It was a nice sunny day on Elone. The sky was clear and a sweet wind was blowing across the landscape. Ime was kneeling over his latest design of sapling in the Furawa. It had bloomed and the sea blue bell-shaped flowers were nodding in the wind. Deep blue dots on the sides added to their beauty. The fresh smell of the seaside in the mornings was wafting from them. A message on his lex broke the spell. The tobot watching the observatory panels had observed something in Earth’s atmosphere. Ime walked quickly towards the exit and took a travelor to the Aeona.

The sun had begun to set by the time Ime reached the Aeona. When he reached the observatory room, he found three tobots hunched around one of the screens. When he reached, they made space for him next to the screen, and continued watching. A rocket like thing was speedily moving across the screen, it then ejected a strange red object into space. The clip was playing again and again. Ime touched the screen on the red object. Closer up it seemed like some strange space vehicle, except it was open and its passenger, fully clad in space gear, sat still as it slowly glided into space.

“As per our information they have launched a travelor into space – vehicles they use to move around on Earth. They call them ‘cars’. The driver of the vehicle is in fact a statue – a dummy. Why would they do such a thing?” – Ime was reporting to Valhan, Patix and Iwe as they wondered about this latest odd happening.

“Do we know anything more about this?” Iwe asked.

“It seems that there is a company on Earth, the creation of a man called Elon Musk, that has decided to colonize Mars – the planet closest to Earth. This ‘car’ is a product of the same man’s imagination. He has put it in space as a dummy payload. The statue is called “Starman”. This strange thing will orbit in space endlessly, while some say in the distant future it could  collide with Mars or Earth.”

A silence fell on the room. Outside it had become dark, and the three moons of Elone were shining bright.

“It does represent audacity of hope. Right now one individual is pushing it. But hope and tireless pursuit of knowledge and achievement is the hallmark of the human race on Earth.” Iwe’s statement echoed in the silent room.

“I wonder sometimes about these creatures on Earth. They have this tremendous capacity to push boundaries, imagine and do things that have never been done before. On the other hand, their landscape is also crowded with outdated beliefs, narrow thinking and they routinely conflict on divergence of thought or/and identity. How do these two co-exist?

If we look at the patterns of how they run their affairs – from rational, equal groups, to groups that vacillate between the rational and the bizarre, to groups that thrive on subjugating those around them – they can all be found.

I am told they have faiths that invariably talk of heaven and hell. Humans have to only look around their own planet – both exist there.” Valhan sighed.

Ime looked around the pensive group. They had been monitoring Earth for millennia, awaiting the time when engagement with humans could begin. As their vigil had slipped into a seemingly eternal one, events such as these stirred anticipation.

“Maybe they are getting closer to what they are capable of being. Now they are reaching out towards Mars in such an ambitious and audacious manner. Eventually, when they do cross Mars and other frontiers beyond, maybe they will leave the thoughts that limit them behind.” Ime, the optimist said.

All four of them began to look again at the image of the red car, with Starman circling space. “Made on Earth, by humans” – it declared. It was a reason to smile.