by Janet Shore
Sometime later, Dr. Jenner walked into a conference room. Seated were Chuck, Matt, Mary, and a variety of other specialists. He fiddled with the audio-visual controls to get Chuck’s computer modified audio capture available at a button press. He began,
“Nothing that you hear leaves this room.”
He pressed the button. A synthetic voice could be heard clearly,
“You call your planet Earth. We call our planet Earth. You call your planet Earth. We call our planet Earth.”
The message repeated over and over again until Dr. Jenner pressed the button again.
“Well, does anyone here have any theory? Yes, Dr. Zhang”
Dr. Zhang stood up sliding his creaking chair across the floor,
“I heard Chinese. How can a computer, a deterministic instrument, take an alien sound and translate it into Chinese? The message seems to be corrupted. What can it possibly mean for an alien to say that they call their planet Earth unless they are time travelers from Earth, or modal travelers from another possible Earth? We all know that time travel is impossible because of the causal paradox, and that possible worlds are causally isolated. My best guess is that the computer analysis cannot handle the input.”
John, a specialist in computer analysis, interrupted,
“Wait a minute, I heard English, not Chinese. Even if it were broadcast in multiple languages from the alien object, we only heard one version. How can I have heard it in English and you heard it in Chinese, not from the object itself, but from a computer analysis of the object’s sounds?”
Dr. Bergson piped up,
“I heard it in German.”
Astonished faces looked at each other. Dr. Jenner asked,
“Let’s set aside this language anomaly for a second. Assuming that the alien sphere is extraterrestrial, and that the computer accurately conveyed the message, what could they mean by calling their planet Earth?”
Dr. Bergson answered,
“At least that much sounds like perhaps their planet has another name, but the computer just called it Earth, so we have somewhat of a mistranslation. Also, the repetition of the message sounds like what we would expect of a handshake protocol.”
A buzzer rang in the intercom, Dr. Jenner answered,
“Yes.”
“Dr. Jenner, the sphere has left a series of messages at high speed, and then took off vertically. It is no longer being tracked by any of the rovers or satellites in orbit. It’s as if it disappeared.”
“When the analyses of those messages are completed, please let us know so that we can include them in this meeting.”
Dr. Bergson continued,
“How can the object just vanish without a trace? Our satellites would have seen it leave the planet.”
Dr. Zhang suggested,
“It could have trans-dimensional capabilities, moving through unseen extended spatial directions through a direction change. That technology would be less destructive than traversing a wormhole.”
Dr. Jenner made a call on the intercom.
“Hello, James. Charles here. Could you bring a group who knows an array of languages to conference room B9, one language per person? Thanks.”
After a while, James arrived with the group representing seven different languages. There were more people than seats, so James disappeared for a moment, and then returned with more chairs. The various people in the room shuffled around to make the most comfortable arrangement possible for the now overcrowded space.
Dr. Jenner spoke,
“Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to join our group here. This meeting is going to present information from the last communication of the sphere before it departed. We had three languages represented in the room for the last review. With the addition of you seven, we will have a total of ten languages for the next. The information you hear is presented on a need to know basis. We expect full confidentiality from you when you leave this room.”
The intercom buzzed.
“Dr. Jenner, the data is now available for your review.”
“Ok. Thank you. Well, none of this data has been heard before. Let’s just listen to it and then I will ask a question to all of you.”
Dr. Jenner fiddled with the controls until he had the new transmission cued up.
“What you are about to hear is the final communication of the sphere before it vanished from our sensors.”
He pressed the button. The synthetic voice started,
“Peace from Earth. Peace to Earth. Peace on Earth. Do not shoot us. We fear misunderstanding. We bring peace. We are Earth. We will be Earth at Earth. Look for 32424.78N1095332.54W. Look for zenith sun.”
The message repeated over and over again. Dr. Jenner stopped it after the third repetition,
“We’ll go around the room. What language did you hear?”
Each person in the room announced the language they heard. A total of ten languages were heard by the individuals representing such as their primary language. Amazed looks and side chatter filled the room.
“Can anyone speculate on the message?”
Dr. Zhang spoke,
“They seem to be aware of us as a potential threat. The numbers and letters appear to be the coordinates of where they want to meet us, but there was no mention of what day, just the time of day.”
John took out his tablet, and started to fiddle with the numbers from the message. It appeared as if they were all run together, but should, if separated correctly, represent a latitude and a longitude on Earth or perhaps even on Mars. John worked on the problem without resolution for the remainder of the meeting. After the meeting, everyone went back to their workstations. After the shift change, John walked home. Head down, he was still calculating both the Mars and Earth positions as possible future contact points. Being “distracted while walking” can be dangerous. As he stepped off the curb into the crosswalk, he did not notice that he was walking against the light. A car horn blaring caused John to jump back. The car swerved narrowly missing him and other cars in traffic.
John continued through dinner and the evening running possible combinations of latitude and longitude for locations on Mars and Earth. The most probable Martian location was near the Serenity 4 crater. The most probable Earth location was the observatory at Mount Graham in Arizona. John called Dr. Jenner with the details. Rover #158 was dispatched to the Serenity 4 crater. Dr. Jenner put in a phone call to the Graham observatory and left a voicemail message of some urgency.
