I have a secret. I just discovered that aliens are living among us. Here is how I found out and what did I did about it. I am an inventor and a biologist at the same time. I recently developed a device that tells you if an organism is carbon or silicon based without taking any samples from the organism so it doesn’t die. This information is crucial to identify the life form. I also made a smaller version of the device just out of curiosity. As I was playing with it, I saw something interesting; my device was telling me that some of the people around were silicon based instead of carbon which is weird because all of the life forms on earth are carbon based which meant that some of the humans around aren’t humans but aliens including my best friend.
The idea that my device identified my best friend as something other than human has shocked me.
The scanner I developed could detect carbon-based life from silicon-based life without harming the subject. It was meant for research of different life forms. I built a smaller version and tested it in public spaces. Most readings were ordinary. Carbon-based. Human…
Then the device flashed red.
I told myself it was an error. But when my friend walked into the room, joking about my unfinished inventions, the device vibrated in my hand. It was flashing red light. Silicon-based life form…
I didn’t tell him. Instead, I watched him more closely than I ever had before. He still brought me sandwiches when I forgot to eat. He still remembered my mother’s birthday. He still stayed up all night helping me to improve my device and not complaining the entire time. If he was an alien, he was a friend that I want to have.
I rebuilt the device. The result never changed.
The silence between us grew day by day. When I finally showed him the device, he studied it quietly, then looked at me not and spoke
“I was hoping you wouldn’t find out,”
I asked him how long he’d known. He smiled sadly. “Longer than you.”
I wanted answers about his kind, his purpose, his biology. Instead, I asked the only question that mattered. “Are you still my friend?”
He just said “I’ve always been.”
That night, I understood that discovery is just different explanation of how we feel in different environment. I dismantled the device the next morning.
He is still my best friend. And the world, for now, still remains unchanged.