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MidReal Story
Beyond the Canopy
Scenario:Ufo landing in open field in woods while camping. Peaceful aliens
Create my version of this story
Lisa Chang
nature photographer, friend of Jenna and Mark, petite with sharp eyes, skeptical yet creative
Mark Torres
camping enthusiast, friends with Jenna and Lisa, tall with a rugged beard, brave and logical
Jenna Clarke
amateur stargazer, friends with Mark and Lisa, short with curly brown hair, curious and resourceful
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
I never thought I’d see a UFO in my lifetime.
But there it was, hovering over the trees in the distance, a bright light that pulsed and flickered like a dying star.
"Here, let me show you," Vylar said, and his fingers danced across the screen once again.
I had been camping with my friends Mark and Lisa for two days, and we were all sitting around the campfire when I saw it.
A moment later, an image of a prehistoric Earth appeared before us; we could see massive dinosaurs roaming across the surface as they went about their lives.
As I watched, the holographic image changed to show other key moments in Earth's history; everything from ancient Egypt to modern times was represented here in stunning detail!
At first, I thought it was a shooting star, but then it stopped moving and just hung there in the sky.
"Look," I said, pointing at the light.
I turned to Mark and Lisa, who were both busy examining different parts of the map; they were completely entranced by what they saw.
"What is that?"
"So, what do you think?"
Mark and Lisa followed my gaze and squinted up at the sky.
Vylar asked after a few minutes had passed.
"Pretty amazing, isn't it?"
"It’s probably just a plane," Mark said after a moment.
"Yeah," Lisa agreed.
"But what if it’s not?"
"It is!"
I asked.
"I never would have thought that other planets existed until today. But now that I know you're out there, I want to learn everything I can about your people!"
Vylar nodded thoughtfully as he listened to my words; I could tell that he was pleased with my answer.
We all went silent then, watching the light as it pulsed and flickered against the dark sky.
"Thank you for being so understanding. I promise that you will be able to return home safely once our visit is over."
It was so far away that it was impossible to tell what it was, but something about it seemed… off.
"What if it’s a dying star?" Mark mused aloud.
"Can we bring more people next time?"
Mark asked suddenly, turning to look at Vylar.
I laughed.
The alien frowned at the question and fell silent for several long moments; his expression was unreadable as he considered what Mark had said.
He shrugged.
At first, I was worried that Mark's request might have been too much, but then Vylar spoke again:
"I don’t know. Maybe. It could be anything."
"You are asking me to trust you with much more than you realize," he said at last.
"Let’s go check it out," I said suddenly, jumping to my feet.
Mark gave me a look.
"I am not sure if it is wise to bring more humans here."
"But why not?"
"You’re not serious."
"Why not?"
Mark said quickly.
"We’re camped out in the middle of nowhere. There’s no one around for miles. No one would ever know we’d left."
"It's not like we're going to tell anyone about you; we wouldn't want to cause a panic on Earth by revealing your existence too soon."
"Exactly," I said.
As Mark spoke, I could see the tension in Vylar's body begin to disappear.
The alien seemed much more relaxed now that Mark had explained himself, though I wasn't sure if he would agree to our request or not.
"And who knows when we’ll get another chance to see a UFO up close like this one?"
Mark and Lisa exchanged a glance, and then Lisa stood up as well.
"Very well," Vylar said at last.
"I will allow you to bring two additional humans with you on your next visit. You must promise me that you will not speak of this meeting to anyone else; the people of Earth are not ready for such revelations yet."
"I’m coming too."
"We promise," I said quickly.
We could see the light bobbing up and down over the trees now as if it were searching for something.
"You can trust us to keep your secret safe!"
Without another word, Mark grabbed his flashlight, turned it on, and headed off into the woods with me right behind him.
Lisa stayed behind at the campsite, but she had her camera out and was zooming in on the light as best as she could through the trees as she followed us from below.
Vylar gave me a knowing look, and I got the feeling that he didn't believe my words.
We walked in silence for what felt like hours until we came to a small clearing with a hill at one end of it.
Even so, he did not object when I gently took his hand in mine.
After everything we had shared together, I felt a strange connection to him; I wanted him to know that my intentions were pure.
"How about you let us bring two other people next time?"I suggested.
"There it is," Mark said, pointing at the light.
It was much closer now and almost directly overhead.
But instead of being a single light, we could see that it was actually three separate lights that pulsed in unison as they bobbed up and down over the trees.
Lisa whispered from behind us.
"I have no idea," I said breathlessly as we stood there staring up at the lights even as they became so bright that they hurt our eyes to look at them.
Then suddenly, with a loud whooshing sound, the lights shot off into the woods and disappeared from view behind the hill.
Without waiting for a response from my friends, I broke into a run and headed down the slope towards where we’d seen the lights disappear into the trees.
