What We Found on the Way to Alpha Centauri: A Miniature Novel
Chapter One
Our ship met four others, one at a time. The first ship held many Centaurians, as we called them, not knowing what they called themselves. Their trajectory pointed straight back to the Centauri System. They looked a lot like us but were shorter on average by half a meter and had two opposable thumbs on each hand and were all brown-haired. And all dead. Our engineers said their nuclear reactors leaked tremendous quantities of radiation. Our navigators said they were headed straight for Earth.
Chapter Two
The second ship was a lot like the first except the reactors were fine, but our astrobiologists said a fungus had apparently killed every plant on board. Without plants, their ship's ecosystem decayed faster than an Altairian eagle swoops down on a pygmy marmoset. Which, believe me, is pretty fast. These Centaurians were also headed for Earth and all dead.
Enjoying this story? Don't miss the next one!
SUBSCRIBE TO DSF
Chapter Three
The third ship had apparently fallen victim to its own little civil war. One big coffin headed for the Solar System.
Chapter Four
The fourth Centaurian ship was totally automated. It broadcast a message over and over. Our linguists have translated most of the words: Earth ship, turn back, or the [unknown] will [unknown] you. We hope the blanks are filled in before we get to the Centauri system.
The End
This story was first published on Thursday, March 11th, 2021
We hope you're enjoying
What We Found on the Way to Alpha Centauri: A Miniature Novel by
David Paul Rogers.
Please support Daily Science Fiction by becoming a member.
Daily Science Fiction does not have a paywall, but we do have expenses—more than 95% of which are direct payments to authors for their stories. With your $15 membership, less than 6 cents per story, we can continue to provide genre fiction every weekday by email and on the website to thousands of readers for many years to come. You may also choose to support us via patreon.
Tell me more!
Support Daily Science Fiction
Please click to rate this story from 1 (ho-hum) to 7 (excellent!):
Please don't read too much into these ratings. For many reasons, a superior story may not get a superior score.
4.7 Rocket Dragons Average
Please join our mailing list and
receive free daily sci-fi (your email address will be kept
100% private):