Life Form Energy Packets ©2011GaryCGibson (a science fiction short story)

Sometime in September Hyron Forty-Seven noticed a faster-than-light neutrino stream of consciousness video input on the cold dark matter telescope input screen stimulating a scramble to be the first to announce to the world a discovery of life on another world. At least it was assumed a world-rock was the foundation of the equilibrium of intelligent beings capable of reasoning like us.

Quantum computing simulations of the digital input made video meaning paradigms of the neutrino-input stream within a variety of logical linguistic structures converting those to meaningful video assuming that only a finite number of visual structures and structural relations exist within any given finite band of wavelength selected for observation.

Soon Hyron Forty-Seven's team management superiors determined that the alien communication form was just one-hundred seventy-nine light years away and awaiting earth visitation. They boldly choose to go where no Earthers had gone before-the aliens provided instructions for construction of a neutrino drive-ram adaptable to any sub-light speed space craft to put it over the edge of light speed.

At the Chicago Pizza Spaceflight headquarters systems managers spent several weeks collecting the best samples of Earth energy trade materials to induce alien life forms to sign trade contracts. Tyrannosaur One, a liquid fueled rocket carrying seventeen universonauts and five tons of cargo looked bloated around the middle with a neutrino ex post facto field simulator made to catch faster than light neutrinos and convert them into mass carrying particles submerging the Tyrannosaur One in the non-local faster than light field in the exchange of massless to massful particles.

Within minutes of switching on the neutrino exchange engine Tyrannosaur One arrived at a cold, dark moon orbiting a neutron star. The ship rested on a platform bathed in cold blue-grey light. Several crystal-like transparent figures stood around the ship as sentinels awaiting the new crew. Jacque Queblot, the nominal trader-first among equals of the top one percent clan in charge of most Earthly things walked outside the ship’s open door and ordered forklifts to bring the energy nuggets out front immediately.

The gifts for the aliens were the best energy units for food consumption available. Thousands of insects, reptiles and even rare sea spiders in special containment cages were driven from the ship cargo and piled higher and deeper before the alien life forms observing in electronic silence. The wildlife, much of it made of carbohydrates made a cacophony of twittering noises in the last moments as time for them resumed normal speed.

The aliens crystal life forms advanced closer to the complete crew and spoke in a transcending language resounding through all wavelengths to the life forms assembled before them.

“Thanks you Earth creatures for the gift of live energy bearing humanoids. These humans are large energy packets indeed, and probably better with spice on them."

Transforming themselves into an alternative form of seven foot tall insects, they advanced upon the crew of Tyrannosaur One greedily.