Mark and Lisa were right on my heels, their own hearts pounding with excitement and fear as we ran through the forest towards whatever it was that had come to visit us from beyond the stars.
Strange noises filled the air around us, like nothing any of us had ever heard before but which seemed oddly familiar all the same.
The sound sent shivers racing down my spine as I picked up speed and rushed through the trees with Mark and Lisa close behind me.
We were closing in on whatever was making the noise now, and my heart pounded even harder as I ran through the dark forest with my friends at my side.
I didn’t know what we would find when we got there—aliens from another planet or something else entirely—but I knew for sure that our lives would never be the same again once this night was over.
Just ahead of us, the trees parted and gave way to a small meadow with a hill at one end of it.
And there, sitting in the center of the clearing and surrounded by ancient trees all around us, was the spacecraft of our extraterrestrial visitors.
The UFO was unlike anything any of us had ever seen before: a flat disc with rounded edges and bright lights all around its perimeter that seemed to pulse with energy even in the dead of night.
Mark and I approached slowly while Lisa hung back, camera at the ready as she continued to document this historic event from behind us.
The air around us crackled with energy as we drew closer to the spacecraft’s hull; then suddenly—
With a hiss and a pop—a hatch opened up in its side, revealing several alien figures standing just inside.
They were tall and thin with long limbs and glowing eyes that seemed to pierce right through me as they stared out into the darkness beyond.
Then one of them—the largest of the group—stepped out of the ship and began walking towards us on two legs like a human being would do.
It extended its long fingers and held out a small object towards me—some kind of gift or offering—but I couldn’t understand what it was saying.
I didn’t have to know the words to know what it wanted from me, though; I could feel it deep down in my bones.
And as I reached out to accept its gift, I felt a sudden and unshakeable sense of understanding between myself and these extraterrestrial visitors.
We were all so different from one another: they came from a world that was not our own and spoke a language we could never hope to understand while I was just a simple amateur stargazer who dreamed of one day leaving this planet behind.
But despite all those differences between us—despite everything that should have kept us apart—I felt an instant connection with them unlike anything I had ever experienced before in my life.
And as they placed their strange object into my hands and smiled down at me with those glowing eyes of theirs… Well, I knew that my life would never be the same again once this night was over.
The alien handed me the cube-shaped object and waited for me to take it.
I knew that I should have been scared of what was happening to us—of the ship and the strange aliens standing before us—but I wasn’t.
The creature’s eyes seemed to bore into my own as it held out the shiny metal cube towards me; and for some reason, all I could think about in that moment was how badly I wanted to see what was inside of it.
So without another word between us, I reached out and took the cube from the alien’s hands—and in an instant, everything changed.
A flood of emotions shot through my body like a bolt of lightning as soon as my skin came into contact with the object in my hands.
I gasped and nearly dropped it as wave after wave of memories washed over me: feelings and images and sensations that didn’t belong to me but nevertheless felt more real than anything else in this world ever had.
Love and loss; joy and pain: they all came tumbling down on top of me at once as I closed my eyes and cried silent tears onto the forest floor.
The tears were warm against my skin and tasted sweet on my lips—like nothing I had ever experienced before—and for some reason, they made me feel better than I ever had in my entire life.
I opened my eyes to see Mark and Lisa staring at me in shock from several feet away.
"What… What just happened?" Mark asked in a hushed voice as he looked back and forth between me and the aliens.
Lisa nodded mutely beside him as she clutched her camera close to her chest "I…"
I began—but then faltered when I couldn’t find the words to describe what had just happened to us without sounding insane.
Instead, I turned towards the aliens that were watching us with their piercing eyes—and saw them turn their heads towards each other in what seemed like confusion—as if they hadn’t been expecting this any more than we had.
Chapter 2
If it was a bomb, it would go off in my hands
But I knew it wasn’t, so I waited until the energy faded away before opening my eyes again.
As soon as I did, I found myself staring into the alien’s eyes—and felt myself falling into them like two stars orbiting one another in space.
I could feel its emotions as if they were my own: love and longing; sadness and regret—all of them so strong that they nearly brought me to my knees as I stared back into its eyes.
The emotions were so powerful that I felt myself gasping for breath as I tried to hold them all in—and then, just when I thought I would break beneath the weight of it all, they vanished like they’d never been there at all.
I blinked away my tears in surprise as the alien pulled its hand back and turned to face its companion—and found myself staring down at the cube in my own hands once again.
It was still metal and still shiny, but this time, I could see something strange etched into it: a pattern of lines and shapes that almost looked like writing of some kind.
I couldn’t make out what it said—just like I couldn’t understand what the aliens were saying—but I knew that it didn’t matter because I already knew what this thing was without having to be told.
