Lemuria

Not too much later, Vigo heard someone moving, above him, in the control room. The sounds were distinctive as a fingerprint. It was Marius.

Vigo climbed up the narrow ladder. Marius, or at least a replica, was sitting in front of a vidscreen. His shoulders were relaxed, as if nothing had happened to him. He was browsing images of Western art. Vigo challenged the occupant immediately “You’re not Marius, are you?” The biologist didn’t feel inclined to put up with any more alien bullshit.

Marius turned to him, cocked an eyebrow and answered “Is it obvious to you?”

Shocked by the reply, Vigo answered “Not exactly. A deduction.” Pale blue lights on the control panel indicated that the computer had begun to record their conversation.

“No, I don’t suppose I am Marius.” it said.

Vigo walked over to the imposter like a tavern brawler looking for a fight “What happened to him?”

It stared back at him “Why are you so concerned? From what we gather, you are all copies of an original. Why not simply make additional copies?”

“He was my friend.”

‘Marius’ raised an eyebrow and answered “The template we took was used to make a version closer to our own biology. At the same time, it was used to make a version of us that was closer to your own biology.”

Vigo stopped to consider the response, fighting back a surge of anger. He tried to remember he was dealing with an alien. “Is he OK?”

“Do you recognize this picture?” The imposter pointed to an image on the screen. It was Botticelli’s Birth of Venus.

Vigo decided to play along “Yes, it is a sixteenth century painting usually considered to be a masterpiece.”

“He is adapting to the situation faster than we expected. He has suffered a thousand fold increase in cognitive ability......”

“Why the painting?”

The imposter smiled at the interruption “The other version of your friend offered it as proof of your species’ intellectual achievement. It was necessary to see it from this frame of reference to evaluate the validity of his assertion.”

Vigo sat down and smiled and crouched near the imposter. Marius was, in some sense, OK, and was offering his services as an art critic. He offered the flask to the impostor and was surprised when the alien took it.

“The meaning of the painting varies from one viewer to the next-intentionally. To most viewers it is a pictorial representation of a mythological event that represents the origin of a personification of beauty.” Vigo continued, walking closer to the screen “To me, it also represents a personal attempt to create an image of beauty that will last longer than any single individual’s physical beauty. There is a sexual undercurrent that simultaneously contradicts and compliments the original message.”

Satisfied, ‘Marius’ flipped past two more images; Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and Nia Sisnon’s Identity and Time.” He turned around and spoke in a serious tone “What was your purpose in coming here?”

Vigo laughed “Intellectual curiosity. An innate need to explore. Perhaps we also hoped other civilizations might teach us answers to philosophical and scientific problems we could never solve alone.”

The impostor stood up and finished the contents of the flask, as if confirming his suspicion about the contents. “These situations are dangerous to both cultures. The longer they continue, the greater the danger. There are answers, yes, but each one brings with it conflicts a culture is not yet equipped to resolve.”

Vox shuddered. It shouldn’t have taken a hyper intelligent slime mold to tell him that. Contact between vastly different societies brought with it unexpected and far-reaching consequences. The sheer impact of new ideas brought down many Terrestrial societies; the Inca and Mayan empires, precolonial India and New Zealand. Feudal Japan only survived by barring outsiders. Social collapse could be endured and even have positive consequences, but as the technological base of a culture increased, it brought a species progressively closer to extinction. The societal meltdowns of the 5th, 13th, 21st and 28th centuries brought humanity progressively closer to destruction each time. Could it also be true for entities as different as this? He couldn’t imagine the chaos it would create among the Lemurians if even a small fraction of them demanded to act independently of the others. Perhaps such a minority already existed.

“You can’t stay here much longer. Marius has suggested you return to your home planet with this.”

‘Marius’ handed him a metal cylinder approximately ten centimeters long. It was incredibly heavy, and cold to the touch.

“What is it?”

“It’s a riddle, a calling card, an unsolved problem that will bother you. When you’ve solved it, our cultures will be ready to communicate without so many unpleasant surprises.”

With that, the visitor disappeared into thin air.

There were no alarms this time. The computer simply woke the sleeping crewmembers and suggested they enter the control room. The view on the vidscreen was breathtaking. All around them, dense as packed sand, were blazing red suns.