The Visitor

“Remember, you can only inhabit metallic objects.” The memory was the only thing he could hold onto while he plummeted to his new home. The drop was the most difficult piece of his mission. His species were conquerors; they had spent the past thousand years searching out a challenge. The last world they inhabited within four days.

Concentrating, Ruon narrowed his thoughts to the objects ahead. Organic matter, organic matter… One possibility rose above him within the target landing area. It was entirely metallic elements, of a suitable size, and unmoving. Ruon aimed himself toward it and made contact.

Ruon was disoriented for a short time. When he regained consciousness, he took in his surroundings. Few objects of interest populated his sight. This planet appeared to be inhabited entirely of organic matter. This planet, Earth, must be an inferior planet. Why would they send him to invade an inferior planet?

He moved over the asphalt-like surface in front of him. Then he realized he couldn’t move. The metallic object he had invaded was fixed to the ground with large bolts. How was he to move?

The first order of business was to make contact with other organisms on this rock. Ruon ignored the organics out of hand – he had no desire to communicate with such inferior life forms. There were several wheeled metallic objects whizzing by at high speeds.

“Hello there? Hey – you! Excuse me? Stop!” Ruon hailed many of the wheeled monstrosities as they passed. None slowed or acknowledged him in any way. He persisted, until one of them finally pulled to a stop some distance away.

“I come from a distant planet called Troyika. I have come to conquer. Bow to me.”

There was no response at first. A moment later, a panel opened on each side and two organisms emerged. Ruon assessed them as organic. What were organics doing with the metallic monstrosities? Something was very wrong here. He caught sound and focused his attention there. It was the organics. They were conversing. How was this possible?

The organics stopped and began yelling at something. Ruon couldn’t determine what excited them, so he observed these curious creatures to report back. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to conquer this world by himself, now. Not with the organics in charge.

The largest wheeled vehicle he’d seen yet (for they must be vehicles if they were used to carry the organics) stopped very near him. As he’d feared, there was no intelligence behind it, only organics inside. They were converging on him. Did they know who he was? What he was doing? Ruon tensed as they brought their tools to his landing site. There was a wrenching motion, a pulling and a harnessing, and he felt a liquid coursing through his inhabited object. He could follow the pipe attached to him to the source of the disruption. The organics were using water to put out a fire.

Ruon left Earth, bound for home, unable to stand being surrounded by apparently intelligent organic life forms any longer.