Monolith

Upon request
The scientific council
Issues you
To research the magnetic field residing
On Erebus 2

As I approach the site
I feel a static current
Running up and down my spine
When I see what lays ahead
I know the reason why

This dark slab before me stands towards the sky
No light reflected
Commanding. Imposing
Pure silence emitted
Yet, it speaks to me
The monolith

Electronic implants
Just below my skin
Pick up a signal
My hair stands on edge

Yet, no one is here except me

What makes up this creature?
Not skin nor steel nor stone
This pure dark mass invites me
I present my hand

The second I make contact, the monolith uploads
The history of its people to my skull

A type V civilization
Mortal as you or I
Found an eternal way to survive

Their bodies long turned dust
Their consciousness still lives
Implanted deep within the monolith

Colonizing planets
Then self-replicating
Eternal masters from another time

Now I see our fate before me
We become machine