Humility

Humility.

It was a new sensation for Humanity.

We had avoided wiping ourselves out. We spread into the galaxy. We built. We were strong.

We were the most advanced race in our local area. Some were at best scratching at being Neolithic. Most were about the level of Homo erectus. Fire was a novelty. It explained the lack of radio signals.

However, it didn't make us stop looking.

But it did make us become quite full of our selves.

We were the First Ones. The Gods Themselves.

And yet, there was a surprise waiting for us at Cygnus X-1.

It took us a 500 years to finally reach that first black hole.

And there, in orbit, in a p type circum binary orbit was Abel. This world was obviously put there. There was no way anything would have formed in a polar orbit around the common center of a black hole and a B class star. And it was a terrestrial world no less. One cloaked in eternal night yet stayed warm enough to walk around in shirt sleeves and had a breathable atmosphere....without photosynthesis...

And there, upon its surface, They were. The Clarkes, the great obelisks. The ones that were older than the Earth. The ones with that indicated we were NOT the First Ones. That others had come before us. That commanded powers we could not even imagine.

And they were out there. Somewhere.

And they knew about us. For they left the gift, waiting, patiently, for us.

The Clarkes.

Humanity learned Humility...and a little bit of fear:

What if they came back?