Fiction Point Episode Thirteen: Nano Dot

Nano Dot – just in case you ever wondered if we were alone in the universe (or the bit The Origin of Species left out)

 

In the end, humanity had colonised the solar system and there was nowhere else to go. So, the Nano Dot was created to seed the galaxies throughout the universe. Developed by the visionary entrepreneur Andrew Curt, it was humanities last chance.

As Curt stated: ‘A long time ago, we became conscious of our own existence; now we know there is a lot more, but we are constrained by our biological and cosmological limitations. However, just as we have overcome constraints to populate and exploit the space around us, so we must have one last dance and journey into the arena of universal consciousness.’

Most people thought the Nano Dot had as much chance of succeeding as all the failed attempts at detecting aliens. But still, billions of seed like bio tech pods were manufactured, made to replicate in favourable planetary environments. They were then spewed out into the galaxy, the space in between the galaxies and the galaxies beyond. And, as Andrew Curt lay dying, he wondered if he would ever be reborn.

 

The seeding: with three moons and two stars, gravity pulled like a big fat elephant, swinging violently, smashing thoughtlessly. Storms, wind, rain, and sun raged incessantly, until the long odds settled the planetary baby down. A cloudy, watery, primordial soup flowed over a rocky crust, and from nowhere, cells began to duplicate exponentially.

The struggle for life was uneven. For millions of years the planet let micro-organisms swim effortlessly in the salty rivers and lakes. There were times when life stood on the edge of a precipice, but whatever was thrown at the microscopic beings, life found a way. An era of gigantic creatures and enormous vegetation took over, until a meteoric intervention came roaring over the skies and thundering into the rock.

As the dust settled, so little furry animals burrowed around taking full advantage of the fading giants. Casual observers, if this were ever possible, would not have thought that such beginnings were the precursor to the ascent of man. But, as punctuated equilibrium ensured the best adapted survived, so there was a rapid rise of a bio tech humanity, violent and disturbed, but nonetheless progressive.

Technological advance was not too far behind, thrashing and bashing its way through, devouring limited resources like a ravenous cockroach. Within a short space of time, this species revolutionised themselves and everything around them, never stopping to take stock, never stopping to think or reflect.

Until, one day, on the precipice of a solar system, Andrew Curt, the visionary entrepreneur wondered: ‘Are we alone in the universe? Or are we doomed to forever replicate ourselves and never know we existed?’

END

Flash fiction by Simon Marlowe, 14th March 2021