# Not alone in the universe

Игорь Дьячишин

More than thirty years have passed since we were made sure that we were not

alone in the universe.


Aliens appeared unexpectedly in Jupiter's orbit: a huge space fleet with

unknown intentions.


Our governments, of course, did not immediately tell us. But, in principle, they

could not remain silent for long.


However, soon enough, the aliens contacted us.


Messages in several world languages were sent on different radio frequencies.


They said they would not harm us.


They said they would leave after a while.


And most importantly, they said: 'Please don't interfere with us.'


As if we could do much!


'YOU ARE NOT INTERESTING TO US.'


That was all.


Of course, people are people. The sensation was accompanied by the fuss of

politicians, covered by the media. Not without loud statements, of course:


'Aliens are preparing for an invasion!'


'The government is secretly negotiating with the aliens!'


Funny.


We were simply shown our place.


They even said something to us. I would say they showed remarkable

generosity.


The fleet moved around the solar system for three decades. During this time,

they managed to recycle Jupiter's moon, Europa, and many main belt asteroids.


Then they headed straight for the sun.


We were afraid. We trembled. We had our hopes.


But they just disappeared, taking the resources they needed.


The talking heads in the media and various interpreters have not calmed down

so far.


It is so difficult for many of us to accept the truth.


We invented fairy tales in which kind aliens help humanity. We made up horror

stories about invasion, enslavement, or destruction. We considered ourselves

worthy of close attention. But the real aliens just glimpsed at us. What a blow to

human pride!


My father was one of those who'd hoped. He had a reputation for being

eccentric even before the aliens came. With the first news, he firmly believed

that the aliens would save us. I remember he did not show even a shadow of

fear, which was strange. Personally, I was afraid. And not only me: probably,

most of the population of Earth, who did not know what to expect, was at least

somewhat afraid of the terrible scenarios drawn by the imagination.


Dad always, for as long as I can remember, took the suffering of humankind to

heart. And he sincerely hoped aliens would help us.


But those space travellers destroyed all illusions with their messages, and he

could not live as before. He could not live anymore at all.


The night after the messages, he left home. Later, it turned out that he climbed

to the fifteenth floor of an unfinished building and jumped out of the window.


Indeed, he was a strange man. He worried about humanity but did not think

about loved ones. How many were like him on this planet?


Most of my life took place during the stay of aliens in the solar system.


Scientists have achieved little in their research (we are told so, at least). They

say alien technologies are simply unimaginable for us.


Those aliens just left.


A final shot to the head. A second blow to our ego.


They did not find anything interesting in us.


If they were looking for it at all, of course.