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n00bs
by
Ramon Rozas III
The alien cube drifted down toward the South Lawn like a cubist balloon, colors running across its faces.
“I can’t believe this is actually happening,” the National Science Advisor said to the Secretary of Defense.
“It is,” SecDef said. She looked at her watch again, calculating how far away the President had gotten since the alien ship had been detected headed toward the White House. “First Contact. So, how do we talk to them?”
“NASA says they’ve detected an anomalous feed in the space-based internet; we think the aliens tapped into it for a few days. Hopefully they’ve learned an Earth language.”
“Space based internet?” the SecDef asked.
“Yeah, a few years ago NASA started using internet-style packet routing to contact probes. It’s tied into the full internet now to give universities real-time access.”
“So the aliens have been scanning the whole internet for the last few days?” SecDef shivered, even though it was a warm fall day.
The cube stopped two feet above the manicured grass. The side facing the crowd of dignitaries started swirling with colors, and suddenly a picture appeared.
It was a cat, peeking out of a sock with a comical expression on its face. Printing across the top said “HAI NOOBS. WE UR IN YOUR NETS, READING UR MAILS. KTHXBYE.”
“Oh, crud,” SecDef said.
Ramon Rozas III writes in West Virginia with his family. He has appeared in Clash of Steel III, Leading Edge, and EveryDayFiction.com. His story “Camera Obscura” will appear in Aoife's Kiss in September 2008.
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