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The first travellers to Alpha Centauri after the signing of the Trade Agreement in 2039 were scientific teams despatched to work with their new colleagues in the exchange of knowledge which was to be so fruitful for both parties. Whereas the diplomatic missions had remained within the confines of Alpha's capital, Ergotha, the scientists were able to travel freely in the company of their opposite numbers. It was during their early explorations, made to familiarise themselves with the culture of their hosts, that they first saw what must stand as the greatest technological marvel of known space: the City Ships of Alpha.

It is impossible to convey the overwhelming impact that these extraordinary constructions have on those who have seen them first hand. Situated in the vast, bleak desert region of Alpha One, they dominate the horizon until the curvature of the surface hides them from view.

The Alpha Centaurians themselves are uncertain of their exact age and origin as they have been there throughout recorded history and are shrouded in myth and legend.

Three of these megalithic structures exist and are obviously inhabited, but there has never been any communications with their occupants as afr as the Alpha Centaurians are aware. Attempts to communicate have always failed, while landings on their upper surfaces have proved impossible as a protective field diverts any object making an approach. It is beleived that the citizens of these strange edifices have never participated in the evolution of other lifeforms on the planet and have always remained within the perimeters of this otherwise lifeless region.

The most remarkable and almost inconceivable aspects of the cities is that they are capable of flight. Every few years one or more of them rises silently from the huge pedestal on which it rests and moves through the thin atmosphere to a similar stone column in another area of the desert. These columns are scattered throughout the district, though never less than a thousand miles apart, and there seems no reason why one should differ from another. The Alpha scientists have tried to identify a pattern in these movements, but no consistencies can be found either in the journeys of the cities or in the siting of the columns. One thing which is certain is that they represent a level of technological knowledge that we can only guess at. Their means of propulsion, for example, obviously depends on a gravity-resist process of some kind but how the enormous power this would require is generated cannot be explained. It seems to be a natural law that conversion of energy must always result in a by-product, whether heat, light or converted matter. The by-product from such a level of energy must be correspondingly great, but what it is or where it goes is another question.Seismographic surveys have established that the columns consist of solid masonry, while their temperature, with that of the air surrounding the city, fails to show any untoward variation.

Popular hypotheses abound, they are even, perhaps inevitably, regarded as the seats of deities and are a focus of a number of religious factions.

Another view widely held is that the inhabitants are the ancestors of the humanoid races and are now quietly observing the evolution of their progeny. Only time, and probably a great deal of it, will tell whether we shall eventually be allowed contact with whatever intelligence has shaped these objects.

Meanwhile they exist as awe-inspiring enigmas that have a profound and somewhat humbling effect on all who see them. Not surprisingly, of the visitors who have made the journey to the desert, a great number return to contemplate the City Ships again.