Evolution of the Apes

"Well done everyone.  I'm submitting each of your names for a special commendation.  I couldn't be more proud of you."
"Thank you Captain, but don't we still have one more project to review before we wrap up our mission and start putting in for awards?"
"What's on your mind Ensign Low?   We've completed every assignment on my list."
"Yes sir, but there's still that other one.  The one you didn't want on your list."
"Oh no, it was you?  You submitted that project for review?"  Captain Pog felt the tension building throughout his body and gripped the armrests of his captain's chair hoping to squeeze out some of his anxiety.  He calmly turned his head towards the security officer and said, "Teng, I thought you weeded out all the bleeding heart liberals from my crew."
Teng shrugged his shoulders.  "Sir, we vetted every member very thoroughly.  As far as I know, nobody has every fooled the political computers."
"Then how do you explain this?"
"SIR!"  Ensign Low interrupted, "The computers did not fail.  I am not a bleeding heart, my interests in this project are more personal."
"Well, it's not a mission unless it's on the captain's list.  Besides, Earth is old news.  It was one of our earlier projects and it was a dismal failure.  I don't know why anyone would want to reopen that dusty old case."
Lieutenant Teng interrupted, "Sir, I don't know how I missed this.  It is entirely my fault.  It seems that ensign Low here, is a distant descendant of Captain Pew."
"The Captain Pew?"
"Yes sir, the same Pew that spearheaded the first project on Earth.  I should have caught that before."
"I see.  Don't beat yourself up over this Teng, I'm sure Ensign Low's family has gone to great lengths to hide their relationship with our people's greatest failure."
"Sir!"  Low interrupted again, "I'm not so sure it was such a failure.  I've been doing some research, on my own time of course, and I think maybe our mission there was not the total failure as it is written in our history."
"What kind of research?  The records of that mission have been public knowledge for thousands of years.  If there was any inconsistency, I think it would have been discovered long ago."
Lieutenant Teng and several of the other crew members clearly did not know the details of Project Earth and shot each other puzzled looks and shrugged shoulders.
Captain Pog, seeing their reaction, pressed a button on his arm rest.  "Kreg, dig up the archives on Project Earth and put them on the bridge viewer."
Kreg was the ship's librarian.  "Earth?  That's pretty old stuff, the images may be a bit grainy, certainly lower quality than what you are accustomed to seeing."
The view screen flashed up a map of the Solar System.  The narrator's clear booming voice filled the room, "Earth.  A smaller planet with a mild climate in a star system littered with comets, planetoids and other debris.  The planet itself is in an ideal orbit to sustain life, and is teeming with a variety of species.  Three great planets provided some shelter from interstellar debris, but a great debate had risen as to whether the gas giants would provide adequate protection for the young planet.  Project Earth was established to build an additional screen of asteroids to further shield the planet while we determined which would be the dominant lizard species."
"Kreg!"  The captain slammed his fist on his console.  "You've gone too far back.  Bring up the ape project."
"Yes sir, right away sir."
The image faded and was replaced with a slightly improved version of the solar system.  "Project Earth, Phase II, The Ape Project.  After the great asteroid curtain failed to shield planet Earth from a rogue comet, dramatic changes took place starting with the extinction of the great lizards, and culminating with the evolution of several mammalian species into dominance.  After considerable research, it was concluded that the great apes stood the only significant chance of evolving into an advanced species we could call neighbor, but they were a violent species.  They were so brutal that genocide was considered to prevent any further evolution, but there were those who opposed such strong measures.  They were lead by a young officer, Captain Pew, who suggested another approach.  His team went in and genetically divided the great apes, splitting them into two different branches of apes, one with the brutal disposition, and one without.  The planet was then marked as strictly off limits for at least fifty thousand years before we could check on it's progress."
The captain paused the report.  "You see?  Captain Pew was one of the early bleeding hearts.  I don't understand how anyone of his type every reached the rank of captain."
"Those were different times, sir," Teng offered, "What ever happened to the apes?"
"We sent a team to check on their progress, but  it turned out that they hadn't evolved at all.  They were practically docile, even though they were large and strong.  They had devolved into vegetarians, and lived a peaceful existences in the jungle.  Project Earth was a dismal failure."
"But sir!" Low interrupted again, "it wasn't a complete failure.  There is more to learn there."
"I could keep playing the archive, Low, but it's just going to repeat what I have already said.  The apes devolved into docile herbivores.  Their language is extremely primitive.  Their tools are less than rudimentary.  What could you possibly have gleaned from the archives that thousands of seasoned archeologists have missed?"
"It's not in the records, sir.  I've been collecting new data, on my own time, and I think we should take another look." 
"As far as I know, that planet is still off limits."
"That's just one of those old laws that stay on the books because nobody pays any attention to them any more.  Nobody has ever provided any incentive to repeal it."
"Are you saying you have scouted planet Earth?"
