The Deep Space Scrolls

Name: The Deep Space Scrolls
Author: Robert F. Young

During a closed Senate hearing in June 1969, Lieutenant Colonel Willard Greaves testifies before a Special Committee surveying space progress. He and Commander Perkins, aboard the orbital spacecraft Camaraderie 17, had been conducting a three-orbit deep space test flight when they unexpectedly spotted an unknown vessel approximately half a mile away, gradually overtaking their craft. The mysterious ship is enormous: roughly five hundred feet long, eighty-five feet wide, and fifty feet deep, constructed of a dead-black, nonreflective metal. Recognizing this as their only opportunity for contact, as the orbital paths would only align briefly, Greaves and Perkins determine by an unconventional method involving their wives' weights who will board the vessel. Greaves wins and crosses over. Inside, he finds a ship ancient beyond reckoning, its hull riddled with meteor perforations. He moves through a meeting hall, a long passageway lined with tiered sleeping compartments, a combined dining room and galley, and then a massive chamber filled with hundreds of empty cages ranging from tiny to enormous, each seemingly built for pairs or groups of animals. The ion motor powering the ship has been deliberately smashed. The vessel appears to have been intentionally abandoned and rendered inoperable. On the bridge, Greaves discovers a complex instrument panel, a large blank viewscreen, a sophisticated sextant, and most critically, the ship's log in the form of metallic scrolls. He also finds a streamlined telescopic camera mounted to the bulkhead, shaped unmistakably like a dove in flight. Its automatic developing unit has preserved the final photograph it ever took: an image of an olive grove, in which subsequent expert analysis identifies pottery dating to the late Neolithic Period. During his testimony, Greaves reveals the theory he and Perkins have formed. The vessel's dimensions correspond almost precisely to the biblical specifications for Noah's Ark when cubits are converted to feet. The cages suggest the transport of paired animals. The dove-shaped camera and the olive grove photograph echo the biblical narrative directly. The ion motor, though capable of propulsion in space, could never have launched such a massive vessel from a planetary surface under Earth-like gravity, implying a far more advanced civilization constructed and launched it elsewhere. Greaves concludes that the ship originated on another planet devastated by a tectonic catastrophe, whose survivors fled to Earth, deliberately abandoned their advanced technology upon arrival, and reverted to a simpler existence, seeding what would become early human civilizations. Their memories of the voyage, filtered through generations of pre-scientific minds, became the flood myths found across numerous ancient cultures, including the Genesis account. The senators respond with varying degrees of skepticism and alarm. Senator Kuell challenges Greaves sharply, questioning his reasoning, his sanity, and the broader implications, and recommends that both astronauts be relieved of duty pending psychological evaluation. Senator Nicholson worries about international embarrassment should the theory prove wrong. Senator Hewlett urges measured language and caution. The hearing reaches its climax when Senator Larch receives a telegram from Dr. Noyes, the scholar tasked with deciphering the metallic scrolls. The message is brief and unambiguous: the scrolls confirm beyond doubt that the vessel is Noah's Ark. The room falls into extended silence. Senator Kuell urges restraint, alarmed by the theological implications, specifically that monotheism did not originate on Earth and that humanity is not the center of creation. Senator Hewlett responds passionately in the opposite direction, arguing that the discovery demands a genuinely expansive understanding of God as truly universal, and calls on his colleagues to embrace humanity's cosmic origins and venture forth into space not out of geopolitical necessity but out of profound spiritual purpose. Senator Larch closes with a single word of assent.

By Robert F. Young · First published 1970 · Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure · 5,921 words

First lines

_Robert F. Young, who has so felicitously mined the fields of mythology for sf themes, poses a question about one of our most basic racial memories -- and about the nature of our concept of God._

_Following is a transcript of the closed hearing conducted June 18, 1969 by the Special Senate Committee to Survey Space Progress. Committee chairman: Senator Larch. Committee members in attendance: Senators Kuell, Nicholson, and Hewlett. Witness: Lieutenant Colonel Willard S. Greaves, companion-pilot of the_ Camaraderie 17.

What this Textopian page supports

The Deep Space Scrolls is listed on Textopian as a short story by Robert F. Young, dated 1970 CE.

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Work type: Short story
Author: Robert F. Young
Date: 1970 CE
Language: English
Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure, Speculative Fiction, Hard Science Fiction
Length: 5,921 words
Structure: 1 section, 90 paragraphs
Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)

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Discussion starters

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Genres

Science Fiction — The title references 'Deep Space' and 'Scrolls', suggesting a narrative set in outer space with futuristic or speculative elements characteristic of science fiction literature.
Space Opera — Robert F. Young was known for writing space operas, and the grandeur implied by 'Deep Space Scrolls' suggests epic-scale adventures across distant cosmic settings.
Adventure — The concept of scrolls to be discovered and deep space exploration implies a quest narrative with elements of discovery and peril typical of adventure fiction.
Speculative Fiction — Young's work often explored speculative concepts about humanity, consciousness, and alternate realities, suggesting philosophical depth beyond straightforward space adventure.