Day One: Unsalvageable

My people are the Sences. We are providers of judgement for all planets in the universe. Our dictate is to maintain the limited resources of the solar systems using algorithms and data collection to ultimately decide if other beings deserve their life-sustaining planet. Utilizing our amorphous ability to shape-shift, we integrate into societies and observe the behavior of species undetected. Once we’ve created a baseline of expectations for habits, cultures, and societal norms, we do systematic check-ups to see if it is feasible to continue allowing a planet to manifest and grow.

I was the oldest of 12 which meant I would be a Chest. The eldest child is always a Chest, whereas the youngest is always a Haustle. The purpose of the Haustle is to collect information through whatever means necessary to allow the Chest to integrate into other communities without being detected.

We are taught from the beginning that all other beings are beneath us and we must be the controllers of the universe. If not, everyone, including all other lifeforms, will be annihilated from the imbalance. I often try not to think about how many people have been completely destroyed from our judgements.

My job as a Chest is to integrate with a different life form to learn their society, culture, and any other information we use to submit for judgement. Unlike Haustles, my job is to focus on gaining information on the current status of the current specimen of interest. I submit my report to the senior analysts and they’ll review the data to put into their recommendations. Ultimately, the High Ones make the decision on whether or not to remove a planet, but I have never had them go against my reports.

We’re headed to Earth because there’s been a lot of hype. They’re destroying their own planet and each other. Can you believe that? They have these incredible wars that kill millions, and then they are destroying their own planet that will ultimately kill all of them. Don’t get me wrong, they are able to repopulate on their own; they don’t require synthetics to extend their lineage. It’s almost as if they are overpopulated without any rhyme or reasons. Their numbers keep growing. We don’t want a pest issue flowing into other parts of the universe.

Our ship is completely clear so we are able to view anything within line of sight at any angle. I can see that we’re approaching our destination. As we begin to touch down, we turn on the shields that make us completely transparent. I change into my human form and my coworkers snicker and tell me I look ridiculous with only two arms, but hey, it’s my job. The lead analyst reminds me that I was made for this and he knows I’ll make our people proud once again. I am assigned to this planet for 10 rotations. Humans would call that 10 years. I take a deep breath and walk out of the ship to the vehicle that has been provided to me and begin my mission.

I look in the passenger seat of the car, and there is a dark blue canvas backpack. Inside I find some of our recording equipment, pills to make my body continually able to adjust to the different atmospheric pressure of this planet, and a small notebook. I take a small pin-like recording device and slide it into my pants pocket. I decide to drive around and begin patrolling the area.

Arriving into an outlet mall parking lot, I step out and grab the backpack. Within seconds, I hear a blaring alarm and two men running out of a bank with black ski masks on. Clutching two large duffle bags and guns and sprinting away, I see another man wearing a bank nametag run out also carrying a gun. He shoots at the masked men and manages to injure one and he falls to the ground. In all the commotion, several people are scattered and screaming trying to flee. In an act of desperation, the injured man shoots toward the bank employee but shoots a female child instead. A couple begins to scream in hysteria over watching their daughter bleeding to death. The injured masked man's eyes dart frantically between the approaching police vehicles and the lifeless body of the child. He again aims his gun at the bank employee, hesitates, then turns it on himself and pulls the trigger. The other masked man drops his duffle bag in shock and kneels toward him, screaming and failing to lift his dead body.

I walk over to the duffle bags as police arrive at the scene. I can hear the bank employee telling the officers that they had attempted to steal $20,000. He gestures to maksed man on the floor and, with a hint of a smile on his face, brags to the officer that his time at the range has paid off. A few feet from them, the couple, with now stoic faces, are listening to the paramedics telling them where their daughter's body will be taken. I see the wife turn to the husband and quietly speak. The husband's eyebrows lift as he turns and grab his wife's arm. I see him mouth the words "life insurance policy". The masked man is weeping over the loss of the other, who turned out to be his younger brother, as he is being handcuffed and put into the back of a police car. Taking in the events, it only confirms our previous reconnaissance of these beings. As I am reaching into my backpack, I open up the little black notebook and write, “Unsalvageable”.