Explorer 0613 initiating Status Report. Day two.
My apologies for the short delay. I had experienced an unexpected, but minor disruption that had briefly stalled my progress. It has been taken care of.
Construction of my Handling Machine went without incident and it has been completed. With this task accomplished, I had wasted little time in climbing from the crater into the surrounding forests. I had begun patrolling the area, marking out the boundaries I have chosen for myself with additional Heat Rays. As I did this, I found my eyes frequently gazing upwards toward the sky, filled with vaguely familiar constellations and a large single moon. I was quick to pick out Mars, barely visible as a distant small dot and it is this fact that reminds me of just how isolated I am here. It is a crushing sensation, but I will not allow such a feeling to hinder my mission. I returned my attention to my errands, and I was in the process of setting up the fifth Heat Ray when my Handling Machine picked up a disturbance.
Turning, I saw a dim flicker of light through the foliage, dancing slightly and casting shadows. The light was advancing and I quickly realized the situation.
Humans.
It is quite daunting to think that the Humans would find me so quickly, even when I purposely avoided their society by isolating myself in the wilderness. It is without a doubt that they have witnessed the landing of my capsule and made it their initiative to investigate. I was not yet ready for contact.
I had no time to complete the installation of the Heat Ray and I had begun to move my Handling Machine away so as to wait them out from within the undergrowth. Alas, it is this movement, and the metallic gleam of my machine that drew their attention to me. They froze, as did I, and we regarded each other. There was two of them, one significantly larger than the other. In their hands, they held primitive glass and metal containers, small fires visible within both. These hideous creatures had fear evident in their eyes and I was not going to wait for them to act on this fear.
With a swift movement, I grabbed for them and managed to catch the smaller one. This enraged the larger animal and it drew a small device from its clothing. It pointed this device at me and although my ear struggles to pick up sound in this atmosphere, I still heard the loud explosion from the device. Something struck my machine, and I am convinced that if it were not for my protective covering, I would have been dealt bodily harm. As it is, the primitive weapon proved ineffectual and I grabbed for the creature once more.
It jumped back, right into the Heat Ray and causing the unstable device to topple to the ground. This triggered the Ray to go off and it struck the foliage behind me, setting it ablaze. This caused the Human yet more distress and in its confusion, I successfully grabbed hold of it. With both Humans in my grasp, I recovered the Heat Ray and returned back to my capsule with great haste.
Caging the creatures, I immediately set about extinguishing the fire before it got out of control and made the last repairs to the Heat Ray. Upon finishing, I resumed my task to secure my borders and created additional Heat Rays, just as a precaution against anymore curious Humans.
Regarding the ones that I have captive, I shall take the opportunity to study the Human Biology on a closer scale. However, I need only one specimen for this task, and the other shall provide me with some much-needed nourishment...
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