FIRST CONTACT: Bangalore, 2024
Location: Kempegowda International Terminal
Everything is... mechanical.
My hearts nearly stopped when I first saw them - rows and rows of transport beings, all mechanized, all... contained. The ones we call "cars" lined up in designated spaces, forced to stay still, no grazing space, no communal gathering areas. What kind of civilization does this to their transport beings?
Had to stop myself from crying when I saw one locked behind something they call "automated parking gate." Back home, our transport beings roam freely through crystal meadows, grazing on natural fuel, their gentle anti-gravity hums a constant soundtrack to our lives. But here... here they're all metal and machinery.
The large ones (designation: "buses") at least seem to have more space to move, though they're confined to specific paths. I watched one nuzzle against another in what appeared to be a greeting ritual, but humans around me called it an "accident" and seemed distressed. Don't they understand basic transport being social behaviors?
My own appearance seems to confuse them - I chose what our database suggested was peak Earth fashion (maximum puff sleeves, carefully teased hair, saree in precisely the shade of orange our last cultural update recorded). But their reaction to my attempts to comfort every parked transport being I pass is more concerning. Apparently patting them and whispering "brave one" is not standard protocol here.
*Emergency log entry, written while hiding in airport bathroom after emotional breakdown over seeing a "towed" vehicle*:
- Transport beings: All mechanized
- No free-range parking spaces
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
- Humans show no respect for their emotional needs
- Had to stop myself from singing traditional transport being lullaby
- Spotted one leaking oil - humans called it "maintenance issue" instead of treating it like the cry for help it clearly was
- May have accidentally called a Wagon R "noble steed" in public
- Is that not how it happens?
[ENCRYPTED NOTE TO HIGH COMMAND: Most concerning development - spotted something called a "traffic signal" that appears to control transport being movement through colored lights. Possible mind control device? Must investigate further. Also, need more tissues.]
*Addendum: Just witnessed something called "parallel parking." Still shaking. How could they force them into such unnatural positions?*
keep calm and write. keep calm and write
Our research said humans had barely mastered basic computing, yet the small beings in their hands seem to contain entire universes. Was our data wrong? Have they achieved quantum manipulation? At least my calculator watch still works, though a small child just pointed at it and said "vintage," which I must investigate later for signs of temporal displacement properties.
The glass doors opened themselves. WITHOUT any respect for basic physical laws. I had practiced the standard door-opening greeting for weeks, and now I discover they've taught their doors to... move on their own? And nobody even acknowledges this miracle? A human child just walked through while watching something called "Reels" without even a thank you to the door!
My carefully chosen attire (maximum puff sleeves for optimal authority, hair teased to regulation height, synthetic saree in the exact shade of orange last recorded in 1985's "Disco Dancer") is drawing more attention than anticipated. But not the right kind. Someone just asked if I'm "going viral." I assured them I'm in perfect health, but they kept filming me with their palm-sized reality manipulators.
The customs officer looked at my collection of Kumar Sanu mixtapes (essential Earth music, according to our database) like they were artifacts from another planet. Which, technically... but that's not the point.
"Purpose of visit?"
"Academic research.", at least that bit is true
"Are you doing this for Instagram?"
I made a note to research if "Instagram" is a new Earth deity.
keep calm and write!