The shaft of light from the entrance reached far into the straight tunnel of the Monte Cristo Mine. Otto Becker kept his eyes fixed on the light at the entrance of the tunnel to lessen the sting of the bright morning sun once he emerged.

Next to the stream, between the meadow and the mine opening, Otto saw a silver, saucer-shaped craft supported on three legs. 

Otto observed a man walking from behind the craft, grabbing a hose and placing it into the rushing stream of water. 

The sight of the man calmed the verging feeling of shock and fear. Now Otto was more curious about the man than the strange craft. Placing the tool he had retrieved from the chest deliberately on the ground, Otto walked cautiously toward the man. When the man next to the spacecraft noticed Otto, he calmly walked toward him. When they were facing each other, the man offered his hand and they both shared a warm exchange.

“I’m sorry.” The man spoke in a friendly, perfect voice. “We didn’t know you were here. It is our custom to not be seen by others or interrupt them in any way.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Otto asked, “how old are you both?”

“I am about six hundred years old, according to your measurement of time,” the younger man said.

“I am about nine hundred years old,” the second man said with kind conviction.

Not fully comprehending the ramifications of this revelation, Otto asked, “Why are you here?”

“We visit to monitor the progression and the retrogression of your societies. We do this on other worlds also. Sometimes we live among you so that we can observe more closely. We know more than five hundred languages. We are still learning yours.”

“Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you hold the priesthood?”

The younger man smiled. It was a cryptic smile, one that didn’t reveal the answer but rather was an acknowledgement that he fully understood the weight of the question.

“We would like to speak of these things, but we are unable. We cannot interfere.”

Sensing his reply was honest, there was no need to further press the issue.

“Where did you come from?” Otto asked.

“We live on a distant planet, behind a planet that you can observe, but you don’t see our world.” He pointed eastward into the blue sky.

Otto reflected on how warm and comfortable he felt around these strangers.

With emphasis the man explained how they traveled in space. 

“We focus on a distinct star and use its energy to draw the ship toward the star through space.”

“How fast do you go?”

“We are only limited by the speed at which we can transfer our energy source. Our ship skips upon the light waves. We can travel at speeds greater than the speed of light.”

The man emphasized that they could go beyond the speed of light. Otto didn’t comprehend at the time that this was a significant fact. 

Could there be life on other planets? Even though Otto had firsthand experience that there was, he hadn’t fully realized the impact of that knowledge. If these men were telling me the truth, then yes, there are many worlds in the night sky and they have people on them. He now had the answer to a marvelous mystery, to the paramount question that has given pause to men over the centuries as they view the night sky. However, these were questions he had never asked or thought about. Otto could now see the irony of the situation. He had a treasure, more valuable than the minerals beneath his feet, but he hadn’t sought after it, nor was he prepared to prosper from it. The fact that he refused to go with them sealed his fate. He was not an adventurer or spokespersons.  In honest self-deprecation Otto realized that the value of this information was wasted on such a common man.