Pasadena, California – The nerd

      "Is that all?" exclaimed the big, decidedly overweight guy, as he observed the strange device that the young nerd was holding in his hand. "You’re not going to tell me that you’ve made us wait more than a month just to show us this thing flashing."

      "I can assure you it’s working" replied the terrified boy. "Indeed, I think it’s already done what it was designed to do."

      "Yes, but are you going to tell us what?” yelled the tall thin guy as he jumped to his feet. "Now I really am losing my patience."

      In the basement bulging with equipment, monitors and computers of all kinds, lit by a dim led light which was reflected off the worn walls, the boy’s emaciated face looked even paler than it really was.

      "Listen here, if you don’t tell us what this thing’s really for, I swear I’ll make you swallow it whole" exclaimed the fat guy grabbing the nerd by the scruff of the neck.

      "But I told you" answered the ever more frightened boy. "It’s a system to activate a procedure remotely."

      "But what procedure? What is it?" continued the big guy, as he shook the boy as if he were mixing Margaritas.

      "I'm not sure” the young man tried to answer. "But I think we’ve activated something very particular and dangerous, given the protection systems I had to bypass."

      "Explain yourself," said the fat guy still continuing to shake him.

      "If you let me go, I'll show you.”

      "Okay. But I hope it’s convincing, or else the biggest bit of you that’ll be found will only be visible under a microscope."

      The boy straightened his shirt, readjusted his long hair that hadn’t seen any shampoo for quite a while and headed towards a workstation with two keyboards and a series of half-dismantled computers. He quickly typed several incomprehensible commands and, after a few seconds, a three-dimensional image of the strange object that slowly revolved upon itself, appeared on a giant screen that hung from the ceiling.

      "This is our mysterious remote control.”

      "Ah, now it's become a remote control?”

      â€œWell, considering its function I think we can safely call it that."

      â€œGo ahead,” said the thin guy as he settled himself on a shabby chair in order to better observe the large monitor.

      â€œWell, the main problem was how to reactivate it. I struggled quite a lot because, most likely, not only had it been turned off but the owner did not want anybody to ever turn it back on again.”

      "See it wasn’t the batteries that had gone flat, you silly old fool," exclaimed the fat guy, turning towards his crony.

      "No, there’s no batteries inside,” continued the nerd. "I think it works with an external power source, a sort of electromagnetic flow that it manages to capture and transform into pure power.”

      "Interesting" commented the skinny guy. "But what’s its scope?"

      "In theory, perhaps even several hundred thousand kilometres."

      "Blimey" exclaimed the fat guy as he held the strange object in his hand. "Are you telling me that this little thing might be capable of transmitting a signal from here to the moon?"

      "I think so and it probably already has done."

      "And what’s it supposed to have transmitted?"

      "Well that’s the interesting bit" continued the boy as he brought up a new picture on the big screen. "These are the symbols that appeared on the front of it after it had been reactivated."

      "It looks like some sort of ancient language" commented the thin guy. “I'm sure I've seen it somewhere before.”

      "In fact, it’s cuneiform. The Sumerians used it several thousand years before Christ."

      "And what’s it doing on such a technologically advanced instrument?"

      "It’s the language of our alien visitors."

      "Are you telling me that those brutes who captured us speak cuneiform?" asked the big guy somewhat surprised.

      "Well," the boy tried to explain, "it’s not exactly that you speak cuneiform. It’s a form of writing. But I think this is their language."

      "And have you managed to translate it?"

      "Actually, for the command to be sent, I had to insert a kind of password. In practice, by touching the symbols in the right order, I entered operational mode."

      "Basically, like the system you use to unlock your phone?"

      "More or less, yes" said the nerd smiling, happy that the two guys had finally understood what he was talking about.

      "You’ve done a really good job," said the fat guy looking pleased.

      "Yes, but we still haven’t understood its true function yet," replied the thin guy rather disappointed.

      "I could hazard a guess which I think might be quite realistic," said the boy, softly.

      â€œWell, what are you waiting for? Talk," replied the fat guy, moving within just a few centimetres of his nose.

      "I think it’s a system to activate the self-destruct procedure of a spacecraft, as well as who knows how many other functions."

      The two buddies looked at one another in amazement for an instant then, as if someone had just given him the most wonderful gift in the world, the larger of the two exclaimed "Please, tell me we’ve blown them up."

      "Very probably the aliens will have had ample time to get to safety, but their vehicle might have come to a really bad end."

      "Son, you’re a genius," exclaimed the big guy. Then he pulled a USB memory stick out of his pocket and added, "Put all the data you’ve got on this thing and then cancel everything. If we discover you’ve kept even a single byte..."

      â€œI know, I know. You’ll make mincemeat out of me."

      â€œWell done. I knew you were a smart guy."

      The copy process only lasted a few seconds. Then, after removing the USB stick from his computer,