First Discovery

The wind was still that morning, silent with the bated breaths of the scientists gathered in the room. It was finally time. Years of preparation had gone into the research and development of this project, but it was at last ready. The first telescope powerful enough to see if there was indeed life on the nearest habitable planet. They waited as the telescope far above their planet's surface began to lock into place, yearning to see if centuries worth of speculation would be proven that day. The seconds ticked down as the lab equipment fired to life. They watched, hushed and barely breathing, when the telescope sent the first picture.

They chose to first target a place where earlier telescopes had shown large concentrations of light. If the alien species on that planet were anything like theirs, then they would likely use this light in order to see at night. The first picture showed what they assumed to be buildings. Dozens and dozens of buildings with a large variety of shapes and sizes. But beneath the grandeur of these buildings were tiny specks, seemingly insignificant until they zoomed in the picture. And there they were, the first alien life. How different they all looked! Some large, some small, some with red, yellow, black, brown, blue, and any other color of hair. The scientists rejoiced, for there in that picture lay not only the dreams of the past, but perhaps one day part of their own species future.

Excitement spread around the planet like a plague, there were celebrations lasting for days on end. Banners were made and strung around buildings featuring the first pictures of alien life. Word began to spread on whether they should contact this civilization or not. And as the partying continued and people talked, the scientists continued to watch.

More telescopes were sent up in order to increase how much they could see. They created a new telescope to record certain areas with the most activity. They saw males and females falling in love, they saw parents smiling at their offspring. They saw the elderly being taken care of and the sick being attended to. They saw kindness, compassion, and intelligence. As they watched the planet, they realized they, too, were beginning to explore the nearest stars and planets, and wondered if they would discover their planet as well. The first plans were made to contact this fascinating species. And still, the scientists watched.

They saw the first weapon two weeks after the first picture. They watched as two aliens fought each other, then as one pulled out a weapon that seemed to instantly kill the other. They said the alien was defending itself, and thought nothing more of it. Still, the scientists watched.

They saw an alien kick aside a small, hairy creature that approached it, perhaps it was a dangerous creature the scientists said, and still, they watched.

They saw an alien grab something from another and take off running. The other alien appeared to yell, and others walked by, ignoring it. The scientists were perplexed by this, but said perhaps it was a game. Still, they watched.

They were watching a large island on the planet when they first saw mass destruction. They watched as a flying vehicle went over, as something fell and killed most of the island's population. They watched as elsewhere on the planet, hundreds of the aliens killed each other with the weapons they pointed. They saw death and destruction. They saw crime and murder, and the more they watched the more they saw. They still saw the good, the happy children and the carefree parents. But for every happy child there was a starving one, and for every carefree parent there was another who was murdered. The scientists ran out of explanations, here was a civilization as full of light as it was dark, and they were fearful.

As the news spread, the people stopped celebrating. No longer did people whisper about contacting this alien civilization. The telescopes started to look at other planets, yet some continued to watch the first. Watched to see if the aliens had discovered their planet yet, to make sure they were ready in case the dreaded species decided to come to them. So still, the scientists watched, but in horror of the people of planet Earth.