A satellite orbits a blue planet, huge solar panels extended like wings.
Alpha, do you have Carrier?
Negative. Monument blocking.
Bravo, do you have Carrier?
Roger that. I have him clear.
Very well. Stand by.
Nothing more was recorded for eight minutes and forty-eight seconds. Time was irrelevant to the machines.
I think Messenger has arrived. Stand by.
Confirmed. It’s Messenger. Messenger is approaching Carrier. Alpha, do you have Messenger?
Roger that.
Bravo, do you still have Carrier?
Roger that.
Very well. Stand by. Transport, move into position.
Four point three seconds of silence followed.
Transport. Acknowledge.
A second later:
Transport. Acknowledge.
Four point nine seconds passed.
Alpha, do you have Messenger?
Roger that.
Bravo, do you have Carrier?
Roger that.
You have my green. I repeat. You have my green.
Three heartbeats later:
Transport, Transport. Respond.
There was no response.
I’ll transport in my vehicle. Maintain positions. Keep me advised.
Nothing more was recorded for six minutes and sixteen seconds.
This is Alpha. Two males approaching from the north. I have them clear.
Alpha, take no action. Do I have time to retrieve Carrier?
Negative.
Very well. Stand by.
One minute and forty three seconds later:
This is Alpha. The two males have stopped. They may have sighted Carrier. They have sighted Carrier. They’re approaching Carrier. I have them clear.
Alpha, take no action. Transport acknowledge.
Two point four seconds of silence.
Return to jump-off. I repeat. Return to jump-off.
After thirty-five minutes elapsed, a program dictated that the transmission was complete and the recording was compressed and sent in a single microsecond burst to a computer, where, in the space of nanoseconds, it was analyzed to determine if it met certain parameters. The computer concluded the recording did indeed meet those parameters, and at the speed of light it was routed through a fiberoptic cable and deposited in a server, where it would reside until a human being made a decision.