The signal
Well, Hello there.
It's been a while since I've put up a piece here. This Is because I'm working on a piece that is turning out to be a bigger thing than any I've put up here before. It started as a rant and is turning into a barely cohesive but (i hope) interesting document covering everything from racism to philosophy.
Because I didn't want you guys to think anything was wrong with me though i tickled my creativity and came up with a short story.
I give you:
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The tension on The bridge of The EESS Neil DeGrasse Tyson was palpable. Everyone was well aware Of the momentousness of the events that they were going to be witness to, and part Of. They were about to bring to conclusion A process that had been Thirty Years in the Making.
It had begun on July 24th, 2022 when the SETI project, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, picked up a signal it was designed to look for. The signal was subjected to All the scientific analyses scientific and technological progress had made available to scientists, and after 4 years of study, it was agreed The signal was artificial in nature and originated from A star 14,5 lightyears away from Earth.
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Intelligent life?
The content of the signal however was never deciphered. Whatever it was It was not much. It Was a continuously repeating signal sent in one-minute intervals. Further investigation of the point Of origin revealed a yellow star orbited by 6 planets Of which 2 were in The so-called goldy locks zone; the area around a star in which liquid water could exist. It was determined that one of the two N.E.A.'s (Near Earth Analogues) had an atmosphere containing oxygen and methane, which made the probability of life existing on that planet high.
The spark
After 5 more years of Study and scientific debate, a consensus was reached and the signal was determined to be an artificial signal sent by Technology created by an intelligent form of life. The release to the public of The existence Of the signal and the determination it was sent by intelligent life acted as an ignition spark for a movement towards the unification of the people of Earth.
The consequences of climate change had forced the nations Of the world to work together in the years before leading to the banning of all emissions Of greenhouse gasses in 2028, laying the infrastructure and international connections that made cooperation easier than ever.
The determination of the signal being of intelligent extraterrestrial origin was the spark that ignited the will to use the established roadworks to expand the established connections and cooperations that were used to banish the greenhouse gas emissions from the world and aid those areas worst affected by the climate change.
Unity
In 2037 in a ceremony that was broadcasted globally the final signature to the declaration Of unity was signed on the third of March, by the freshly elected President Of the Federation of the United People of Eart in the new capital of the planet, Brussels.
Three forces unite
Five years later Three forces came together to initiate the project that lead to the construction of the PoESS Nei DeGrasse Tyson.
The first was the unification Of the space Agencies across The planet Into the I.A.S.A.
The Second was the cooperation of former Rivals in the exploitation of space like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, SES SA, ESA, Arianespace, the China Great Wall Industry Corporation, Russia's Khrunichev factory, and India's Antrix corporation.
The third was the appointment of dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson as the director of I.A.S.A. The Result Of The coming Together of those forces was that its main goal was set to be to develop The technology to travel to The source of The signal and unravel its secrets.
The departure
In 2044 the whole planet Watched as the PoESS Neil DeGrasse Tyson was disconnected from the zero gravity dock orbiting the moon and embarked on her maiden voyage To become the first manned object To travel out Of the solar system.
It had taken the ship 4 years to traverse The vast expanse of space between Earth and Neighbor, as the signal's origin system had become To be called. Due to the nature of the propulsion system, the ship had been out Of contact with the rest of the universe during the entire transit as well as incapable of any other interaction with the rest of The universe which of course heightened The anxiety among the ship's crew.
We're here
"Disengaging the Higgs Manipulation Drive in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." the voice of Navigation specialist Choi sounded across the bridge, her voice the Only sound Apart from the generic Noise of working for machinery and crew. When at zero the drive disengaged the ship's mass returned to it gradually while simultaneously engaging The thrusters to slow her down from her 99,9998% Of the speed of light.
The first image that the ship's Sensors managed to produce on the bridge's main viewscreen was the first sign that coming to the neighbor system might not have been the best idea they could have come up with. Having come into normal space just outside the outer planet they had A view of most Of the solar system but what caught everyone's attention was The debris. About 10.000.000 kilometers from their position a debris field floated through space in orbit around the star consisting of the remnants of spaceships that were unimaginable in scale. Most of the chunks in the debris field were four times the size of The Tyson but there were chunks that were kilometers in width and length.
What the...
The awed silence was broken by Science Operator Mol. "I have determined The location from which the signal originated. it is a small satellite 2000 kilometers from our position. Scans indicate It is damaged but still powered and sending out the signal."
One of the assistants Of the Science Operator voiced another discovery from the sensor array. "There seem to be 42 satellites exactly the same as the one sending the signal, yet they're all silent, showing no power emissions whatsoever," he reported.
The Science Operator Nodded and brought a Visualization of the data onscreen, showing a roughly Spherical distribution Of The satellites around the 4th planet from The star.
Investigating further
"Change course to intercept the active satellite and prepare to bring it aboard. Maybe it can tell us more about what the hell is Going on here," ordered Captain Ahrund. A Chorus of "Yes Sir" sounded as The order was acknowledged. 45 minutes later the first close Scans and investigations of the satellite were underway.
Meanwhile, the Captain had ordered the Tyson To slowly and cautiously made her way towards the 4th planet, continuously blanketing the system With active scans.
The planet proved elusive as none of the scanning methods seemed to be able to detect it. The rest Of the system yielded some results though. Some of The moons and the 5th planet Of the system were found to have varying amounts of metal alloys that could not have formed naturally. Some indications Were discovered that indicated they were at least Visited by an intelligent species.
The message
As The Tyson cleared The debris field the science department announced a breakthrough in The investigation into The satellite. "When we removed a piece of metal, we assume shrapnel of some sort, the Sattelite's system ran through what must have been a diagnostic cycle and then went dark for a few seconds. When It turned back on the satellite began sending out a signal similar to the One we've known It to send but much longer and more powerful. It was also one our computers were able to decrypt, and translate." the Grave voice of Fokke Mol, the science operator told The captain. He then proceeded to play the translated transcript Of the satellite's message.
"To All who receive this message. Do not Enter the solar system from which this message originated. On the 4th planet of the solar system, an AI built long ago by a species long since extinct resides. This AI, for whatever reason, is determined to destroy any objects that try To enter The solar system. All attempts at communicating with the AI have failed, and no attempts at entering the system have survived to succeed. We advise any and all To stay away."
"Captain I am Detecting an energy buildup beneath the sensor dampening field on the 4th planet" reported one of the junior Science officers.
The end
At that Moment a bright blue stream of hyperexcited particles shot forth from the fourth planet. The stream crossed The distance between the planet and The Tyson in less than a second and connected the two briefly before disappearing. When it did a silent explosion lit up the debris field momentarily leaving Nothing more to prove the Tyson had Ever existed but an expanding cloud of superheated plasma.
Thanks for reading this.
Stay safe And Stay happy!
