The faded silver door to the exploration craft groaned and whistled as it slowly opened, hesitating slightly before finally – and violently – swinging upward and coming to a grinding stop.
The travelers on board, Dr. Glandick 871 and Dr. Torlock 6096, gingerly stepped to the edge of the Class G vessel and jumped to the ground.
There was a time a few centuries earlier when journeys to Original Earth were considered prime missions. Not only were the top Voyagers from Replica Earth dispatched, but the inhabitants of RE anxiously awaited their return. Clues to what happened to the dead planet might help to determine the ultimate fate of its namesake.
But over time, it became apparent the missions were yielding nothing of intrinsic value. Scientists were unable to determine the nature of the extinction level event, and the fact that it was little more than a burned-out shell meant most evidence of civilization was wiped out.
Oh, there had been bits and pieces of structures salvaged, along with skeletal remains of ancient humans and animals to make for an interesting display at the Replica Earth Interactive Museum. And some literature was found, enough to speculate about the forms of religion and government that had been practiced. But Genus Homo Prime had limited knowledge of who they once were and what their purpose was, and with each decade that passed, there was less curiosity about it.
Thus, those who chose to continue to make the star flight back and forth from RE to OE had to do so on decommissioned shuttles using discretionary funds – funds that would soon be gone. Ambassadors of the Replica Earth Collective saw such anthropological work as little more than vanity projects for researchers.
Glandick 871 remained curious, though. There were once philosophers and faith leaders – who were they and what did they teach? And millions of people on RE called “Cinder Heads” had ushered in a retro phase in which they spent time celebrating OE for what it was, or at least what they thought it was.
It might not matter to the majority of Genus Homo Prime anymore, but any information gleaned could still prove to be worth studying. And after this latest mission, perhaps a glimpse into its long-extinct inhabitants might be at hand.
Torlock 6096 had unearthed what appeared to be the full text from an ancient printed work on a dig, and – to date – it was the only one of its kind ever recovered. There were examples of artwork that had been found on OE, but never more than a few pages of written words. This discovery was unprecedented and truly remarkable.
Glandick 871 had placed the find in a transparent, element-proof cube and clutched it tightly as he made the dusty walk from the craft to the laboratory with Torlock 6096.
“So,” Torlock 6096 asked, “from a philosophical standpoint, this could be the greatest find in Genus Homo Prime history, could it not?”
Glandick 871 sighed.
“Could be … could very well be – to those who think like us. The problem is, I don’t think it much matters to the Collective. Every time we make a trip to OE, they keep telling us how many trillions of Currency Units have already been wasted and they’re weary of wasting it on us because we learn nothing new. But who knows? If we can figure out what this means, we can pass it on to those who participate in Knowledge Symposiums. If they find it useful in some historical or kitschy sense then maybe – maybe – they’ll at least give us a stipend for more missions.”
Once inside the lab, Glandick 871 placed the cube on a luminosity table and carefully lowered a translation scope over the text. The scope was able to reconstruct parts of what had been written and drawn, and the cleaning process helped remove the centuries of debris that had collected.
Translation protocols were initiated, and the pair of scientists were excited to learn they had uncovered – in chronological order – 388 pages. What they read, however, could best be described as fictitious prose.
“Considering what is written, I posit that this must have been a popular story among ancient Earth dwellers,” Glandick 871 said. “And while that has great meaning to you and I and likely the Cinder Heads, I doubt seriously that the Collective would see it as worthy of additional subdizizing. But – and just hear me out – what if we can convince them that this is the holy text to one of Earth One’s religions? There are trials, tribulations, good, evil … this is a cautionary tale, and one that ends in a measure of redemption. Let’s prepare a brief and present it to the Collective.”
Torlock 6096 was stunned.
“But we don’t really believe this, do we?” she said with brows raised. “I mean, this is a monumental discovery in its own right, and we should celebrate it. But presenting it as anything else is being deceptive. It’s not a holy book, it’s just … a book.”
Glandick 871 shrugged.
“Deceptive? I believe deception for the greater good is merely guilelessness in disguise. We know there is more to be learned about OE, but we also know we won’t have the opportunity again if we don’t take some liberties.”
The next morning the pair appeared before a small assembly of ambassadors via hologram.
“Eminences, we deeply appreciate your time today and we think it’ll be well worth it,” Glandick 871 said. “As you know from the advance material you received, our latest trip to Original Earth resulted in the discovery of 388 pages of what we believe to be an authoritative book of scripture. After this find, we would request that we be able to return in hopes of uncovering even more books representing more faiths. There is obviously much more to the lost civilization and we feel there might also be invaluable artifacts to be uncovered.”
Members of the collective read the first passage:
The great fish moved silently through the night water, propelled by short sweeps of its crescent tail. The mouth was open just enough to permit a rush of water over the gills. There was little other motion: an occasional correction of the apparently aimless course by the slight raising or lowering of a pectoral fin—as a bird changes direction by dipping one wing and lifting the other.
“It appears that the deity of OE worshippers are what scientists once called Carcharodon Carcharias,” Glandick 871 said. “But more importantly, we have learned the title of the book is JAWS, which we believe is an acronym for Journal Attesting Worship Sects. It is written by Peter Benchley, who we assume was most likely a highly placed spiritual leader. With your support – and your funding – we are confident we can excavate even more of his teachings and, thus, uncover the secrets of Original Earth.”