Surprising Discovery

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Part 1 – Unexpected
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It had been a long day of nothing much happening.  They had scanned a lot of sky to find any sign, but nothing all night, just like it had been for years.  They had finally just decided to point the Radio Telescope at a star, he didn’t really care which it was.  He was now alone in the room to monitor the equipment as the others went to take their ten minute morning break.  His turn would come when they were all done.  He was sitting there leaning back in the chair with his feet up on the desk in front of him and his hands behind his head when one of the monitors started beeping.  It wasn’t at his station, which was telescope alignment.  His job was to point the telescope where it was to look.  No, this beeping was coming from the radio receiving station where they know if a signal was coming through, and if so, they could listen to it.  He sighed because he would need to get up and he was comfortable.  He reluctantly lowered his feet which made two thumping sounds when they hit the carpeted floor and stood up.  He walked over not expecting much.  They had discovered three more pulsars in the past week and this was getting old.  When he got there, he looked at the monitor screen which looked much like a heart monitor.  On it, the line which shows the sound waves and their intensity, to his surprise, was not going “pulse … pulse … pulse”!  It was a more intense signal and had less pauses!  He quickly put the headphones on.  There was now no doubt, this was a language!  Very unearth-like but definitely intelligent.  He threw the recording switch up and ran outside to tell the others.  “GUYS!!!  GUYS COME QUICK!!!”

“Okay Mark, calm down and tell us what is going on.”

“You’re not burning the place down are you?!”

“Sorry Andrew.  No, I am not burning the place down Arleen.”

“Good.” sighed Arleen in relief.

“No, we are receiving, believe it or not, a SIGNAL!”

“What?!?” they all asked at once.

“Wait a minute, you mean a pulsar’s signal right?”

“No Frank, I mean a REAL ONE!”

“No joking around?”

“No.  Come on or you’ll miss it!”  With that he led the half excited group back inside.  They were all wholeheartedly excited, though, as soon as they saw the line on the monitor dancing.

Since it was his station, Frank, put the headphones on.  “WOW!  There’s no doubt!  Mark is right; we are receiving a genuine signal!”  The group all cheered and started clapping their hands but Frank didn’t notice.  He was looking at the monitor so he didn’t see them and couldn’t hear them with the headphones on.  He scanned the control board in front of him noticing Mark had started recording it already.  Over the next few minutes, he honestly didn’t know what to do.  Years of training were suddenly useless because he just couldn’t remember them at the moment.  According to the computer, the signal wasn’t just being picked up by them, but was pointed at them!  They weren’t intercepting a communication; they were the ones being communicated with!  He turned to tell the others what he just learned but just then the signal ended.  He snapped his attention back to the monitor.  He only got his answer confirmed, there was no more signal.  “Blasted!” he yelled putting the headphones down.  Mark, Arleen and Andrew all answered at about the same time:

“What is it?!”

“Oh no, something’s happened!”

“Don’t leave us in suspense!”

“Well,” answered Frank “I have some good and some bad news.”  He paused to think a little.  When he looked at them, he noticed the impatient expressions on their faces.  “The bad news is, we lost the signal.  We didn’t just stop picking it up, it stopped being sent.  The good news is, I think that signal was meant for us!”

“What?  You mean it?!” answered Andrew and Arleen together.

“You aren’t pulling are leg now are you?” asked Mark slightly after the others.

“No, it was pointed right at us.” he paused “Now that I think of it.  We can’t do any more with this until tomorrow night.  If this was meant for us, we need to know what it said and we aint got the equipment needed.  We need to send the signal to our bosses at NASA and have them decrypt the language, if it is at all possible.”

They all sighed and Andrew said “Yah, that’s my job.  Transfer the record over to my station and I’ll get it sent out immediately.”

“I’m already on it.” answered Frank.

“I’ll go record everything in the record book.” said Arleen walking over to her desk.  Okay, Time: 3:36 AM.  Star: Sirius.  Signal Type:____  She stopped marking down as she thought about what the signal was.  She, not knowing, did the obvious, Unknown but intelligent.  Now that that was done, she got up and went over to her coworkers and friends.

