Deepak peered out of the portal into the blackness of space. The canopy of stars was a minor distraction from the blue dot that was his destination. Deepak had spent his whole life waiting for this moment, and even now could not quite believe it was happening. He was on a mission to Earth to re-establish contact with the Humans. Deepak had been chosen for this mission due to his Ambassadorial skills and extraordinary linguistic abilities, as well as his role as spiritual leader of his people.
Deepak came from a planet known as Dhal within the Tandoori star system. His race were known as the Bhajis, and they had a long and noble history. As the most ancient race in the universe, they had been responsible, many thousands of years earlier, for the creation of mankind through genetic engineering. While it was true that man would have eventually evolved had he been left to his own devices, some help had been needed in order that the other races would not be left behind when the Great Shift occurred.
The Great Shift had been prophesied since the origins of the Bhaji race. It spoke of a great shift within the universe, where all the races would move towards a greater understanding of who they were, and their spiritual purpose. The result of this would be an end to all wars and all misunderstanding. However, none of the races could do this on their own, as the prophecy stated that all would go together. If one was insufficiently evolved, then the other races would all be stopped in their tracks.
The Humans were considered to be the least evolved race in the universe, governed by their emotions and petty squabbles. While this prophecy was widely understood, not all of the Humans believed in its validity, as many regarded it as myth. However, a growing number realised that myth is often seeded from fact, and should therefore not be ignored. Unfortunately most of these had been pushed to the fringes of society and labelled as pilaff's (a Bhaji translation for nut cases.)
The Earth slowly began to come into view, that beautiful blue, green planet which was now home to a multitude of Humans, with their diverse belief systems and differing attitudes towards others. As his ship began to enter Earth's atmosphere, Deepak activated the cloaking device and diverted it towards the United Kingdom, specifically London.
He programmed the coordinates of his destination into the craft's navigational system - the Houses of Parliament. The timing had been carefully planned to coincide with live coverage of Prime Ministers Question Time. Parliament had been recalled from their Christmas festivities in order to discuss the recent increase of sightings associated with unknown phenomena. The date was 21st December 2012.
Bill was leading the debate, as Chairman of the UFO Committee. This Committee had been in existence for several decades, but had only recently become public knowledge, when some of its files were discovered outside a pub in an Indian takeaway carton. Bill himself claimed to have had several UFO experiences, and was only too willing to explain his views, now the veil of secrecy had been lifted.
As the debate intensified, George stood up, shaking his fists and becoming most irate, at the Right Honourable Gentleman's suggestions. Imagine his surprise when Deepak suddenly appeared in the auditorium, as if by magic. George's jaw dropped to the floor in disbelief, as Deepak addressed the House……
Bill looked on in amazement, glad that his views and beliefs had finally been confirmed. He noticed that Deepak appeared to be reading from a book, which hovered just in front of his face. Bill could see the characters on the pages, but was unable to interpret them from this distance. He did not wish to take anything at face value, as he had made this mistake before, only to fall flat on his face. Bill was determined to obtain this book so that he could decipher the words.
When Deepak had finished his speech, the house stood for a full ten minutes applauding his words. Deepak then left the auditorium followed by a mass of people, crowding round with many questions on their minds. Who was this enigmatic stranger and where had he come from? How was his ship able to land undetected, and what technology did his race possess? Most important of all, in what capacity was he here to serve man, as he had mentioned this several times, but failed to state the meaning behind the words?
Bill trailed behind, trying in vain to catch a glimpse of the elusive book. This proved to be somewhat frustrating, as by the time he reached Deepak the book seemed to have totally disappeared. Bill suddenly remembered that the programme had been televised live, and his wife always liked to record his debates to show their grandchildren. He jumped in the car and drove home as quickly as he could. He then retired to his study and sat down to watch the tapes.
The images of the book were far from clear, but provided just enough detail to interpret the symbols, which were somewhat similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs. Since Bill's father was an archaeologist, Bill had accompanied him on many of his expeditions as a child. As a result he was able to read this ancient form of writing.
The next few hours were spent busily deciphering the text. The conclusion Bill reached was an astounding one which he could not quite believe, as it challenged everything that he had previously learnt. He began to understand how George must have felt.
Bill spent the night in turmoil, turning over in his mind what he should do next. He knew that he must act, but was not sure how, all he knew was that the situation had to be brought to a head, and quite rapidly. It was now a matter of international security.
By morning, Bill had made a decision, possibly the most important one of his entire life. He had to talk to George, his opposite number. At 8am sharp Bill's car drew up outside George's house and he tapped urgently on the door. George answered, still in his dressing gown and ushered Bill inside.
"George", he said, "I have finally discovered the real reason behind Deepak's visit. The book he was reading from, the one he called Serving Man, it's actually a cook book, and we are the dish of the day. When Deepak said he wanted to serve man he wasn't joking".
