Free Xenophobia by Peter Cawdron

” the ambassador asked. “ I thought the constellations had names like Aries or Gemini? ”
    “ These are real names, ” the speaker confirmed. “ Triangulum may not have any exotic meaning like Scorpio, but it is a legitimate constellation, first identified by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy well before the birth of Christ .”
    “ So this ... this thing ,” the ambassador asked. “ Tell us more about what NASA observed as it approached Earth .”
    “ The craft did not approach Earth directly. It passed through the inner solar system, swinging around behind the sun and slowing before it approached Earth. At the phenomenal speed with which it initially approached our solar system, the alien craft would have arrived here within a few hours, perhaps a day or so. But it slowed its approach, shedding its kinetic energy, taking over six months to reach us. But I must stress, covering this kind of immense distance in less than several years is phenomenal in itself. As it was, the craft arrived at Lagrange point five trailing Earth just eight days ago and has remained stationary in that location since then .”
    " Could you expand upon what a Lagrange point is for the assembly? "
    " Sure ," the scientist replied. " We think of outer space as empty, but it's not. Gravity shapes space, molding it into what could be figuratively described as different forms, different shapes. Think of a street map. Maps show us how to get from one place to another, but maps are flat, they don't reveal the hills and gullies that define the land, and so we make topographical maps, maps with wavy lines to indicate the contours of the land. In much the same way, we see space as flat, but the gravitational attraction of the Sun, Moon and Earth means we need a topographical view of space, something to show us the gravitational hills and gullies. A Lagrange point is an area that acts like a hilltop. From a Lagrange point, any which way you move is down, moving under the influence of gravity in one way or another. "
    " And so this is expected? "
    " I don't know about expected, but it's smart. They're sitting a way off, in a place from which they can easily go anywhere. They can come to Earth, go to the Moon, or retreat into interplanetary space with ease, with a minimum of effort. "
    " So you'd say this is a defensive position rather than an offensive one? "
    " I ... I don't know, " the scientist replied. " I don't know that it makes any sense to draw military parallels with their location. It could be neither offensive nor defensive, just practical. "
    " What do you think their next move will be? "
    " Well, I doubt they came here for sightseeing. They didn't just happen to cruise into our solar system, they were always headed for Earth. They knew exactly where they were going long before we ever saw them. I think it only makes sense to assume they'll make contact. "
    " How? "
    " Mr. Ambassador, I'm a scientist, not a soothsayer. We'll have to wait and see. "
    " Humor me, " the ambassador said. " What's the most likely scenario? "
    " There’s no likely scenario. We're in uncharted territory. We think they picked up on our electromagnetic radiation, our TV and radio signals as they have been beamed into space over the past century, but they've made no effort to communicate with us via radio waves and have ignored our attempts to dialogue. "
    " And how have you tried to open dialogue? "
    " With crude methods, with communication akin to the semaphore used between naval vessels in World War I. Just flashes of light deliberately sweeping across their craft, but following a pattern of prime numbers. All we're looking for in return is an acknowledgement on the same frequency, but there's been nothing. It's like they're not listening, which is counterintuitive given they've just flown dozens of light-years to get here. "
    " And what do you make of that? "
    " I think the only thing we can make of it is that their ways are not our ways, their mode of