In the field stood the viewer, ready for the tourists to use to survey the countryside. It was well used, mainly because it was sited in such a good position that allowed the paying guests to obtain a panoramic vista of the area. However, in the dead of night, when everyone had left for home, the viewer quietly turned on its own. A faint whir could be heard as a different set of lenses were brought into the optical plane. These allowed the machine to see much further and wider that any human being was able to. Not confined to the visible spectrum, the inconspicuous machine also collected infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths and transmitted the data to its owners sited on the edge of the solar system.
The machine was slow and methodical. It was part of a vast network of similar devices that had been working this way now for over 50 years. After all, they were a patient race, which seemed to be more than could be said for the current dominant species of the third rock from the sun…
searching4theshot 
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