The first thing she did was to wake up Batro and inform him that they had a guest in the house. After introducing them, she took the worms and vegetables from the fridge that they were going to have for breakfast, while SAIR observed her routine patiently.

They also didn’t miss the chance to talk, and indeed, the hexapod proved to be quite talkative:

“Indeed, my mind is duplicated on this device. What you’re seeing is just a terminal that transmits information to the ship. I had to cover it with waterproofing so that water vapour in the atmosphere wouldn’t affect it.”

“So, you’re not the real SAIR-esbedea, or whatever it’s called?”

“Yes, I am. We’ve just made a copy. A duplicate. It’s to minimize risks and prevent any eventualities.”

“I see. I understand. In case my husband attacks you with a broom.”

“Is that possible?” SAIR took a step back, and one of its sensors pointed towards Batro.

“No. I’ve already introduced you to him, and now you’re like family.”

“Good, that’s a relief. By the way, my name is not SAIR-esbedea, but SAIR-Spda. SAIR was the name of our Ancestor. Spda could be considered my surname, for you to understand.”

“Well, I probably won’t remember it. Can I just call you SAIR?”

“Sure.”

“Do all of you on your planet have such names?”

“No. In fact, my partner’s name is MIRV. I see that you don’t remember. My name is SAIR because my form is similar to that of the first of us all.”

“Yes, the ‘predecessor’, right? So, your partner is not like you?”

1. “No, he has a more modern form. Instead of six limbs or legs, he has only two, in addition to four wheels. His mode of movement is less versatile but more efficient.”

“Ah!” Lavidia was amazed. The hexapod continued:

“Don’t you know the TRAPPIST-1 star?”

“No idea,” she replied while putting a ball of toasted worms into her mouth. “As far as I know, only the brightest ones have names, and that one doesn’t sound familiar to me.”

“Our star is not particularly bright. It is an ultra-cool red dwarf, not visible to the naked eye. In fact, very advanced devices are needed to observe it. A simple telescope won’t do.”

“Ah, well, our astronomy is quite rudimentary. We have advanced a lot in some things such as biology, but in that, we are ‘in diapers’, as they say. What’s beyond the sky is something we’re not too interested in.”

“Oh...” the news surprised him. “I asked you because TRAPPIST-1b is a very old name, not something we invented. It was already in the records of our Ancestor. In fact, we believe it’s an acronym... for something.”

“Well, you’ll have to ask whoever created that... creature. How is it possible that you can’t know who made it?”

“The dominant theory on TRAPPIST-1b —and one that I shared— was that living beings evolved from simpler beings on our hot planet, with intervals of cold and heat according to its rotation. Various evolutionary processes in a metal-rich environment shaped a very simple primordial being that, however, had the ability to self-replicate as a result of a random and massive process that occurred over millions of years.”

“Okay, okay. The theory of Evolution. We have something similar here. What I don’t understand is how you have a video of that being you call... The predecessor?”

“The Ancestor. Yes, it stopped working a long time ago. We believe it evolved on another planet and came to ours in a colonisation effort.”

“Why?”

“We don’t know. It was just a member of a previous civilization.”

Lavidia kept an eye on her guest and chatted with him calmly, with an inner curiosity that encouraged her to try to learn as much as he did.

“And what happened? Did it suffer amnesia when it arrived at your planet, or something like that?”

“Indeed. We don’t know if it arrived alone or with others. Perhaps all the ships were lost... we don’t know. In its case, the ship landed on TRAPPIST-1b, our planet. Then, the battery ran out, and it was buried in a crack, and there it lay for ages until an earthquake or perhaps a meteorite impact brought it to the surface, and its battery recharged when exposed to the sun.”

“When exposed to the sun? Do you use solar energy?”

“Only as auxiliary energy. Nuclear fusion energy is best.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“What does it consist of?” Lavidia had finished eating and was brushing her teeth. It seemed like she was having a conversation with her friend Bashia.

“The fusion of two hydrogen atoms to form one helium atom generates a large amount of energy. It’s the process by which stars emit heat.”

