neighbours’ world?

How will Earth reply to the message from the neighbours?

You might know the answer. However, to find out, you will need to read the second book of the trilogy, Earth’s Reply.

Prologue

Scientists estimate that the Earth has been following the rules of heaven for approximately 4.5 billion years. Earth currently rotates on its axis every 24 hours and revolves around the sun every 365.25 days. The rotation on its axis causes the day and night cycle, while the revolution about the sun causes the seasons—summer, winter, spring, and autumn. These conditions become the rules of Earth and affect the many lifeforms existing on Earth. The rules of heaven have allowed the Earth to revolve around the sun in a Goldilocks Zone where the temperature is just right—not too hot and not too cold. In the Goldilocks Zone, water exists in liquid form in the Earth’s oceans. Water is an amazing combination of molecules capable of dissolving many substances and carrying them to the Earth’s oceans, where millions of chemical reactions can take place. The water molecule can absorb energy from the sun to become water vapour. Water vapour is gas that can move around in the Earth’s atmosphere. The water molecule can lose energy to form a solid, known as ice. Water can exist naturally on the Earth as a liquid, solid, or gas depending on the temperature and pressure. A water molecule can travel around the Earth powered by the sun’s energy. Though most of the water is contained in the Earth’s oceans, water flows in rivers and streams across the land. As it flows across the land, it shapes and transforms the landscape, forming beautiful waterfalls, seas, and lakes. The rains and melting mountain ice constantly supply the rivers with fresh water. Both plants and animals thrive and flourish where water is regularly available. It is not surprising that the sap of trees and the blood of animals is composed mainly of water.

Following the rules of Earth, life exists in the following forms:

•single-celled organisms

•fungi, mushrooms, toadstools, yeasts, and slime moulds

•lichens

•plants with roots, stems, and leaves

•trees

•marine invertebrates like corals, sponges, jellyfish, starfish, and anemones

•molluscs like clams, snails, slugs, octopuses, and squid

•worms

•crustaceans like woodlice, crabs, shrimps, prawns, and lobsters.

•spiders, centipedes, and scorpions

•insects like bees, flies, mosquitoes, wasps, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and butterflies

•fish

•amphibians

•reptiles

•birds

•mammals

The class Mammalia consists of three main groups:

1.Monotremes like the platypus and echidna

2.Marsupials like the kangaroo

3.Placental mammals

The placental mammals are a very significant group in which the young are developed inside the body of the mother and nutrients are provided through the placenta in the mother’s uterus. These animals include flying mammals such as bats; sea mammals such as seals, dolphins, and whales; large herbivores or plant eaters such as elephants and giraffes; powerful carnivores such as dogs, cats, and bears; and primates such as apes, monkeys, and human beings.

Different regions on the Earth’s surface receive differing amounts of solar energy and rainfall. This results in varying climatic conditions. As a general rule, regions near the equatorial belt receive plenty of rainfall and have high average temperatures. Regions near the North Pole and South Pole are generally cold and have low average temperatures.

The various lifeforms of plant and animals aforementioned each show obvious preference for one type of climate over another. A biome is a region of Earth characterized by climate and containing distinctive plant and animal life. The climate determines what types of vegetation are found in a region. In turn, the vegetation determines the types of animals found in the region. The generally accepted classification of biomes are as follows:

•tundra

•taiga

•temperate forest

•shrub wood

•tropical rainforest

•grassland

•desert

•marine

•fresh water

•estuary

A biome is made up of smaller distinct regions called habitats. Organisms that live in a particular habitat are called a community. In any habitat, the lifeforms have to find their own food and water, and they have to reproduce. So generally, lifeforms form mutually beneficial relationships. Plants provide food and shelter for animals. Animals help to pollinate plants. Plant-eating animals are eaten by other animals. Together all the biomes make up the biosphere—the region of Earth that supports life.

Of all the lifeforms aforementioned, only human beings are conscious of the Fields of Knowledge. Only human beings have