[ WP ] Mythological stories are just an attempt by ignorant humans who watched and described from their point of view the advanced humans/aliens with their scientific gadgets , space ships , weapons , etc . Pick your favorite mythological story and/or character ( s ) and turn it into a science fiction story .

Nick scratched at his white beard and stared hard at the blue planet before him. He shook his head slightly and returned his gaze to the report. 
 
 “ I don ’ t get it. Is it a cult? ” 
 
 “ No, sir, I don ’ t think that ’ s accurate, ” said Puck. 
 
 “ Agreed, ” said Una as her eyes darted quickly over the screen. “ He ’ s far too popular for it to be a cult. I would say it ’ s a religion. ” 
 
 Puck looked unconvinced. 
 
 `` I do n't think they *worship* him.'' 
 
 “ Right, ” said Nick. “ They worship... what ’ s his name? Chris? ” 
 
 “ Christ, sir, ” said Una. 
 
 “ Right. Him. ” 
 
 Una never looked up. She was three pages ahead of everyone else. 
 
 “ Looks like he ’ s big in Japan, too, ” she said. 
 
 “ What? Why? I thought they were all Buddies over there. ” 
 
 “ Buddhists, sir. ” 
 
 “ Right. Those. ” 
 
 Puck skipped to the end of the report to read the conclusions. Nick waved away his screen and sighed heavily. 
 
 “ I never imagined I would become a human icon. ” 
 
 Una finally tore her eyes from her screen. 
 
 “ What were you expecting, sir? You flew down there on SL-A skimmer with 8 gravity-resistant horned ungulates -- ” 
 
 “ Nine, ” piped in Puck. “ We brought a bioluminescent one, too. ” 
 
 “ Fine. Nine of them. Then you started handing out gifts to their young. ” 
 
 “ In all fairness, both Nick and I thought those were adults. Humans grow much larger than elfen. ” 
 
 
 “ I ’ m not trying to assign blame to anyone, ” said Una. “ I likely would have made the same mistakes given the information available at the time, but now we know more. ” 
 
 “ Yes, ” said Nick, “ now we know more. But what good does it do us? Apparently I ’ m ingrained upon the collective consciousness of the planet itself. This mission was supposed to be low-key. ” 
 
 Nick stood up from his chair and stretched. He was sweating a bit. He would have preferred for the cabin to stay at cooler temperatures, but he needed to be prepared for the heat. Earth ’ s poles were pleasant enough, but equatorial temperatures could cause an average elfen to go into shock if they were n't prepared. 
 
 Puck cleared his throat and dismissed his screen. 
 
 “ I hate to be the one to say it, but maybe we should leave them off the list? ” 
 
 Nick whirled around and Una ’ s eyes grew wide. 
 
 “ Leave them -- leave an *entire planet* -- - ” sputtered Nick. 
 
 “ I don ’ t like it either, sir, ” said Puck, “ but I don ’ t know how we ’ re supposed to move among them without causing a crisis. ” 
 
 Una continued to read. That was the only option available to her. She felt repulsed but the nature of Puck ’ s suggestion, but without a solution to offer Nick, she would have to agree. 
 
 Nick slumped back into his chair. 
 
 “ Well... what if -- I mean, we could... I could wear a different Suit? ” 
 
 Puck shook his head. 
 
 “ Sir, you know you wouldn ’ t be able to survive the mission without the Red Suit. ” 
 
 “ I know, ” said Nick. “ I know. ” 
 
 “ Maybe if we come back in another two thousand years they ’ ll have forgotten about you. ” 
 
 “ Maybe. ” 
 
 Nick slowly tapped at the console on his chair, preparing to move the ship back out to deep space. 
 
 “ Wait! ” shouted Una. “ Read section 11b. ” 
 
 She grabbed the data and threw it to the others ’ screens. Nick ’ s brow furrowed. 
 
 “ Costumed actors? ” he muttered. 
 
 Puck read, but shook his head. 
 
 “ Una, this is a societal ritual. We would need to integrate into the church before Nick could participate in something like this. ” 
 
 “ No, ” said Una, “ I don ’ t think we do. It ’ s like you said earlier, Nick himself is not a religious icon. I think we just need to put him at one of these marketplaces and the population will come to him. ” 
 
 Puck frowned and continued reading. Nick reached the end of section 11b and his smile slowly began to return to his face. 
 
 “ So we just need to find one of these market hubs and sit there? ” 
 
 “ Yes. They ’ ll assume you ’ re one of the actors. There is some minimal setup that might be required to sell the illusion, but Puck and I can take the Green Suits and get it done in under an hour. ” 
 
 “ What ’ s your take, Puck? ” asked Nick. 
 
 Puck reached the end of the section and paused. His frown faded. 
 
 “ It could work, ” he said. 
 
 “ Then it ’ s settled, ” Nick said, hopping up out of his chair. “ I ’ m ordering a mission to ‘ Mall ’. ” 
 
 “ Yes, sir, ” said Puck and Una in unison. They hopped out from their stations and ran towards the launch bay. 
 
 Nick leaned against his chair and basked in Earth's reflective glow. With any luck, humanity's list would receive its requisite second-check. He laughed at nothing in particular and shouted to the empty bridge: 
 
 “ Nick Sinterklaas is coming to town! ”
