KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Nelson knocked on the door in front of him until a voice stopped him.
"Come in."
After hearing the voice, Nelson opened the door and entered the NASA director's office. He closed the door softly behind him, then walked toward a man with white hair and dark glasses who was typing something on his laptop. On the left side of his desk was a small glass containing a yellow liquid with ice cubes in it.
Nelson found a chair, pulled it in front of Vincent's desk, and sat down. He placed the report on the desk.
Vincent stopped his work, then looked at Nelson with an unexpected expression. "I thought it was just one of your bad jokes, Nelson. But seeing you come here in person and hang up the phone, that means the information is really important." He rested both his arms on the desk. "Tell me, what did you actually find."
Nelson reached for a pack of cigarettes on the desk, took one out, and lit it with a match. He took a drag, then slowly exhaled the smoke.
"This information… is truly going to change humanity forever," he lamented, taking another drag of his cigarette. "Ahh, my workload is going to increase from now on."
He pushed the report toward Vincent.
Vincent took the report and began to read it. Slowly, his relaxed expression turned serious. He placed the report back on the desk, then reached for the glass of whiskey beside him and downed it.
"Is this information accurate?" he asked in a serious tone, looking sharply at Nelson.
"It's accurate. I've confirmed it. I also contacted the Network Security staff, and they found no errors or glitches whatsoever," Nelson replied, taking another drag of his cigarette.
Vincent tapped the surface of his desk with his right index finger, thinking hard. "So, where is this employee named Peter?" he asked.
"I've already sent him home. He promised not to spread this information," Nelson answered. He put his cigarette out in the ashtray, then grabbed a beautiful porcelain teapot from the desk and poured its contents into a transparent glass before drinking it down. "Wow… expensive drinks really do taste different," he praised, satisfied.
Vincent ignored his friend's behavior. He was weighing whether he should report this to the White House.
If the information in this report is wrong, then I'll be the one to blame, and it will affect my reputation.
But Vincent looked at his friend's face, then back at the report on his desk. Would Nelson dare to set me up? Even if this turns out to be false, I won't lose my position. Nelson should know that.
So… the information in this report is real? But it's hard to believe! The aliens we've been searching for all this time, visualized by film directors as strangely and terrifyingly as possible….
And now you're telling me aliens look the same as humans? And one of them is even wearing medieval knight's armor? Are you kidding me?
Instead of calling them aliens, it would be better to call them time travelers cosplaying in medieval European attire.
Vincent stood up from his chair and took the report from the desk.
"Where are you going?" Nelson asked, seeing his friend rushing out.
Vincent turned his head. "I want to confirm it myself," he replied. "I'm going to the Science Mission Directorate to see if there have been any changes on Mars via satellite imagery from orbit."
Vincent closed his office door and walked away, leaving Nelson still sitting alone in his office.
"Good morning, Mr. Director."
Vincent just nodded at the greetings from the employees he passed. He walked down a hallway with white-painted walls, adorned with the NASA logo and the American flag.
His steps halted in front of a cream-colored door with a plaque that read Science Mission Directorate Headquarters. He took out his ID card and swiped it on the locking device next to the door.
A flat, mechanical voice sounded. "Identity verified: Vincent Daniels."
After the door opened automatically, Vincent pushed it and entered. He saw rows and rows of computers, neatly lined up. Dozens of people seemed focused on their respective jobs.
The Science Mission Directorate had thousands of tasks divided among several offices. This office was one of those responsible for monitoring all of NASA's still-active satellites and the rovers they had sent to Mars. His arrival instantly caused a bit of a stir in the office. He even saw an employee hastily hide a bag of snacks under their desk.
Vincent could only pretend he didn't see it. He sighed. Since when did an organization dedicated to seeking the truths of the universe fall to this point?
In the last thirty years, the discipline of NASA employees had steadily declined. This was also one of the effects of government budget cuts and the pressure to hire employees who didn't even have the appropriate background.
"Sir, it's unusual for you to stop by, especially this early in the morning. What's up?"
Vincent saw a woman with blond hair styled in a neat ponytail. She wore a gray suit, the typical look of an office worker.
"I want to confirm something. Can you take me to a computer that can operate the satellite in Mars's orbit?" he asked.
"Of course." The woman led Vincent to a computer not far from her. "This is Henry's computer. Usually, he's the one who monitors and performs software maintenance on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter."
Vincent saw a young man smiling awkwardly at him. He bent his head slightly to look at Henry's monitor, then looked at the young man. "Henry, can you analyze whether this report is correct?" He handed Peter's report to Henry.
He then turned back to the woman. "Felicia, how many people in this room are assigned to monitor Mars?" he asked.
Felicia didn't understand why her boss was asking that, but she answered anyway. "There are fifteen people here, but not all are responsible for a rover or satellite. The rest perform scientific analysis on Mars."
