Expecting Burnout

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. John Henry chuckled when Mr. Kim recited this long-forgotten adage. It was tossed away with earthly phrases like 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' or 'what goes up must come down' or, my favorite, 'the Sky's the limit.'

We the distinguished scholars of star station 8400 are well aware that screams are no longer just from the voice box of the human race. Most of us have never seen a primitive dog (unless in a picture or passing telepathy) As far as what goes up and the sky's the limit, we scoff at those silly things too. We have reached beyond (G2V/ Sol) and gravity is a burden that has long since been overcome.

My name is Gooks'Ma'ell if we had to spell it in Earthen English of the 24th century. We pronounce it Gomal with words. If measured in terms of height and weight based on standard E-1 (first earth) atmospheres I would measure a height of 12 feet tall. I would weigh in at a slender 900 lbs. My race is from a planet {with a name that can not be pronounced with a human voice box} its distance is 7 light years away from station 8400 and approximately 2 light years from earth.

Mr. Kim, our ancient history teacher, and John Henry, one of our students, are from Earth. Mr. Kim, or Doctor Kim to his earthly colleagues, was picked up from sector China. We recruited John Henry from sector Africa. At the time of this communication, there are only three known sectors left (the Americas being third) on the beleaguered planet; other than, of course, the few small scattered holdout rebel camps numbering less than fifty-thousand inhabitants.

The rest of us sojourn from planets beyond the Milky way galaxy. Station 8400 was established as a central point, a weigh station of sorts, for intergalactic travel between Universal stars.

The Inter-Galactic Planetary Travel Authority, or I.G.P.T.A for short, sets standards for any structures that are not within planetary atmospheric governing bodies. 8400 represents the number of ships that can dock and use the service bays on any given day.

We the students of the 8400 are among the brightest minds in the Universe. Graduating from the program allows us to run for governing positions, or be ambassadors to traveling aliens spanning all known galaxies. The 8400 averages 1-sela of lifeform visitors per month— about 1 and a half million on the old numeric scale.

Ancient history is one of my favorite classes. It is so fascinating, for instance the way we view time is different now. We are in what is called the 3rd modern era of time. First it was B.C. then there was A.D. or for the non-religious beings of times past C.E. (if you consider time as current and relevant.) The passage of time for our generation is S.D. which stands for Star Date.

Just so we understand what I'm talking about here, when a star implodes creating a vortex or black hole we have the end of a Star or a star date. My job upon finishing my degree here on 8400 in a month's time will be to assist in the proper closing of an imploded star so that we can contain the event. We will save or sufficiently warn any planets that rely on said star for existence or in extreme circumstances evacuate and eventually relocate residents of the planet in question. As luck (or unluck for Earth) would have it, we have foreseen the signs of burnout on the Ancient planet's star (G2V- a red giant) or as they affectionately call it: the Sun. We have several ships, large ships, that can assist in evacuation. Each holds 10 million human sized beings and is sufficient to sustain said life for up to 5 years. This is more time than is needed to find a suitable home with similar atmospheric conditions or create them for the humans. Although I have grown fond of Mr. Kim and John Henry I remain surprised that the 50 million human inhabitants left on the slowly dying planet have not abandoned the relic.

Humans that come into our program are immediately enhanced with the finest body and mind upgrades that the human race can tolerate and endure. It is unfortunate however that nearly 40 percent or 20 million citizens of earth claim that it is a, what's the word…ah yes, conspiracy, so they refuse to believe that there is any danger whatsoever. And that in fact, the real danger is our enhancements and the I.G.P.T.A.

Of course in our test trials on humans who were already stricken with any number of deadly human viruses a select few did pass or 'move beyond' as they call it, but that was less than 1 percent. And of those, half moved beyond because they refused to let us download then remove those diseased brains and install the clean disease virus free ones.

John Henry will act as my guide when we enter Earth's atmosphere in twenty-eight days and 13 hours. There we will have to address the three remaining nations. Each is varied in belief systems and government structure. Although they share a common technology that we can use to communicate with them through far outdated digital frequency we still have to meet with each Nation's leader and have a separate rescue vessel for each.

In these conferences we will have one-hundred days to prepare and get them safely out before that primitive earthen star flashes out and burns for the last time.

Wish us luck as we try to save yet another race from a Star date with destiny…