16-Oct-14 5:47:00 AM ¶ ●

## rose<>dirk?

ANCIENT ALIEN RACE AU

The first archeologist on the planet Illmater, she thinks proudly, as she descends in her small buggy. None of the others are brave enough, prestigious enough, or stubborn enough to descend down into that poisonous atmosphere alone. She’s the only one who can do it, after all.

Though, she has to admit, this grand auto-locked door is puzzling her. It’s the one thing keeping her from accessing that old civilization. She bangs on it in frustration, glad that none of her colleagues are around to witness her display…

And a small hologram fizzles to life in front of her. It looks similar to her, albeit with spiky hair and pointed glasses. Perhaps it senses her species and compensates for it? The personal touch of the sunglasses is a bit odd.

“‘Sup.” it says.

“‘Sup.” she says.

It asks if she wants to go inside, and when she says yes, asks her for a riddle as a joke. She answers it perfectly, gives him a riddle, and he refuses to answer it by deflecting with some xenophiliac joke. It’s possibly the most intelligent thing she’s ever heard, and she keeps talking. And talking. And debating with this oddly self-indulgent AI. And before she knows it, she has to go back to home base and explain what she learned on her expedition.

Filing the report is going to be hard for this one.