"No sir, but I have been listening.  Earth has evolved, in spite of what the reports say.  I have been detecting low band radio emissions from Earth."
"Sunspots, we noted that on an earlier mission."
"No sir, there are coherent waves in these emissions.  I think they are communicating, perhaps they are reaching out to us."
"That's impossible, they can barely communicate with each other."
"But I have proof.  Look at these charts."  Ensign Low typed some commands into the navigation console where he sat and displayed his charts on the view screen.  "Look at the strength of these radio signals compared to the background noise."
"That could be an ancient probe of ours wandering through their galaxy."
"Listen to this."   Ensign low typed more commands and a lyrical sound emanated from the bridge.
"What's that?"
"I think it's music, sir."
"Sounds like noise to me."
"None the less, you must admit it has rhythmic qualities indicating it probably originated from a higher life form.  It certainly is not white noise."
"Nonsense.  No matter what you may believe, Ensign Low, we do continue to check on Earth's progress, and we just sent a probe there less than ten thousand years ago.  The apes have not changed, and I can guarantee you they have not evolved in only seven thousand years."
"Maybe it wasn't the apes."
"There were no other species capable of such evolution.  It's impossible."
"Then maybe it wasn't THOSE apes, maybe it was the other ones that we genetically split off from them?"
That struck a nerve with Captain Pog.  "Captain Pew assured us that the barbaric genetic line would kill each other off leaving the peaceful apes to dominate the Earth.  If you are correct, and the brutal apes have evolved to the point of contacting us, then Captain Pew's failure is far greater than any of us ever suspected."
Ensign Low's heart sunk with those words.  "What have I done?" he thought to himself.  He had set out to clear his ancestor's name and had only made things worse.  Worse yet for the young ensign, this is exactly what his mother said would happen.
"Well done Ensign Low!   You have convinced me to put Earth on my list.  Plot a course for Earth.  Let us see what is going on there."
Interstellar travel was no longer carried out by faster than light vehicles.  Modern explorers bent the space time continuum to travel long distances instantaneously.  It consumed enormous amounts of energy, but required very little time.
Low entered some parameters into the navigational console and promptly pulled them into an orbit between mars and the asteroid belt they had built eons ago.
"Low, where's Earth?  I thought you were supposed to be the most gifted navigator the academy has ever produced, but I don't see Earth in my view screen."
"Sir, we passed several probes of unknown origin on the way here.  Even now, on that red planet over there, I can detect a couple active probes.  I thought we might want to scan Earth from a safe distance while we determine the origin of these probes."
"Scan the probes."  Silence followed.  "Science officer?  Scan the probes."  Pog looked over his shoulder, the science station was unmanned.  "Where's my science officer?  Who's on duty?"
"Lin is on duty.  She's in the galley synthesizing Gromekulan Ale for the party you probably should cancel."
Again, Pog activated the comm panel on his chair.  "Lin?  The party is cancelled, or at least postponed.  I need ..."
He hadn't even finished speaking when she had already appeared at the science station.  "Scanning."
"... you on the bridge."  He hated it when she did that.  Not just her ability to transport herself from one spot to another, but he thought it was creepy that she knew what he was going to say before he even finished saying it.
"Composite carbon based materials, magnetic motivators, silicon based circuitry.  All compounds that could be either found on Earth, or synthesized with raw materials found on Earth."
"But nothing to positively link them to Earth?"
"Well there are the radio signals between the probes and Earth."
"They have focused beam communications?"
"No sir, but the signals both appear to be binary, and their transmission rate and bit size are compatible."
"Can you detect any hand shaking between the two?"
"No sir, but radio transmission in this band would travel far too slowly over this distance for any interactive protocol."
"That's not enough.  I need a smoking gun.  We need something more conclusive."
"Sir?"
"Yes Low?"
"Didn't Science Officer Lin say she detected one of the signals coming from Earth?"
Pog nodded his head and scratched his chin.  "Well there is that."  Pog spun his chair around to face his communications officer, "Bek, send the following dispatch to Imperial command.  Interplanetary technology detected in the vicinity of Earth.  Possible intruders.  Must investigate immediately."
"A dispatch sir?"
"Yes Bek, a dispatch."
"But sir, a dispatch would take weeks to reach the central dispatch coordinator.  I can connect you to command and you can explain it to them immediately."
"Yes Bek, but I don't want to sit around here waiting while they argue over the merits of visiting Earth if it has been inhabited by someone from outside the alliance."
"Begging your pardon sir ..."
"Ah," Pog's voice was dripping with sarcasm, "I was wondering when my first officer would finally chime in to question my orders.  What is it Karb?"
"Forgive me sir, but Lin never said anything in her analysis that suggested intruders."