It was a memory; theirs or someone else’s, I wasn’t sure which one… But either way, it was filled with more emotions than anyone person should have to feel in their lifetime.
Jenna
The inside of the spaceship was unlike anything I had ever seen before.
The walls appeared to be made of some kind of glowing energy, and as we walked deeper into the ship, I noticed that they were pulsing softly with light—casting an almost warm orange glow over everything in sight.
It was so beautiful and strange that I could only stand there for a moment and stare in open-mouthed awe at the sight of it all.
"So cool," Lisa breathed beside me as she took another picture with her camera, "it's like something out of Star Trek or something."
Mark nodded silently, seemingly just as mesmerized by it all as I was.
We stood there for another moment longer before a figure approached us from across the chamber.
It was one of the aliens—and even though I’d already seen it up close outside the ship, it still took my breath away to see it inside like this.
The alien appeared to be tall and slender with long limbs; its skin almost seemed to glow under the light of the walls with every step it took.
The alien was humanoid in shape but was also distinctly different from us in a few key ways; it had long, slender fingers, and its eyes were much larger and more expressive than any human eyes I had ever seen before.
Its skin was smooth, like porcelain, and seemed to shimmer under the light as if it were made of some kind of crystalline material instead of flesh and bone like ours.
As it drew closer to us, I noticed that it had long dark hair cascading down its back, which only added to its otherworldly beauty—and by the time it finally stopped in front of us, all three of us were staring up at it with wide-eyed wonder.
"Greetings," the creature said in perfect English, "and welcome aboard our vessel."
All three of us blinked in surprise as we realized that it could actually understand our language; after hearing whatever strange sounds they had been making outside the ship, we’d assumed that they wouldn’t be able to speak English.
As it turned out, though, they were probably more like us than any of us had realized—or at least close enough to be able to understand and speak our language.
"Who are you?" I asked as I stepped forward to get a better look at it.
The alien smiled back down at me as it looked into my eyes; I could feel its emotions bubbling up inside of me as we made eye contact again.
"My name is Vylar," it said, "and I am so very glad to see that you have finally arrived."
"It's… glad to see us?"
Mark repeated in confusion as he stepped up beside me.
"We've only just met; how can you be so happy about something like this?"
The alien’s smile widened at Mark's words, revealing sharp teeth—somehow, it didn’t seem nearly as threatening on him as it would’ve on one of us.
"When I say that it is a pleasure to meet you all," he explained, "I mean it from the bottom of my heart. My people have been waiting for this moment for a very long time, and we are so very glad that you have finally come."
I could feel a surge of excitement building inside me as he spoke; they were glad to see us?
What did he mean by that?
"Waiting? For what?"
I asked, "And why are you so happy about it?"
Vylar's smile didn’t waver as the crystal seemed to pulse with energy.
The alien’s smile didn’t waver for a moment as the crystal seemed to pulse with energy.
"My people are eager to establish peaceful relations with Earth," Vylar said, "and to learn as much from your people as we can. We believe that together, our peoples can achieve great things; who knows what wonders we might be able to create together?"
A faint buzzing sound filled my head as Vylar continued speaking, and I realized after a moment that he was speaking directly into my mind.
It was an odd sensation—his voice wasn’t exactly clear or easy to understand—but somehow, I knew exactly what he was trying to tell me.
"Peace," I sent back, "and knowledge."
I wasn’t exactly an expert on interstellar diplomacy, but I knew the basics; if there was one thing humans had always been good at, it was finding new and interesting ways to make peace with the strange and wonderful beings they encountered in their travels.
"We come in peace," I said aloud, "and we would be honored to learn as much about your people as you are willing to share with us."
Vylar's smile widened as he embraced me in a warm mental hug.
"Then welcome aboard our ship, friends," the alien said cheerfully, "And may the Shan'kra guide us on our journey together."
With those last words, Vylar shared an image of what he called the Shan'kra—a simple symbol made of two curving lines—before turning his attention back towards the other members of my party.
It was a simple image, but somehow it felt profound—as if it contained all the wisdom and knowledge of his entire species in one beautiful symbol.
As Mark and Lisa finished exchanging pleasantries with the other aliens on board, I couldn’t help but feel excited by the possibilities laid out before us; this was only the beginning of our journey together, and who knew how many amazing things we might learn along the way?
Chapter 3
I found myself smiling in wonder as I stared at the incredible sights that surrounded us.
Every inch of the ship was covered in beautiful, intricate patterns—each one more dazzling than the last—and even the simplest objects seemed to be filled with a strange and mysterious power.
The technology on display was unlike anything I had ever seen before, and I couldn’t help but feel a little awestruck by how advanced it all seemed.
Mark and Lisa seemed just as amazed by our surroundings as I was, and for a moment, none of us said a word as we took in the wonders that surrounded us.