Vincent nodded in understanding, then looked back at Henry. "Well? Can you direct the satellite to that location?" he asked hopefully.
"Umm… Sir. Is this data correct? I think you might have been pranked," Henry said with a doubtful expression.
"What's wrong, Henry? What kind of data did the Director give you?" Felicia asked curiously.
Henry looked at Vincent, as if asking for permission. Vincent gestured for him to continue. So, without hesitation, Henry recounted the contents of the data.
Hearing the report's contents, Felicia gave Vincent a strange look.
"Don't look at me like that. I got this report from Nelson. His small team found this information from the inactive Rover Prometheus," Vincent explained hastily.
"Henry, can you direct the Reconnaissance Orbiter toward the foot of Olympus Mons?" Felicia no longer considered this just a joke. If a NASA employee did something like that, the consequence was being fired.
"Usually I can't do that," Henry explained calmly. "But, as it happens, a few days ago, the Reconnaissance Orbiter was right above Olympus Mons. However, I hope you don't get your hopes up about seeing the surface at its foot, because the geographical conditions there are covered by sand clouds."
Henry then began typing commands into his computer. Vincent and Felicia understood the basics of this, so they weren't angry.
"These are some of the images the satellite managed to take while passing over the Tharsis Bulge," Henry said. He then activated an AI assistant to filter thousands of images and search for unusual patterns.
Soon after, five filtered images appeared on his monitor. "Hmm, this?" Henry tried to zoom in on a spot that the AI had circled in red.
"This is…!" Henry's eyes widened in shock.
Felicia and Vincent were just as surprised. They saw a structure that looked like a man-made castle.
"Has this object been here before?" Felicia asked hurriedly, leaning toward Henry.
Henry moved back slightly, looking scared, but answered carefully. "No. I've seen images of this area many times, and I trust my memory. Previously, that object was not in the Tharsis Bulge region." He pointed to several black dots that seemed to be moving from the strange object toward Olympus Mons. "These look like moving life forms. Although the image isn't very clear due to the satellite's altitude, these dots are clearly not rocks or other natural objects. They swerve in various directions, which means they're living beings. If we connect this with the image captured by the Rover Prometheus, then we can explain what these dots are."
He pushed up his slightly sagging glasses with his finger.
"Unbelievable! This isn't even logical!" Felicia snapped angrily. "They're not even wearing the equipment needed to survive in such an extreme environment! Just wearing maid's outfits and knight's armor! Do you believe those clothes could protect them from cosmic radiation and temperatures of minus hundreds of degrees at the foot of Olympus Mons?!"
Felicia's outburst instantly made everyone in the room look at them. Realizing this, Vincent quickly warned her. "Shh! Felicia, this information is highly sensitive! If it leaks to the public, it could cause social instability! Do you want to go to jail?"
Felicia immediately covered her mouth, her eyes darting left and right at the people staring at her. "I'm sorry, Mr. Director."
Henry, who heard that, broke into a cold sweat and looked fearfully at Vincent.
"Don't worry," Vincent reassured him. "As long as you don't leak this information to the public, the government won't arrest you. So, are there any living beings that can live in an environment like that?"
Henry sighed in relief, though he didn't fully trust a man who was a presidential appointee, not chosen for his ability. "That's impossible. Although I'm not a biologist, I know the basic logic. Living beings, especially carbon-based life, need oxygen to live. We all know Mars doesn't even have an atmosphere, so there's no oxygen either. Furthermore, the temperature on Mars's surface is highly unstable; during the day it can reach 20 degrees Celsius, at night it can drop to minus 80, or even below -100 in the most extreme cases. This is not a suitable place for living beings to reside without wearing a spacesuit like an Extravehicular Mobility Unit."
"Then how do you explain them?" Vincent pointed to the people in the report's image.
"I don't know." Henry shrugged with a confused expression.
"Sir, I think you need to report these findings to the White House," Felicia said, looking seriously at her boss.
"I know. After this, I'm going straight there to see the President," Vincent replied with resignation. "You, don't let any other employees examine the Tharsis Bulge region on Mars. You know, the existence of these aliens will be a state secret," he ordered firmly.
"I'm not that stupid, sir, to be willing to sacrifice my career to spread information that the public would just consider a conspiracy," Felicia responded. "Besides, China and the European Union probably know about this too. An information leak is more likely to come from them, especially the EU."
Hearing that, Vincent immediately realized that the United States wasn't the only one with satellites in orbit around Mars. This gave him a headache, especially thinking about China. That dictatorial country's actions were unpredictable, and this issue wasn't just about America's interests, but all of humanity's. As for the European Union, he wasn't too worried. As an allied nation and a subordinate, they would always follow their father's orders.
"Alright. You and Henry keep digging for information about these aliens, while I go inform the White House." Vincent took the report back from the desk, then walked toward the exit.