"Of course not Karb, but if I told them the apes had ventured forth into their star system, we would all be laughed at, goodbye commendations.  On the other hand, if I told them we may have created a more aggressive killer ape species that has ventured forth into the planets, then we might upset the delicate political balance in favor of the bleeding hearts."
"Not necessarily, sir."
"No, not necessarily, but in two weeks time, when they receive the dispatch, we should already have all our answers regarding intelligent life on Earth."
Nobody every accused Pog of being a mental giant.  Most of the science officers and engineers found him somewhat tedious in conversations.  Nobody, however, questioned his guile.  He was devious to the core and could have entered into the political academy if it weren't for his genuine thirst for adventure.
"Lin, put earth on the view screen, let's see what is going on there."
Once again, Lin had the image up on the screen before he had completed his order.  "Hmm, looks ordinary enough.  Why don't you highlight the ..."  He stopped there and waited for Lin to update the image, but she did nothing.  "Lin?"
"Your orders Captain?"
"You're going to make me finish saying my orders this time?"
"Sir, I'm not a mind reader.  I can see a few seconds into the future, nothing more."
Pog played this game to show the crew that the orders were actually his.  He didn't like any of them thinking Lin was the one in charge.  "Highlight their technology on the screen please."
"Aye sir."
"Interesting.  Why is most of the technology isolated in pockets like that?"
"Unclear sir, running diagnostics."
"Lin can you check the diagnostics?"  His voice tailed off as he realized she already had said that.
"Results confirmed.  There are several levels of technology.  The highest levels appear to be in the northern hemisphere primarily in these sections here, here, and here."  She highlighted the map on the screen as she spoke.  "The southern hemisphere appears to have pockets of technology that have been injected into a more primitive jungle like environment."
"Sir, how did you know?"
"How did I know what, Karb?"
"The patterns appear to follow a conquer and inhabit strategy.  How did you know it would be intruders?"
"I don't know that it is.  If these are the aggressive descendants we split off from the apes, then this pattern could indicate their expansion into their world.  Lin, can you detect what level of technology their war engine has achieved?"
"Sir, the northern regions with the densest technology have not yet surpassed the atomic level, though there are some indications that experiments into the prime particle may be underway.  The southern regions are all very primitive with nothing more than chemical explosives and projectiles.  The equator, however, has a mix of atomic and near atomic capabilities."
"Sir," Teng interrupted, "The equatorial regions appear to be exercising a considerable degree of aggression."
"On what scale?"
"Some regions appear to be at war, regionally at least, while others appear to have some kind of smaller scale violence.  Perhaps gang wars."
"Any evidence of atomic warfare?"
"None sir, at least nothing currently.   There are areas on the planet that are highly radioactive that could have been host to a nuclear war, but most of them don't appear to have ever been inhabited.  They could have been test sites."
"Seriously?  Testing nuclear weaponry on their own planet?  There goes any hope of finding intelligent life on this wretched little rock."
"Maybe not sir."  Bek held her finger pressed to the phone in her ear.  "I am monitoring their communications, and there appears to be a great deal of controversy regarding the hostilities we are witnessing.  They have differing opinions on how they should handle the rising level of aggression, and no apparent intentions to compromise."
"That's just great."  Pog wrinkled his face and rested his chin on his hand.  "We've created monsters.  They don't agree with themselves, so the stronger among them do what they want.  I'm sorry Low, it looks like Pew's failure grows worse with everything we learn."
Low was frantically pouring through the data, trying to find any evidence that this wasn't a complete failure.  "Sir, did you know that their art is quite extraordinary?  The data suggests that they spend a considerable amount of time and energy on creating and recreating art."
"Art doesn't matter.  The aggressive ones will ultimately destroy it either because it wasn't theirs, or they just simply don't care about it.  We've all seen it before, the aggressive leaders never care about the arts.  They only care about power."
Low knew where this conversation was going.  Total failure of the project meant termination of the project.  "But sir, they aren't all like that!  Much of their technology is for good.  They aren't all bent on destruction."
"That is regrettable, but ultimately the strong will destroy it all.  They would kill every living thing until they are the last ones standing.  I'm sorry Low, but I'm afraid there is nothing we can do to restore your ancestor Pew's name.  I'm afraid I have no choice but to recommend termination of Project Earth."
"That's it sir!"
"What's what Low?"
"Captain Pew was correct all along.  The project is not a failure, we just need to allow it to complete."
"I'm not following you Low."
"Captain Pew said the aggressive line would ultimately destroy themselves.  We are witnessing this now.  We just need to let them finish and Captain Pew's name can be restored!"
Everyone on the bridge nodded.
"Very well."  Pog liked the fact that they could escape any controversy regarding this project.  "Low, plot a course home.  Bek, tell the Imperium that I recommend observation posts to record the conclusion of the project.  There is no need to interfere with it's current course.  Lin, why don't you go back to that ale you were making?"
But, of course, Lin was already gone and finishing her brew of Gromekulan Ale.
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