As she approached she overheard Andrew saying “Well, the signal is on its way.  We won’t know anything until tonight.”

“Recorded.” she said walking up.

“Good, now we wait.” answered Mark.  They all sighed a long deep sigh.  It was going to be a long wait.  They all tried to keep busy until five o’clock, when work ended for them but, they never really succeeded.  At five they all went home to try and sleep, but not really expecting to get there.

Part 2 – Unknown
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The next day, they all got to work fifteen minutes early, instead of five to seven, so they could get their pre-work routine done sooner, so as to be sure to punch in as soon as possible.  Even with the extra time, they finished everything in half the normal time, which meant they were all stuck waiting yet again for eleven minutes.  They all let Andrew be first in line so that he could punch in first and get his station up and running first.  After all, if NASA had left them a message, it would be in his computer.  Arleen was allowed to be next because, as all gentlemen know, ladies first.  She went along with Andrew being first though.  Mark and Frank were fighting over who was last.  Andrew watched the numbers on the Time Clock intently with his card ready to slide in as soon as it read 9:00 PM.  It finally changed and he slid it in.  There was a second long pause before the Time Clock clicked to say it was done.  Before Mark and Frank knew it, Arleen was already walking away.  Because his reactions were faster, Frank punched in first.  He then ran off into the computer room.  Mark was so preoccupied by what they would learn today and that he was last, he missed the slot two times before he focused more and finally slid his card in.  He too then ran in.  “What did NASA say?”

“Give me time!  It’s still powering up.  Why don’t you all turn on yours so that they’ll all be ready when we need them?”  They all slowly walked to their terminals and did all the necessary things to turn them on.  Almost exactly when they had finished their part and it was now up to the computer, Andrew said “We got a message from NASA!”

They all ran over “Open it!” shouted Frank.

Andrew opened it and the face of their boss showed up, though none of them cared who it was as long as they told them what the signal was.  He said “I know I usually talk to you directly, but since the signal is going to have to be sent to you again, I figured why not just leave you a message.”  He paused and looked down, probably at his notes “The signal was genuine and included in the transmission was their complete alphabet and a message for us when we uncoded their language.  I will let you hear the message yourself.  Now, I am sure you are waiting patiently to hear their transmission the way you are supposed to, so I will let you call me back when you get this.  Enjoy.”  His face then faded.

Andrew did not need to be told to open the attached file.  A box showed up with the line that shows the sound waves.  The message said “Greetings citizens of…” the voice paused for a little while before continuing “we do believe you call it Earth.  We send peace from across the stars.  We would like to meet in person sometime.  Perhaps create an alliance between our two worlds.  If you are interested, please send a reply using this frequency and language within three days.  If you are unable to do so, send us your language on your best frequency and we will try the reverse.  Look forward to hearing from you and may the blessings of the Sun go with you.  Geyr out.”

“Blessings of the Sun?  Do they mean Sol?” asked Arleen.

“I don’t know.” answered Mark.

“Let’s call NASA and see what we are to do.” commented Frank.

“Yes, I agree.” added Andrew.  He typed in the IP address and it connected them.

“Ah, I was expecting you.” said their boss.

“What do you want us to do?” asked Andrew.

“I am sending you a program that will allow you to translate from our language into theirs and send it to them in their frequency.  Make whatever arrangement you need to so as to make peaceful contact.  Then inform us and we will arrange for it to be carried out on our side of the deal.  Is that all your questions?”

“Yes sir.”

“Okay then, get to it.  Over and out.”  His face then faded.

“Okay Frank, transferring program to your console.” said Andrew.

“Thank You.”  They all walked over and Frank sat down.  He typed into the program Hello Geyr.  We too would love to meet you.  How do you want to do this?  “Any objections?”  Everyone shook their heads and he pushed the ‘Translate and Send’ button.

A matter of seconds later the reply came “Greetings and good to hear from you!  We were hoping to send one ship over and take one or two of your people aboard.  We can make it our smallest ship if you desire.”

