“This is Captain Maxwell Davis of the United States Air Force, 4th Fighter Squadron out of Hill. This message is for any authorities on Earth. Earth was not invaded. Earth is on the edge of populated space and aliens have no interest in the planet. The alien ships that violated Earth space almost a year ago were on an intergalactic car chase.
“Some sort of authority—either a civilian peacekeeping force or a military force, I’m unclear which—chased a ship of criminals called the Nish into the largely unpopulated corner of the universe where Earth sits. When my F-35 was damaged, aliens brought me into their ship to save me.
“However, they returned to their own space, either in pursuit of the Nish or because the pursuit had ended—I’m not sure which. I am doing well, but transportation back to Earth is exceptionally expensive. Earth is far from any trade paths, so it will take me years to earn enough money to purchase a ticket home.
“Since I cannot return to provide a report, I hope this message reaches the correct authorities. The universe is well-established with space-faring species. Most come from roughly Earth-sized planets, and most engage in regulated trade through neutral planets. The government authorities who took me from Earth released me at one of these trade ports, and the alien equivalent of a social worker taught me how to use their technology to secure employment.
“I work for a computer programmer, providing security for him, his three offspring, and his ship. Much of my information comes from this individual, who I refer to as ‘Rick.’ His name does not translate, and neither does the name of his species, which he simply refers to asthe people.
“However, I can say that his species is unpopular because they are asymmetrical, and they find the more popular races boring because Rick’s people dislike symmetry. So the universe judges on appearance. Humans are not unique in that. However, we are biologically rare. The vast majority of all these species have tentacles. I’ve worked with a computer translation program to differentiatelimb, but I’ve have questionable results. The aliens perceive an arm as little more than a tentacle with a motion-limiting internal skeleton.
“I hope someone will contact my parents, Richard and Velma Davis, and my brother Peter Davis and tell them that I am safe and gainfully employed. Every day I improve the computer language interface and learn about the universe.
“Right now I can only say that the universe is interesting. They have criminals, so it’s not a utopia out here. However, these people are technologically advanced and generally friendly, although some aliens are on the condescending side.
“The ship I am on is close enough to Earth that we are broadcasting this message toward the planet. I have asked Rick to repeat my message as long as we are in this sector of space, but we are heading toward populated areas, so I don’t know how many repetitions Rick will broadcast.
“This is Captain Maxwell Davis signing off. Take care of each other, Earth.”
