Meeting the Aliens

By Simon Tilley

The news around the world was the same. Everybody was talking about it. On their telephones and on the Internet, people were spreading the news. An alien spaceship had entered the solar system. The spaceship was heading to Earth.

It was being watched by every telescope strong enough to see it. People were camping in their gardens. They were camping in the parks. Everyone was looking at the night sky hoping for a glimpse of it. Wow!

The President of the United States went on television to make an announcement:

“I can confirm that space agencies around the world are receiving messages, in all languages, from an alien spacecraft heading to Earth. N.A.S.A. the North American Space Administration has said that the spacecraft is currently nearing Jupiter. It will reach Earth’s orbit at one pm tomorrow afternoon Eastern Standard Time. The aliens have told us that because of our atmosphere they cannot come down to Earth. We must go into space and meet them.”

At N.A.S.A, two astronauts, Diego Martinez and Dr Julie Peterson were called to an emergency meeting by Dr Kevin Bao, head of Launch Control. “In less than twenty-four hours from now,” he said “the alien spaceship will reach Earth. We have to send a group of people into space to meet them.”

“I am nervous,” said Diego Martinez. “Are they friendly?”

“Yes, we are sure,” said Dr Bao. ”Here is the first message they sent.” He pressed a button on his desk and played the message.

‘Hello, Earthlings. We are from a planet near the star you call Alpha Centauri. We come in peace. We have important news for you.”

“OK,” said Dr Peterson, “We’ll get ready.”

The next morning the alien spaceship was in orbit around the earth. The two astronauts were in the rocket and ready for lift off. The shops were closed. The roads were empty. The world went silent.

“Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Liftoff!”

The rocket blasted off into the sky. It took an hour to reach the alien ship and another half an hour for the two ships to join. The doors were about to open.

What did the aliens look like? Everyone wanted to know.

When the first astronaut, Dr Peterson, opened the door she was greeted by flying aliens.

There were five of them. They were quite small, each no more than a meter long. They had long faces like an anteater. Their bodies were furry. They had short thin legs that hung down at the back. They had arms that were tucked under their wings.

They were not wearing any clothes.

For about ten seconds everyone stared at each other. The humans tall and upright and the aliens flying motionlessly like hummingbirds. Then the silence was broken.

“Hello human, welcome to our spaceship, please come in.”

Both astronauts entered the alien ship.

“Hello my name is Julie Peterson and this is Diego Martinez. Take us to your leader.”

“This way please,” said one.

The aliens flew off down a corridor and the astronauts floated after them.

They were taken into a large room with cushions on the floor. When the door had shut behind them one of the aliens waved his arm over a control panel. This created gravity.

“Please sit,” said the biggest one. “My name is Skill. I am the captain of this ship. We have been watching your planet for more than a hundred earth years. You are in grave danger!”

“What do you mean?” asked Dr Peterson.

Skill flew in closer, “Your use of plastic is destroying your seas and oceans. There are too many plastic bottles, bags and fishing nets in the water.”

He then turned to his science officer who continued:

“We think that in 60 years from now you will have so much pollution that your seas, oceans and all that live therein will be dead. You must act now.”

Skill flew across the room and pointed at a bright crystal surrounded by a blue iridescent mist.

“If you agree to use plastic more responsibly we will share our science with you.”

Martinez looked at Dr Peterson then looked at Skill and said: “I’m sure our leaders will listen to you.”

Back on Earth a video meeting was held between the United Nation and the aliens. The world’s leaders agreed on a statement that read: ‘The people of Earth feel both embarrassed and sorry for what we are doing to our planet. We promise to use less plastic and recycle more.”

When the aliens heard this they decided to share the energy from the crystal. This new form of energy helped governments to reduce the use of coal, gas and oil. The new energy was called hellonium.

Everybody on earth tried very hard to use less plastic. Within two years the seas and oceans were clean and free of waste. The air was fresh again. The fish had come back but the aliens had gone.

There was a global party on the day they left. A message was written in lights and beamed into the night sky. It read:

‘Goodbye aliens, thank you for everything, we promise to look after our planet.’

Do you think they really went away or are they still watching?

Fun things to do.

1. Find, circle, and say these ten words:

Earthlings, spacecraft, launch, beamed, solar, orbit, rocket, humming, N.A.S.A, President

2. How many astronauts met the aliens?

A.   1               B.  2                    C.  3                      D.  4

3. On page 1 what does solar mean?

A. Sun            B. Moon              C. Planet               D. Jupiter.

4. Who was Skill?

A. Someone at N.A.S.A    B. Someone at the United Nations

C. An Astronaut   D. An alien

5. Discuss – What should people do to save the planet?

- Total nr. of readings: 5,265 Copyright © The author [2020] All Rights Reserved. This story may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the author except for personal use.