That sounds good.  Who do you want to come on board?

“The one who first noticed our transmission and the one talking to me right now.  If they are two different people.”

They are.  Frank looked at Mark who nodded.  Agreed.  When will this meeting take place?

“How’s the middle of your night, since it is night where you are anyway?”

Sure, sounds good.

“Could you send us your language files so we could learn it and speak to you in it?  We are quick learners.”

Yeah, one second.  He opened up their English language files, transferred it to their frequency and clicked the “Send Untranslated” button.

“Thank you!  See you in half a night.”

Yes, we look forward to it!

“So do we.  May you be blessed by the Sun.  Geyr out.”

“Oh wow!  We are actually going to make contact with Extra Terrestrial Life after all these years!” yelled Arleen excitedly and jumping up and down.

“Yes, we are truly sailing into the unknown.  What we do next will determine the future of mankind.” commented Mark.

“Well, before we do anything else, I’ll go inform NASA of the arrangements.” said Andrew before walking away.

“What is there to do?” asked Arleen.

“Prepare for their arrival.” answered Frank.  “I think I’ll go home and shower again extra well and dress in my best clothes.”

“Oh, good idea!  Let’s do it.” said Mark following him out the door.

Part 3 – Unacceptable
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When they returned, it was eleven o’clock at night with only one more hour to go until the guests arrive!  As they walked in they noticed Andrew and Arleen talking.  “So, what’s been up while we’ve been gone?” asked Mark.

The other two turned and looked at them.  “Wow, are we not nice looking!” asked Arleen.

They were very well dressed.  Frank was in a blue fleece suit and Mark in a tan silk suit.  They had also both newly shaved.  “Well, we want to make a good first impression don’t we?” answered Frank.

“Well, I think nothing of nice clothes but, we don’t know what these people like.”

“Well, this is a first contact situation.  They should realize that our ways are different.” commented Mark.

“Yes, that’s true.” said Andrew.

“Well, I guess we’ll just need to wait and see how it goes.” commented Arleen.

After that, the hour went slowly.  They all headed outside when it was about ten minutes to go.  “Whoa, now I see one of the things you did when we were gone!” said Frank noticing a big sign reading Welcome to Earth!

“Yeah, we too wanted to make a good impression.” answered Andrew.

“It looks good.” commented Mark.  Again they waited.  After a while Mark lifted his hand and pushed a button.  The light on his watch lit up “I set my watch to the inside clock.  According to this, twelve seconds.”  They all stared up into the sky for what seemed like twelve years.  Finally the alarm on his watch went off.  He turned it off and no sooner than he did that they noticed a shooting star.  But this one was different, it didn’t just appear and disappear, it was still falling.  On top of that, it was headed right for them.  It eventually lost its tail and became a white dot, growing ever bigger.  It was growing larger at a very fast rate until it was fifty feet above them.  Its shape was a perfect sphere about the size of their radio dish.  It was glowing a soft white colour.  It was as if it was one big light bulb.  Not a bright light that was impossible to look at but a soft low light.  It then started lowering itself down in front of them, up until it was about ten feet off the ground.  Then it lowered a round elevator like extrusion from the exact bottom/middle of the sphere.  Frank and Mark got the idea and walked over to it.  It was raised into the ship again when they were safely on it.

Andrew and Arleen waved at them as they disappeared into the ship.  No more than two seconds after they were on board, the ship shot away at the same amazing speed as it had come.  “Waiting, waiting, waiting.  Years of waiting for contact and now waiting to hear back from our first contact.  Can’t we ever have a break from waiting?” commented Andrew.

“I know.  It’s a long time of nothing but, we got to do it.  At least this one more time.” answered Arleen.

Frank and Mark watched Andrew and Arleen disappear as they were raised into the ship.  The elevator stopped in the middle of a big room.  The room looked as though it took up the entire top half of the interior space of the ship.    The floor and walls glowed with the same light as the outer hull of the ship did.  In fact, everything seemed to.  The rectangular table not far away glowed, the four chairs around it glowed, the door on the other side of the table glowed, and everything glowed.  It was then they noticed two people sitting at the table.  “I thought we were the only people made contact with?” asked Mark.

