An Alien in the Arctic
Text and photos by Turner Nolan
Earth date: Sunday, 26 August 2018
Today I am being transported to the planet Earth to learn the ways of its inhabitants and report back to my people. I am the first of my kind to do this. I have been matched with a 13 year old ‘human’ and will soon be implanted into his brain so I can see the planet through his eyes and feel his experiences. I will have about a week to learn everything I can about humans: how they interact; how they spend their time; what they care about; how they live; what they eat; and how they take care of their environment. The final countdown has started, here I go….
I am inside some sort of aluminum structure that can levitate above the planet’s surface. I am passing over trees and rivers and mountains. I have some sort of squishy noise makers in my ears through which I can hear the voice of ‘Papa’ (the adult male controlling the vehicle) over the ambient noise, explaining why some type of trees grow on the south sides of the hills and different types on the north side. This is good, now I have a way to learn about this planet even faster. Though I have all these resources and chances my journey is only beginning. I have much to learn.
The Papa
We have been flying for hours, and I have not seen any sign of any other humans, though I occasionally hear other voices through my ear plugs. I expected a planet that has existed for this long to be overrun with the dominant species, but apparently they do a very good job with population control here. Perhaps this will be a good example for my species as we grow. We are headed towards a place in the Earth’s Arctic that the Papa calls ‘Kavik’, where Papa tells me there are several other humans that he knows. Once we land the aluminum airplane in Kavik, apparently I can take off this helmet and ear pieces (they bother my head) and I can actually walk on the Earth’s surface. We meet two of the residents of Kavik, Rick and Sue. Kavik has a hill next to it and beyond it I see soaring mountains called the ‘Brooks Range‘. The actual camp has two big tent things and quite a few large metal boxes.
I thought we would be spending time in camp, but Papa explains that since the weather is good we should leave Kavik in the airplane to create new topographic maps of the Earth’s surface within the ‘1002 Area’ by flying over it and taking overlapping photos. This is apparently an area of scientific interest, which is a great chance for me and my people to learn about the human planet Earth.
Earth Date: Monday, 27 2018
The next day I see light again after hours of darkness in which humans call ‘sleep’. The inside of the ‘trailer’, as they call it, is small with three human beds and dressers and one desk. The human known as Papa is packing various items into bags and checking his computer. I get up and grab some bags and a book and head to the airplane. I am flying over a new area close to the same area where we were flying the day before. As we fly the Papas tests me on the names of local bodies of water and the geography of the mountains, this is great for me to learn about the earth. I am flown back to Kavik where the Papa and I interact with the locals of Kavik. They all are so interesting and each has their own stories that are amazing to hear. Some of these stories even include far off lands that sound very different from Kavik. As the stories end, I head to my cabin where I sleep. I get the feeling that Kavik is not a typical place for humans to live, but someplace very special. This may explain why we have not seen so many other humans.
This is the galley at Kavik. It is where the humans would get together and talk. It’s also where they would eat food together.
Earth Date: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
I look outside and see that the weather is very cloudy which apparently is not good for flying so I sleep again. After another hour or so of sleep I wake up, grab the camera, and go walking towards the river with the Papa. I learn more about the earth’s erosion and how well my clothes blend in with the local vegetation. Earth is very interesting. After the walk there is more reading and a small bit of talking to the locals of Kavik. Later the clouds dissipate and the Papa decides that he and I are going to fly over a new area near the ocean. As we’re flying I see more civilization and really want to go check it out but we only seem to be interested in large human-made lines in the ground below us, and all they really need to do to stop them and fix them is (TRANSLATION LOST).
This photo shows faint lines left over from seismic surveys that damaged the tundra underneath.
