third-planet

For more than a dozen decades, we've been sending radio waves out into space, both to get a better understanding of the universe and to let the universe know that we're here. As technology has improved, we've been able to send stronger signals further and with more clarity, which has made the astrophysicists quite happy. Of course, after a few decades of probing the universe and hearing nothing, we thought that we were alone out here.

That changed on May 25th, 2079. Technically, this isn't the date of first contact - we had actually been receiving radio signals from the Kephantes for while before then, we just hadn't recognized that they were following a pattern. However, on that day, we realized that the transmissions were repeating in regular intervals outside of any expected cosmological activity.

The world was in a massive uproar after that. Massive amounts of money were pumped into astronomy, linguistics, cultural studies, really any study that could get us into safe contact with the aliens. Within a few years, we had managed to work out a system of communication, but it was still rudimentary at that point. Sending messages back and forth across the universe without immaterial transmission technology took time, lots of it. So, it was a slow back and forth for about a three decades, but we did talk.

Culture, technology, biology, you name it, we traded knowledge. The Kephantes were just as interested in us as we were in them. By some stroke of cosmic luck, they were roughly as technologically advanced as we were, which unfortunately meant that we were both stuck communicating with a the equivalent of a cup and string.

In those years of slow communication, we did learn a lot. Their society is loosely similar to ours - their basic familial structure generally consists of a grandparent, parent, and children, and communities of Kephantes are organized into cities, states, and nations.

The thing that really sets them apart from us is their biology. They're able to absorb information from one another through the consumption of their nervous system. So, cannibalism is a regular part of their society. In fact, they don't even eat any other kind of meat, as the consumption of such animals would degrade their mind over time.

I suppose they must have found us to be depraved for eating animals, but the feeling is mutual on that end - the xenographic liaisons were not too excited to tell us that our neighbors were cannibals.

After a lot of work in the development of immaterial transit and the formal establishment of diplomatic relations, we finally managed to welcome a few Kephantes to Earth in the flesh. Everything was very formal at first, but eventually, it became a rare but normal sight to see Kephantes walking around in larger cities.

You may be wondering why I just gave a small lecture on Human-Kephantes relations. I suppose it's to put the events of yesterday into context. Yesterday was the "true" first contact.

As a xenobiologist, I expected that I would at some point be involved with the Kephantes. I studied their culture, learned some basic Kesch, and spoke with a number of their biologists. What I didn't expect was to become romantically involved with Schurik. At first, we were coworkers, researching the effects of Earth's atmosphere on Kephantes. As we spent more and more time together, the massive chasm between us got smaller, little by little. After a few years of working with one another, it was clear that we were in love.

We weren't the first interspecies relationship, so we avoided a lot of issues on that front. We got engaged, then a year later, we got married. The wedding ceremony itself was a strange hodgepodge of cultural traditions, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

After a few years of marriage and many long conversations between us and various biologists and doctors, we decided that we wanted to go further. I wanted us to be joined in the way that his culture traditionally celebrated.

The week before, I took a series of medical exams, to make sure that I was free from any illness. I carefully watched my diet before ceasing to eat 2 days in advance. Schurik also fasted with me, and took a variety of medical exams alongside me. After two weeks of thorough preparation, the date arrived.

In the morning, I undressed, took a shower and thoroughly cleaned myself. I took the prescribed opiates - just enough to feel no pain whatsoever, but not enough to become unconscious. I laid back on the table as I felt numbness slowly creeping in through my fingers and spreading through the rest of my body. Schurik, the caring husband he is, prodded me all over just to make sure that there was no part of me that still felt any kind of discomfort. After I gave him my final consent, the feast began.

He started slowly, biting into my forearm. I saw my skin split, my muscles tear, and I felt none of it. My blood stained his silver teeth red. He separated my arm at the elbow with a sharp tug, and he slowly continued eating. His teal fingers carefully separated muscle from bone, in the same way a technician disassembles a computer. Soon, my right forearm was a set of bloody bones with sinew loosely attached, and the remains of my right hand were lovingly arranged as a completed puzzle. It didn't take long for him to finish consuming my right arm.

After my left arm, he paused to check in with me. He asked how I was doing, that I felt no pain, that even through this, I still wanted to continue. That I still wanted this.

I would be lying if I said I had no doubts whatsoever throughout this entire process. I was definitely afraid - I feared that I would die and just disappear, that I would end up being the death of Schurik, that something would go wrong somewhere and we would both end up dead. But I thought of him, and my fears subsided. He would never hurt me.

I lost consciousness sometime after he had started pulling out my organs. When I next came to, I felt different. I felt complete, I felt Schurik's presence within me and around me. It wasn't that we were two souls inhabiting the same body, or that he had absorbed my memories, thoughts, and personality. We were united before in two separate bodies and now we were reunited in one.

I understand that many of the humans reading this may feel disgusted, or even concerned for my own wellbeing and health. I'm happy now. This is what I wanted, and I don't expect for any humans to understand. I wanted to leave a record though, because I know in the future there will be others like us. As for my parting words, I think a Kesch idiom is best; roughly translated, it reads, "Circling before colliding."