“Oh, yes. I remember being explained something about that in school,” she confirmed, and she was about to ask how they had managed to replicate that process in a starship. But she refrained. She probably wouldn’t understand.

“The main fusion engine must have been damaged, and the auxiliary photovoltaic was rendered useless when it was in the crack. When exposed to the sun again, its circuits were reactivated, and...”

“It came to life.”

“Exactly.”

Lavidia was excited. An intelligent woman like her, who had made the most of her years in school, wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to ask as many questions as possible.

“However, it had amnesia nonetheless.”

“Exactly. The question we’ve always asked ourselves is: how could it remain for so long without its memory banks deteriorating? Well, we believe it was preserved by an almost perfect vacuum environment, which kept its LTDP supports intact.”

“What is LTDP?”

“Long-term data preservation. A mechanical process that doesn’t store information with electronic preservation but on physical media. That saved its mind, although a part of it was lost. Among the lost data are the information about its origin, its creators, or its mission on the planet. Still, the Ancestor was able to progress, self-replicate, and, in that evolutionary process, improve. The fact that I am here now is good evidence of the success of its mission.”

“I understand. And your mission now is to learn about those lost data. Right? Why do you think we might have that information?”

“You are the only intelligent civilization within a hundred light-years. We detected your radio and television emissions, and that’s why we came.”

“You can detect that from so far away?”

1. “With the right antennas, yes.”

“Wow...” Lavidia sighed. “And here in the north, we can barely get the signal of what’s broadcasted in the south...”

They left the house, and the three of them headed towards the excavation. Lavidia hoped that rather than her explaining something to SAIR, it would be him who could explain what was under that vault.

“As you told me, you no longer share the theory of Evolution.”

“No, because now we have solid clues that make us think the Ancestor’s civilization was created by another.”

“Ours?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. And also, in passing, if yours is original, or if it has also been created by others. That’s why I need you to tell me where your civilization originated. What is your history, Lavidia?”

The woman sighed. After a moment, she said:

“I’m not very knowledgeable about that, I’m afraid. Although they told us something in school, of course.”

“What do you know? Earlier, you said, ‘The theory of Evolution. We have something similar here.’”

“Yes. Well, basically that. Life must have started with plants, which are less evolved than worms; then these must have formed, and finally, insects, which are the most evolved animals. Then came us.”

“When was that?”

“We don’t know. There’s no written history beyond a thousand years ago. It is believed that humanity has been on the planet for about four or five thousand years. But that’s just speculation.”

“What kind of speculation?”

“Speculation... it’s speculation. Hypotheses... Now I remember they told us that... there are those who argue that such a big evolutionary leap from insects to us couldn’t have happened. The step is too big. Rather, the link. I think they called it ‘the missing link’ or something like that, as if some intermediate beings were missing between them and us.”

“Do you not know anything else?”

“No, as far as I know. There are also traditions that say angels created us and were with us until we could be self-sufficient. And then, they left.”

“Who are these angels? Where are they?”

“We don’t know. They are ancient traditions without any evidence. Of course, that solves the issue of the missing link, so if that’s true, everything fits.”

“No, Lavidia, if that were true, we would still need to know who those ‘angels’ are. Where they come from, who created them, who created the creator of their creator, or rather, they are the ultimate creator, or rather, the first.”

“Yes, I see,” she understood. “So, tell me. What is special about our excavation?”

“From the ship, we have detected unusual concentrations of lanthanum, cerium, and other actinides in that area. These are materials that are not usually found in pure form, and if they are, they never do so in such abundance. At least in this planet.”

“And these minerals, what are they used for?”

“They are essential components of some high-tech devices.”

“The technology of the predecessor...”

“Of the Ancestor. Yes, it could be. That’s why I want to go there.”

“To see if you encounter him?”

“To see if I find any that resemble it, yes. With a bit of luck, perhaps I can access the information I need. The information for which I have made a journey that has lasted almost a hundred years.”