The ship itself was gorgeous, with long, elegant lines and delicate patterns etched into its walls, and everything seemed to be arranged in perfect order—all things considered, it seemed like a pretty nice place to live for a spaceship that had traveled across the galaxy.
Vylar noticed our interest and floated over towards us, his eyes twinkling cheerfully.
"I see you are impressed by our ship," he said warmly.
"Isn’t she grand?"
"She’s amazing," Lisa said breathlessly.
"I’ve never seen anything like it!"
"We’ve been camping out here for days," Mark added, "But this is the first time any of us have managed to get inside."
"Then I’m glad you were able to find your way here," Vylar said.
"This is our spaceship, you know?"
I wasn’t sure why he was telling us this—as if there was any doubt!—but I nodded anyway.
"Yes, we guessed as much," I said.
"I hope it’s alright that we’re here."
"Of course," Vylar said.
"You are all welcome aboard my ship anytime you like; there is so much more I would like to show you!
" "Really?" asked Mark, his eyes lighting up.
"I’d love to see more of your world!"
"I too would be interested in learning more about your people," Lisa added.
The thought of leaving Earth behind for a while filled me with a strange mixture of excitement and fear; I had always been fascinated by the idea of traveling through space, but actually doing it was an entirely different matter!
"There’s no need to be afraid," Vylar said, as if reading my thoughts.
"It is a big universe out there, but I promise you that we will take good care of you. My people have spent centuries traveling through the stars, and we know how to keep our guests safe."
I nodded silently; I still felt a little nervous about the idea, but something in the alien's voice made me feel like I could trust him.
"So tell us more about your people," Mark said eagerly.
"Who are you? What do you do?"
"We are the people of Vyloria," the alien replied with a warm smile.
"Our people live on the edge of known space, where we channel the power of the stars to create new wonders. We believe in peace above all else, and we strive to maintain balance throughout the universe."
"What do you mean by balance?"
I asked curiously.
"Balance between what?"
"Balance between light and dark," Vylar said cryptically.
"Though we have many enemies throughout the galaxy, we seek only to defend ourselves if attacked; it is against our code to start conflicts without reason."
"You don’t get into fights unless you have to?"
Mark asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Exactly!"
"Many years ago, my people discovered a way to travel through space and time, which allowed us to explore the cosmos in ways that were once impossible. We have been traveling through the stars for over a millennium now, and during that time we have encountered many strange and wonderful beings. But we only recently found humans."
"Why is that?" Lisa asked.
"When we first discovered your world, you were still very primitive; we decided that it was best to leave you alone so that you could develop on your own terms. It is our belief that all species deserve a chance to grow without interference."
I nodded slowly; it made sense.
Vylar’s people clearly had advanced technology far beyond what we could imagine, but they chose not to use it to dominate others.
It took me a moment to realize just how rare this was in the universe; I had read plenty of stories about ruthless conquerors who destroyed entire planets for their own gain.
"It is one of our most important laws," Vylar continued.
"We believe that all life forms deserve respect, regardless of how advanced they are. In fact, we have spent many years protecting younger civilizations from those who would seek to harm them; it is our duty to make sure that no one species grows too powerful."
"You mean you go around picking fights with anyone who gets too powerful?" Mark asked.
"Not at all," Vylar said.
"My people only use force as a last resort; we would much rather negotiate with others than start conflicts. But if someone threatens the peace, then of course we will do what needs to be done."
I nodded silently as I took in the alien's words.
Vylar's people had clearly spent thousands of years developing relationships with other species; they valued peace above all else, and would do whatever was necessary to maintain it.
It was strange, but I found myself feeling proud of them for some reason; after all, they could have easily used their power for evil, but instead they chose to protect others.
Vylar turned back to the holographic map and began gesturing at different planets while he spoke.
"Like I said before, my people have traveled through the stars for centuries now," he explained.
"We have explored many different worlds, each with their own unique cultures and customs. We do not always get along with the beings that we meet, but we try our best to maintain positive relationships with them whenever possible."
He touched one of the stars on the map, and suddenly an image of Earth appeared before us.
I gasped as I took in the details; it was a perfect replica of the world from space!
"I can zoom in even closer if you like," Vylar said with a smile.
I nodded eagerly, and the alien's fingers danced across the holographic screen as he zoomed in on my home planet even further.
The continents slowly came into focus, along with thousands of tiny markers scattered across the surface.
"As you can see, we have mapped out every inch of your world," Vylar explained.
"Each one of these markers represents an important cultural site or resource. Some of them are hidden beneath the ground or under the ocean, but we know exactly where they are."
I stared at the map in awe; I had never seen anything like it before.
Not only did it show physical locations, but it also displayed energy fields and other dimensions that were beyond human understanding!