Earth Date: Wednesday, 29 August 2018
This morning I wake up and learn that we are going to have to move a little bit early because we have a short window of time where we can map the last area of the 1002. From what I can tell the Papa is saying something about seeing more humans in a place called ‘Kaktovik’. We’ve flown over some areas I have not seen before, even closer to the ocean and even sometimes over the ocean. After some time flying the Papa lands us in Kaktovik and a large yellow box moves towards us and inside I see two new humans. One of the humans is named Susan and the other is named Dorcus, I wonder if every town on earth have a woman named Susan. We talk for a while and I learn about Kaktovik until eventually Susan and Dorcus leave and the Papa and I continue flying. As I see the town of Kaktovik I see some interesting buildings and more of those colored boxes with the rubber circles underneath them, these ones aren’t moving and seem more broken. Later the Papa gets hungry and maybe me too but I’m unfamiliar with the feeling. We talk through the ear covers, or plugs, to one of the humans on the ground. When we get back to the ground in Kaktovik the large yellow box is already coming to us and only the Susan comes with two Styrofoam boxes in a bag. After some talking the Papa and I open the boxes and inside are hot wavy potato sticks. We eat the first box and continue to fly, later we eat the second box. When the Papa and I are done mapping the coast we set out for one little area nearer to the mountains and before I know it we’re headed back towards Kavik. The Papa is very happy because he has finished a project he has been working on for many Earth months. And because he ate yummy food. On the way back I see some kind of animal and as I try to figure out what it is the Papa claims it to be one of the caribou that I’ve heard so much about, it’s amazing.
Kaktovik
Earth Date: Thursday, 30 August 2018
This morning we are trying to leave after completing the work in this area. The first thing we do is bring the bags to the plane. Then I see that the plane has a sheet of ice on it, and the others see that too. The Papa gets Rick to bring buckets of hot water which the humans use to melt the ice and soon it will be time to leave. The Papa checks the weather one last time and decides it’s too risky. So after all the hard work we don’t go. Watching how people deal with frustration is very interesting and a good learning experience for my people and me.
After some resting, Sue and Rick offer to bring us ‘hunting’. I’m not sure what this hunting is but it seems to be something the humans of Kavik do quite often. I enter a strange vehicle with Sue and the Papa goes with Rick. I am moving on the ground without my legs moving it’s almost like the Plane but without the flying. I travel for a while and unfortunately see nothing in the terms of hunting. Just when it seemed we were going to return to Kavik, one of the human vehicles wouldn’t move. Rick and Sue trade places driving and Rick and I race back to Kavik. Rick quickly grabs a cable and we head back to the Papa and Sue. The first part of heading back was crossing a river. We had already crossed this river before but this time Rick drove super fast and we started to float! It was the first time on this trip that I felt actual fear. Luckily we survived and we made it back to Sue and the Papa. We revived their vehicle and head back to Kavik.
Our ice covered airplane as the Earth’s sun sets.
Earth Date: Friday, 31 August 2018
I start the day by observing the snow. I have seen it from above but I have not seen it up close, it is interesting. I like it. I go for a walk to examine the snow and the area I have not been to yet. After walking a while I see nothing new and head back to Kavik where I talk to new humans who have arrived and learn about their communities which sound different from here. Through conversations I’ve heard about different far off lands and how they sound so different from Kavik. We must explore more of this planet and send as many of us as possible. If we want to grow, earth very well might be the right source to learn. The day is ending, and I see the clouds have formed and that snow is coming. I sleep.
Earth Date: Saturday, 1 September 2018
Tomorrow is my last day on earth and I don’t know if my people will think this was a successful mission or not. I think it was successful in understanding a few of the fields we were trying to study but in others maybe not so much. The snow has stopped and sky is clearing which means the Papa and I will soon fly back to where we began this trip. I interact with the humans and observe and learn more about this earth’s geology or at least some of it. Much later two new humans join and I learn that the human named Bob is a very interesting human with many stories of far off adventures. His stories sound extremely exciting and he remembers everyone. I meet two additional new humans, one seems very energetic and the other seems very busy. I have yet to make a decision as to whether I like them or not. I feel like I should be doing something, and I help my human get all of our stuff ready to leave. I’m going to miss this planet and its inhabitants.
Earth winds scour snow from the mountains, indicating bad flying weather.
Earth Date: Sunday, 2 September 2018
My final report about earth is that it’s a very interesting planet. There’s a large number of species on this planet, all are interesting although I did not see many of them. All I know for a fact is that none of these species compares to the humans. The humans are the most sophisticated species on this planet and I think there is still a lot for us to learn about them. They certainly have a lot to learn and I think we may have many of the answers to their questions, like — uh oh, it’s apparently time to pack the plane again. I’m seeing the Papa walking around the plane while I’m thinking and trying to remember everything he’s told me about this planet. The Papa and I load the plane and say goodbye to the other humans, and I think about their stories as we get into the plane. I fly off and see the Brooks Range again, probably for the last time on this trip. Things are starting to go black, I’m headed home… bye, earth.
