Colony

The light detectives knew this: In the future, forensics would be different. Human answers would no longer beach here, to start. There would always be some older John on the force going on about the way it was. You would tire of hearing around the vipercooler we used to have humans for all that stuff. Eventually money is pooled, a search party sent up. Darkness turns the radio down just enough to say it hasn’t seen us. We arrive at deep space. Demand her dove secrets. Report back, there’s nothing else here, boss.

On our return to earth some satellite face says an important robot has died. Now, lonely sounds like data loss. It’s back to studying torches, soft as night fingers. See, the light detectives just came through these parts. We heard them go body to body, asking after our harbors. It’s ghost-strange, the evidence they have planted of us. We see: their sky picnics. They think: We are just another cabin fire. Gone is still the missing ship. And yeah, they still make us humans work that beat.