Ersykenn Contact

The Ersykenn Contact was the first contact between Terran civilization (Earth) and Harvian civilization. It occurred in a field in the Syknoann province of Ersykenn, near the border with Opole. It occurred on the 21st of May, 2144. It was the first time that humans from Earth established contact with another civilization. It led to the rise of interplanetary cooperation and preceded the formation of the Union of Nation States with 2 year.

Discovery of Harvia
Earth had been establishing colonies on other, distant planets for decades. A total of 9 planets had been colonized, and several hundreds were being studied by several scientific programs funded by the United Nations, when in 2139 a program in Berkeley discovered the existence of several Earth-like planets in the vicinity of the FDS2-Halo region of Mercator-II, its area of study. It was decided to send two reconnaisance missions to 4 of the 7 planets discovered. A third recon mission would study the remaining three planets. No stable deep space track was found for two of the planets until 2141, so the recon mission was postponed to February 2142. A fourth mission was added to gain more information on the tracks for those two planets, and gather data on all seven of the planets. It left for FDS2-Halo-33 (which had the most stable track according to the researchers) on 14 February 2142. While preparing to gather information on the FDS2-Halo-18 and FDS2-Halo-20a tracks, the spacecraft picked up radio signals from FDS2-Halo-20c. Ground control was informed of the discovery almost immediately, and it was decided to remain in orbit for another two weeks. During those two weeks, the crew observed the planet that emitted the radio signals, More evidence of inhabitation was discovered, such as the lights of several large cities using sensitive camera equipment.

Preparations for establishing contact
After returning to Earth, it was decided not to disclose the information to the public. The US government, China, India, Egypt, Iran, South Africa, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom and France were the first governments to be informed of the situation, and it was decided to release the information to the public in the fall of 2143. Two teams were formed to deal with the situation. One designed the technical lay-out of the mission and protocols for contact, while the other team, consisting of various officials of the United Nations (which had gained considerable governmental power since the Unification) dealt with disclosing the information to the public.

Continuous observation of the FDS2-Halo-20c solar system had shown that there was no space travel in the galaxy, nor had the two observing spacecraft gathered any signs of reverse contact, apart from continuous radio chatter, which was extensively studied. Most of it appeared to be normal communication, presumably about weather forecasts and conditions on sea. Researchers discerned between 15 different languages at least, of which two seemed to be very prevalent. Analysis of the sounds led the researchers to believe that the inhabitants of the planet possessed human-like vocal chords, analoguous to the interplanetary convergence theory.

It was decided by the United Nations to "leak" tiny bits of information, pointing towards a possible discovery of sentient life on another planet, to weaken the possible hysteria that a disclosure of the information would cause. Six weeks before the scheduled release of the information, all governments of Earth were discreetly informed of the situation. It was estimated that at that time about 2200 individuals knew of the situation. On 8 October 2143, 14:30 GMT, Chia Yanmei, Secretary-General of the United Nations at that time, held a press conference in which she released the information to the general public. Half an hour later, the President of the United States, Maxwell Densmore, held another press conference in which he reassured the people of the US that there was "nothing [...] to be fearful of.". In the hours following those press conferences, most heads of state adressed their own citizens. The media hype that followed lasted for months.

Contact
On the 20th of May, 2144, the Hermes spacecraft took off, to establish contact with the unknown planet. The crew consisted of 16 people: three pilots, a doctor, four representatives from the United Nations, and eight crew members. Crew member Elvin Grippen was given the task to establish first contact. Hermes entered the Harvian mesosphere at 12:43. Around that time, Opolniestien Halacantchich, the operator at the Athin Usryanna, the most northern space observatory of Opole, picked up the Hermes broadcasts and started responding at 67,80pM, the frequency utilized by the Hermes:


 * Elvin Grippen "We are the crew of the Hermes spacecraft. We are from Earth. We are humans. We come in peace. We want to establish contact with you in a friendly manner."
 * Opolniestien Halacantchich "Annhata no yè maeni ua tahhashi, hehtto ta emoteru?" [I can't understand your language, are you from the sky?]
 * Grippen "We are the crew of the Hermes spacecraft. We are from Earth. We are humans. We come in peace. We want to establish contact with you in a friendly manner."
 * Halacantchich "Ionn eh epperu, tahusin no yè kohinsleiaghet. Dudoka, nopor memneyè halacantchichsosan echte dri Soman Komin Sleiaght." [I am very sorry, but I am not able to understand what you are saying. For reference, my name is professor Halacantchich from the Seventeenth University.]
 * Grippen "We come in peace. If you are able to understand me, please say so. My name is Grippen. I am from Earth"

The first protocol stated that Grippen was to repeat a standard set of sentences a couple of times (two times at minimum, more if there was no or little response). He was then instructed to say his name and repeat another time that the spacecraft came in peace. At this point, Grippen signalled to the rest of the crew that he was going to enter the second protocol, which was designed to generate empathy before landing on the surface of the planet. Meanwhile, Halacantchich telecommunicated (the Harvian equivalent of the telephone at that time) with his superiors at the Seventeenth University, indicating that he had established contact with an alien spacecraft. Excited, his superiors, Maen Naen-Anntru and Jhy Héyes, called Opolni government officials. Six minutes later, the Ersykenn embassy was called to warn that a spacecraft was about to land on Ersykenn soil.


 * Halacantchich "No heppaeset iyèhhughi illiann go na yes ga tu tulan ga chimhnyha. Nui prah husa nann?" [I have called my superiors to send a recovery team. Do you need help?]
 * Grippen "Earth"
 * Halacantchich "Me huli ka te throjhupa?" [What does that mean?]
 * Grippen "Me huli ka te throjhupa" (repeated 4 times)

At this point, Halacantchich realized that Grippen wanted to indicate that he had heard what Halacantchich had said, and stated his name.
 * Halacantchich "Halacantchich. Opole. Maru" [Halacantchich. Opole. Peace.]
 * Grippen "Halacantchich. Opole. Maru. We come in peace. Grippen. Earth."
 * Halacantchich "We come in peace. Grippen. Erw... Earth. No men maru." [...I suggest peace]
 * Grippen "No men maru. Hermes."
 * Halacantchich "Hermes. Maru. Yèsnu Grippen?" [...your name is Grippen?]
 * Grippen "Yèsnu Grippen. My name is Grippen."
 * Halacantchich "My name is Halacantchich."
 * Grippen "Your name is Halacantchich. My name is Grippen. I am from Earth."
 * Halacantchich "Your name is Halacantchich. I am from Halacantchich."

At this point, Halacantchich ended the conversation briefly. Half an hour later, the Hermes decided it was safe to approach the surface. It remained stationary at about 800 metres above Nahusy-Cholpraehya, a small town in the south of Ersykenn. The inhabitants of the town were startled by the object in the sky. The Hermes observed for three hours. All observations were passed on to the representatives of the United Nations, who cleared the situation for every observation excluding two, were they suggested to delay the landing with two hours. The crew watched while small groups of inhabitants gathered in the fields. Numerous vehicles were reported, some of them pulling small wagons. The crew had difficulty determining which buildings or which parts of buildings in the town itself constituted individual houses. Most of the buildings they saw were built on poles and had lots of pavillions and terraces. They also reported that there were small clusters of farmsteads around the town.