Unsigned Books

The Life Series

Translated into English from the Book of Traal; ancient scrolls found in the mountains of Egypt next to the remains of what appeared to be a ravenous bugblatter beast.  

“Are we going to leave them behind then, sergeant?  

 “It appears so, soldier.” 

“Such a shame.” 

“It’s just the two of them. I am sure they will not be missed.” 

“True, they were not the sharpest tools in the shed, but isn’t it a bit cruel, you know, just leaving them to their fate. They won’t survive a week.” 

“That might be for the best.”  

“Such a shame.” 

“I know, but it can’t be helped.  

“Can’t say we haven’t tried.” 

“Our endeavours have failed miserably.” 

“Not exactly the intelligent life we had planned.” 

“Not by half.” 

“Where did we go amiss?” 

“No idea, soldier. We will try again on another similar planet with more advanced knowledge. I am confident we will be able to create artificial life that is actually intelligent.” 

“We are going to make more of these beings?” 

“I take it we have learnt from this experiment.” 

“It is much like baking pancakes, right? The first one always goes wrong.” 

“Quite right, soldier. So, the next ones will surely be much better.” 

“Will we ever see them again, do you think?” 

“The major says he will send a team over every now and then to see how they are doing. I think it’s a waste of time, money and resources, but who am I?” 

“He thinks these creatures will live long and prosper, then?” 

“As far as I know, he thinks they stand a fair chance to survive and even procreate. They have all it takes, and we have seen them do ‘it’. Who knows, in a couple of centuries there might be thousands of them.” 

“Thousands of these beings. Oh my, that surely can’t be good.” 

“If they all turn out as stupid as these two, the planet and everything on it is doomed.” 

“Are we going to leave them anything, you know, to let them know about us or how to live or something?” 

“The major says a team has worked day and night working out some sort of rules to live by. I don’t think they are going to stick to them. We told them not to eat fruit from a certain tree in these parts of the woods, and that they should try their best to stay away from certain animals, like the ones we call snakes, for they seem to be quite vicious. Just the basics, you know. To help them survive longer than a month.” 

“Didn’t we see them eat the fruit anyway.” 

“Yes.” 

“They survived?” 

“It appears to be that way. So, we sent them away to other places without those trees, just to be sure. They did not take it well and thought we were punishing them. They are quite stubborn and headstrong beings.” 

“That makes me wonder.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, if they can survive those fruits, what else will they be able to survive?” 

“Only time will tell. Thought alone, thousands of them roaming the Earth without a clue who they are and where they came from.” 

“Will they not try to look for us?” 

“We will be long gone before they know we have left. They are so dim-witted; they will never be able to learn how to fly let alone learn how to read or write.” 

“It would be quite a surprise if one day they come to visit us on our planet.” 

“I will eat my helmet if they ever even find out they are not alone in the universe.” 

“They thought alone is laughable, isn’t it?” 

“Rightly so, soldier. Now, break up camp, pack everything, we leave in a day.” 

“Consider it done, sergeant.” 

“I’m going to say goodbye to them and give them their last instructions.” 

“Give my regards to Adam, tell him he can keep the flintstones I gave him. Not that he knows how to use them, but he seems to find them rather interesting.” 

“I will.” 

“See you on the ship, sergeant.” 

“Till then, soldier.”