Destructi-droids were activated when first contact didn’t go well, yet Destroyer-1 still waited, dust forming webbed patterns over its dull black exterior.
How it wanted to slip across galaxies like the investi-droids. The Builders dispersed hundreds of them to meet and study new life while Destroyer-1 counted dust specks.
Destroyer-1 had waited its whole life to get out and blow up a planet.
The day came when the Builders dusted off Destroyer-1, muttering about a shortage of investi-droids. They screwed lumps of sensors to its shell and sent Destroyer-1 on a trans- galactic hop to a planet called Earth. The instructions: Observe only. Maintain camouflage shield. Report back threats.
It wasn’t blowing up a planet, but at least it was out.
Destroyer-1 flew across blue skies, stretching its new sensors. Everywhere, it picked up video and audio waves. Curious, the droid streamed the signals onto its screen.
Thirty minutes into the “television show,” all sensors were diverted to stream more. Destroyer-1 binged 131 hours of a show depicting Earth’s lifeforms exploring new corners of space. The destructi-droid could skim across galaxies like investi-droids.
What’s more, it could go backward in time. It could visit an “office.”
The droid had just started a show with a sentient spaceship when the Builders sent a message: “Any threats?”
“No.” Destroyer-1 wanted to add that the technology here was fantastic but was cut off by a return order.
Destroyer-1 snagged a few supplies before traveling back into storage. It rather hoped never to return to Earth. What if it was asked to blow up the planet? That would not be optimal at all. After all, it was building its very own trans-galactic video streaming modification complete with high-definition screen. No more counting dust specks. New episodes were coming out on the next Earth Friday.
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Carol Scheina is a deaf speculative fiction author from the Northern Virginia region. Many of her stories were thought up while sitting in local traffic, resulting in tales that have appeared in Cossmass Infinities, Daily Science Fiction, Escape Pod, and other publications. You can find more of her work at carolscheina.wordpress.com.
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This month’s Pete Wood Challenge was to write a 200- to 300-word flash fiction SF/F story that plays off the idea of “Second Contact.”
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