Hack-Job : a story by: GF Willmetts

There are many turning points in our history. The one thing that probably beat them all was the discovery of an alien textbook in a crater on Earth. There were some similarities to various languages. Different number of letters, vowels and consonants. We were just grateful they didn’t have our problem with single words used with different meanings like we have in our language. Pictures helped to identify words and then letters. Seems an alphabet was essential in creating words than using ideograms. It was then like a Rosetta stone and let an AI speed through the translation. These aliens didn’t spare words in this textbook and it would take time for the translation to sink into our brains with so many new concepts and then compare to our own science and make the jump between them before their technology. We weren’t stupid. We need to understand what we were making than do it blindly.

There was a lot of philosophical thought about why only one textbook was found. There was a thorough search in an ever-widening circle before digging down to see if there were other books. It was a puzzle that it was a book and not some kind of silicon-based ebook. Would we have identified it as a book if we had or found it a few decades back on something looking like a long stone? It looked like they had seen our books and left a version that could be recognised. Maybe our own books were based on what our ancestors had seen in the past? Maybe not the language but considering the science they were showing and some of the technology, unless we could translate, we wouldn’t be ready. A superior species leaving some crumbs for a lowly species…us! Whatever. Too many maybes.

Except these weren’t crumbs. There were some basic texts outlying scientific theory that were ahead of what we had. A few new variables and constants as well as using some we already had. The pure science boys were over the moon and even the means to get there economically. The technologists were more interested in the devices, especially those that could act as a cheap power source. You cannot underestimate the effect this textbook had on Earth. Shame we couldn’t make sense of its title. When you consider one of Newton’s books was called ‘Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica’ and was abbreviated to ‘Principia’, we considered it was that kind of author. Hopefully, with none of Newton’s bad points for taking credit for things he shouldn’t. Keppler is still rolling in his grave. For us, this would still be called ‘The Book’. No one could mistake what it was.

There was still a rush to get things done and rush ahead than read the book but the excitement grew with discoveries. We needed the power source it showed and was prioritised because many of the devices would wan it. Pure economic and nature friendly…or so we thought.

The crater made when it exploded proved otherwise. Where had we gone wrong? Some of the other tech we created was working but we became cautious. We lost some key scientists but there was a consensus to complete The Book. They even had their own version of footnotes. Then we found the spine had a slot. We thought initially that it might have concealed a digital version but there was a scribbled note. Not in the language of the book itself. Looks like we weren’t the first person to have read The Book.

A different language but we were getting used to translating. It just took a longer time for so few words. In simple terms, the book was deemed a reject copy, littered with errors. It had been thrown away by its previous owner in disgust on a passing visit. It wasn’t a gift. We were a dumping ground. Just dumped because The Book was indestructible. We just hadn’t gotten to the really dangerously flawed pages yet.

Knowing the book was flawed just meant we really checked everything out in detail many times before we build anything. Any tests were done at a distance. The crater and lost lives was always our biggest reminder. The Book had flaws but it was better than anything we had. If another alien book turned up, we were sure to check the spine first. Even then, we hesitated. Would another alien book conceal a warning note? We might have been lucky but only because its bearer hadn’t handed The Book to us.

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