“You are.  We are Geyrlings, just as you are Earthlings.  I am Nekar and this is Nokriy.”

“Greetings and won’t you please have a seat?”

Frank and Mark walked forward and tried to sit down but found it a little hard to find the chair.  Even though they could see the chair and could look at it, with everything glowing it made it difficult.  “Oh, I’m sorry.  Let me fix that for you.” said Nekar.  He then pulled out a computer you can hold and started punching away.  He had no mustache or beard, short brown hair, nothing unusual, for a human that is.  “There.  That should do it.”  The table chairs and walls stopped glowing while the floor got slightly brighter.  With the increase of light from the floor, the room stayed well lit.

“Umm,” started Frank finally seated “why do you look human?”

“We could ask you the same question so, we may as well leave that for later.” answered Nokriy.  This one had slightly longer black hair and a small mustache.

“Well, my name is Mark and this is Frank.  We on Earth have been looking for people from other worlds for decades.”

“Why?  We only stumbled on you.  It was an accident, but we figured we may as well make contact.” asked Nekar.

“We have been hoping that they would give us technology and cures for all disease.” said Frank.

“Yes, but more importantly, that you would tell us our purpose in the universe.” added Mark.

“What?  Don’t you know your purpose?  How can you not?  The answer is all around you!”  Nekar paused for their response but when he saw them look at each other questioningly he continued “It is to serve the Sun.”

“Our star?” asked Frank.

“No, no, not s-u-n, s-O-n.  The Son of the Creator God.”

“God?  WHAT GOD!?” yelled Frank insulted.  “There is absolutely no evidence of a god anywhere!”

“What evidence do you have that god exists?” asked Mark curious.

“Well, what is the belief system of your planet?” asked Nokriy.

“We believe in Evolution, which is…”

“Evilution!” interrupted Nokriy “Nekar did you hear that?  So primitive!”

“Now be nice Nokriy.  How do you explain the fact that in your fossil record, there are no transitional forms?  Or that you find rock layers that are bent?  That gas doesn’t come together in space?  Your sun is getting smaller and only a few million years ago would have cooked all life on Earth.  Only a few million years ago, your magnetic field would have been strong enough to rip iron out of your blood.  That life can’t form in oxygen because oxygen destroys the building blocks of life.  And that life can’t start in water for the same reason: hydrolysis.  Also, without oxygen, the Sun would, even at its present state, cook the first life form when it evolved.  What about the first and second Law of Thermodynamics?  Matter and energy are constantly becoming unusable.  That means the universe must have had a beginning when all energy was usable.  Also, matter and energy can’t be created or destroyed.  That means the universe must always have been here in some way shape or form.  How do you account for these and countless more?”

“I’M NOT GOING LISTEN TO ANY MORE OF THIS!  I’M GONE!” shouted Frank leaving for the elevator.

Mark followed him.  A minute later, the elevator started down.  Just before he could not see the two guests, Mark said “We can’t.”

As soon as he could, Frank jumped down and yelled “Andrew!  Call our bosses!”

Andrew just said as he ran in “Aye sir.”  He already knew not to cross Frank.  Frank ran in after him.

“What happened?” asked Arleen.

“I’ll explain later.  Let’s get inside.” said Mark.

They both ran inside.  As they entered they heard Frank yelling into the screen saying “I can’t believe that after all this time, we find E.T.s just to find out they believe in GOD!”

“Yes, I agree.  We must keep them a secret from the public.  If they find out, we’ll lose our control on them.  As long as they believe what we want them too, they are ours, but this would sway many away from our cause: to eliminate God.  Destroy all evidence of them ever having been here.”

“Aye sir.” answered Frank heading for his console.  Mark was sorry to see this all go to waste.  He hurried to his console to copy the data from everyone else’s computers to a secure location.  He finished just in time.  If he had anything to do about it, he would find the truth and proclaim it from then on!

Note: the dots and dashes seen under the titles are Morse Code (International Version).