Chapter 6 - Do Not Meddle With The Unknown
Edis sat in his chair, wearing a smile on his face.
Two weeks had passed since his last conversation with Infer.
Within this timeframe, the two approaching ships would arrive at ED Moon in a relatively short time.
ED Moon, as Edis liked to call the moon where he resided, was his name. He enjoyed the naming process.
The naming made him feel a little bit more humane, or something more natural instead of consciousness inside of an android.
After a few minutes, Infer began to speak.
"Ding, Host, our energy and mass levels have stabilized at one point. You won't be able to produce anything new until production resumes, and you'll have to wait until more mass and energy are produced."
Edis nodded in acknowledgment.
He had been expecting as much. When his energy and mass levels reached 1 point, the remaining mass and energy would support his body and mass. Which means that he cannot just go on to spend all the energy and mass he has.
Doing so would basically render him immobile or dead by biological life-form standards.
Just as Edis was about to rise from his seat, Infer sent him another notification.
"Ding"
"We've received a communication signal from the approaching ships. You can start conversing if you wish."
Edis pondered for a moment and replied, "Let's communicate in written form."
With Edis's words, a communication network was established.
Kriz Cruiser One
"Commander Eflor, we've received a response to the communication signal we sent; the other party wishes to communicate in written form."
Eflor paused briefly, placing his hand on his chin.
"They don't want to reveal themselves," he thought, then turned to Arian and gave his approval.
"Initiate the communication."
With Eflor's command, a black window opened on the large screen panel in front of him.
"Hello," Eflor said. As his words were typed, "Hello" appeared in written form on the screen and was sent.
Eflor and the others waited for a while and received a response.
"Commander Eflor, we've received a response to the communication signal we sent; the other party wishes to communicate in written form."
Eflor paused briefly, placing his hand on his chin. It was uncommon for an intelligent galactic civilization or any kind of organization with technology to travel between stars and not communicate face-to-face.
"They don't want to reveal themselves," he thought, then turned to Arian and gave his approval.
"Initiate the communication."
With Eflor's command, a black window opened on the large screen panel in front of him.
"Hello," Eflor said. As his words were typed, "Hello" appeared in written form on the screen and was sent.
Eflor and the others waited for a while and received a response.
"Hello, you are within the ED Tech Civilization region. May I inquire about your purpose?"
Eflor hesitated and turned to Arian.
"Arian, research it immediately; find out what you can about ED Tech."
Arian took a deep breath and turned to his keyboard, swiftly beginning his research. In about five seconds, he had found the information he was looking for.
"Commander Eflor, there is no historical record of a civilization named ED Tech."
Eflor gently closed his eyes.
"What should we do?" he thought. Eflor was not foolish; at least he didn't see himself as such.
The Kriz Civilization was not a particularly large or advanced civilization. They had discovered FTL technology only 200 years ago and were not technologically advanced.
But that didn't mean they were foolish.
Eflor took a deep breath and began to speak.
"We mean no harm; we simply wish to meet and, if you're willing, engage in trade," he said.
Eflor's voice came out strong and confident.
A few seconds later, a response came.
"ED Tech is not currently interested in meeting anyone or engaging in trade relations. If you wish to establish contact, we can exchange communication signals. But afterward, we ask that you leave the ED-1 Star System."
Eflor's face displayed a sly smile as he read the message. The smile appeared momentarily, then returned to a calm expression.
At that moment, Arian began to speak.
"Commander, what should we do when we encounter such a situation in Kriz Civilization's space policies?" he asked.
When Eflor heard Arian's question, he narrowed his eyes and replied.
"Touch not the unknown; meddle not with the unknown," he said.
The Kriz Civilization didn't know much about other civilizations besides their own. They knew of only three civilizations, and one of them was entirely different in nature.
The Sky Nebula People were the strongest known civilization to them. As they were not a hostile civilization, they had provided as much basic information to the Kriz Civilization as possible, in exchange for minerals and other goods.
There was one thing Eflor knew for certain. It had been deeply ingrained in him.
"Touch not the unknown; meddle not with the unknown," Eflor whispered again.
After a while, he paused and stood up again.