Voyager I was an investment in humanity’s hope. We are lonely and we want so desperately to know we are not alone. Voyager’s chief goal was to send back information regarding the solar system but it was loaded with music from Earth, a picture of our DNA strand, pictures of a nude man and woman, and other information. We knew that someday it would leave the solar system and enter deep space.
Around 2199 Voyager was scooped up by a spaceship whose home was at the far end of the galaxy.
“What have we here?” bellowed the Captain whose tentacle touched the cool metal of the Voyager.
“Oh, it’s adorable,” cried the alien child. She was the Captain’s daughter and quite spoiled. She had four tentacles. A symbol of her youth. “Can we keep it?”
“What is it?” the Captain looked perplexed.
“It’s a primitive flying device,” said the Chief Scientist. “The parts and materials are very basic. Oh, look. There’s a disc. There is information.”
All the aliens peered at the disc and saw the nude man and woman. “Yuck,” cried the Captain. “Horrible beasts.”
“There’s audio.” The Chief Scientist latched his laser to the disc and Chuck Berry filled the command deck.
“For the galaxy’s sake turn that blasted thing off.” The Captain was edging into a bad mood.
“I think this is meant to be a message from those beings etched on the disk.” The Chief Scientist was positive of this and wanted to investigate more.
“Can I keep it, daddy? It’s so cute.” The little alien stroked the metal of Voyager.
“We should study it,” said the scientist.
“When my daughter is done cuddling with it, you can have it. Now, let’s get back to our mission.”
The alien girl loved Voyager for several months until a silicate rock from a blue planet became her new toy. By that time, the Chief Scientist was no longer interested in Voyager and the probe was sent to the garbage bin to be compressed and recycled. As the Voyager was squeezed Johnny B. Goode played.
Go Johnny go go
Johnny B. Goode
His mother told him “Someday you will be a man
And you will be the leader of a big old band
Many people coming from miles around
To hear you play your music when the sun go down
Maybe someday your name will be in lights
Saying “Johnny B. Goode tonight”
Unfortunately, no one came from miles around to see Earth’s great hope and yearning get squashed into a cube to be used for another galactic ship. The aliens didn’t give a damn about ugly humans on some speck of dust with primitive technology.
THE END
Other Published Works by R.C. Peris:
The Monster Enjoys Elderberry Jam
The Lovely Savage
When a Child Disappears