[WP] Mankind invents FTL travel and finally discovers intelligent extraterrestrial life. But when they arrive, they find out that the race is not yet advanced enough to understand space travel. Humans are accepted as gods.

Herman could barely remember a thing. There was a flash, a pain, a rush, and nothing. He knew he was on a mission, but had absolutely no idea what it was. He should have recognized the soft warm surface of the planet. He should have known about the large scaled beast rising out of the nearby river. But he did not. Somewhere between the two points in space time-which he shouldn't have been able to bridge, he had lost his memories. All of them. It was as if they hadn't even happened yet.

Herman approached the large scaled beast and spoke. He was surprised how naturally his thoughts turned into sounds and how instantly he understood the meanings of those sounds.

"Hello, stranger"

Silence. This creature was not sentient. Of course. Why would one expect the first creature found on a strange planet to be a thinker? Herman could tell that he was different from the beast. A different species. He felt taller and more aware, for one, and the beast didn't seam to be capable of the same mouth noises as him. The beast snapped and Herman remembered fear.

Given his current condition, Herman had know way of remembering the massive pile of wreckage from which he had luckily been ejected, but it felt like home. He walked towards the ship and a smaller creature bounded towards him. This time coming from the wreckage. It was Mr. Springs, Herman's mandated companion pet, a middle-aged hairless cat. It was only a few hours before the bond between them was reignited, despite their shared lack of recollection of the several perceived months they had spent together traveling through the cosmos in a windowless lead can.

The first man to defy Einstein's upper limit had landed on an inhabitable planet. This was a breakthrough for mankind. Unfortunately, though, he had no memory of his previous planet. No way to confirm extraterrestrial life. No understanding of the feat he had accomplished and certainly no recognition for it. The saddest part, perhaps, was that Herman didn't even realize how sad his situation was. Or perhaps that was the silver lining.

In the morning, Herman and Mr. Springs awoke together. Cuddled under the ship. They had both had a feeling of being watched over night but had kept each themselves strong. Encouraged by one another's confidence, they had remained confident. Herman even felt up to trying at another conversation with the water beast. Maybe this morning he would be performing humanity's first communication with extraterrestrial life.

Herman came upon the beast and began his approach. He proceeded more formally this time, in the way you would expect from an unworldly ambassador. Snort. Snap. The beast was clearly incapable of communication. Herman should have been afraid but he was distracted from a noise in the bushes. A rush and a bolt - Herman had no idea what happened - and the beast was dead. Out of the bushes climbed a being alarmingly similar to Herman.

Mr. Springs came out of hiding and mewed at the new face. The beings had been watching Herman since his arrival. They were amazed by the man who came crashing out of the heavens. They wanted to worship him and learn from him. His companion, a small animal the likes of which they had never seen before, also quickly earned their admiration. Herman drew a triangle in the sand to try and communicate his sentience to the natives.

The triangle, the hairless cat, symbols of a new religion. Herman a god. Massive sculptures were to be built in their honor. Wars to be fought in their names. But first, he would need to be introduced. Herman read his name tag to the natives.

"O'Saurus. Herman O'Saurus."

And that night they feasted on the crocodile which he had so naively greeted one day prior.

/r/WritingPrompts Thread