Silently, 158 moved toward Serenity 4. The first four surveys over the next three hours were negative. At the control monitor was a couple of seasoned technicians along with Chuck, the supervisor. Chuck set the next direction,
“Down twenty degrees south….Slow to 10 knots”
Several beeps could be heard from the rover as it acknowledged the course correction. Chuck rubbed his eyes, drank half of a cold cup of coffee, and looked away.
“What was that?”
“What did you see, Steve?”
Steve rewound the video and performed a slowed down replay that clearly showed the return of the sphere or a different sphere. Perhaps the Earth references in the message were corrupt or malformed. The time of day was off as well. Yet, here was the sphere on Mars, not Earth, at the transmitted coordinates from the other sphere. The rover was maneuvered to pursue the sphere which had stopped and turned to face the approaching rover. At the fifty yard mark, Chuck shouted,
“Bring the rover to full stop. Are all the recorders in place?”
The team responded affirmatively, they were in place as ready as can be. The sphere started to modulate and transmit messages that the computer analyzed as fast as it could. The result was transmitted to Dr. Jenner’s office and passed to the speaker in the room. In attendance were Dr. Zhang and Dr. Bergson. The computer voice droned,
“Respond Earth. We are Earth. Respond Earth. We are Earth.”
Dr. Zhang reported,
“We tried to reverse the analysis t
o produce sounds to respond but without a Rosetta stone there is not enough information to do anything but parrot the sounds we receive. We are constrained in this way, and cannot provide a rich response at this time.”
Dr. Jenner ordered,
“Chuck, have the rover transmit as best as possible what it just received.”
Chuck complied,
“Dr. Jenner we transmitted to the rover. We are now noting increased activity at the bottom of the sphere, a bright glow. Holy crap, we’ve lost contact with the rover.”
“Chuck, send #159 over to see what happened. We are already receiving radiation signatures from the satellites in that area.”
Fifteen long minutes passed as 159 reached the location. The visual was clear. Rover #158 was destroyed, in several disjoint twisted pieces, all with high radiation signature. The sphere was in its same location. It had not budged.
Dr. Bergson cleared his throat,
“You know, parroting may have been perceived as a threat. The violent response could have been an automatic reaction not intended by whomever or whatever sent these spheres. On the other hand, it could have been a stronger attempt to communicate which was beyond our capacity to receive. If so, we must not misinterpret the response as hostile, it may still be consistent with a pure attempt to communicate.”
Dr. Jenner grimaced,
“Whatever it was, let’s not parrot signals anymore. We need that Rosetta stone. We need to meaningfully communicate.”
Just then, Dr. Jenner’s phone rang. It was the administrative assistant at the Graham observatory.
“Dr. Jenner, we received your voicemail, I will patch you through to the director. One moment please.”
“Hello, Dr. Jenner. My name is Steven Thomas. I am the director of the observatory. I received your voicemail, but I must admit, at first, I thought it was a prank call from some of the UFO people. It is hard to believe that a communication was received that aliens are coming to Mount Graham.”
“None the less, Dr. Thomas, such is exactly what happened and we thought you needed to know.”
“What do you expect us to do? Is there some area of the sky we should be looking at?”
“We have been visited with a series of spheres on Mars, which tend to communicate in an enigmatic way. However, one of them transmitted coordinates that match the coordinates of your observatory on Earth. I would advise additional security from law enforcement or the military, just in case. We do not have a day that they will arrive, just that they will arrive at noon.”
“With all due respect, Dr. Jenner, we do not have the budget for that kind of extra security.”
“Not to worry Dr. Thomas. The government can provide you with dark surveillance at no cost. We just need to make you aware of it, in case your security encounters them.”
“This is not just a university facility. We have VATT personnel on site. Have you notified the VORG representative in charge of VATT?”
“No, we were unaware of any foreign activity of that nature at your facility. We’ll leave it to you to make the proper notifications on what we have found, and we will keep you informed if we receive any additional information.”
Dr. Thomas made several phone calls after he ended the conversation with Dr. Jenner. He notified his own security team to start networking with the military, law enforcement, and other national security groups to seamlessly plan for the unusual surveillance activity. Then, he notified the ongoing university projects to expect this extra activity. Most of the reaction was skeptical. The reception was that it was another UFO scare, this one backed by research on Mars. The credentials of the sources were skeptically regarded as a deception, in spite of Dr. Thomas’ assurances otherwise. It smelled like a hoax since no one knew the day of visitation, only the hour. Dr. Thomas’ next call was to the Jesuit brother Leo who was in charge of the VORG.
“Brother Leo, this is Dr. Thomas. Dr. Jenner of the Exoplanet Institute has informed us that they have encountered an alien sphere that communicated a message which indicated that the aliens would be coming to Earth at noon on an unspecified day at Mount Graham. We are going to get extra security, but please alert your staff to be aware of anything unusual. Other than that, there should be no disruption to the current project schedules.”
Dr. Jenner heard a hearty laugh at the other end of the phone.
“You are kidding.”
“No. I’m not.”
“But Dr. Jenner, this tale is fantastic. No one would believe it.”
“If it is a hoax, Brother Leo, then there is no harm done. Otherwise, it is a serious matter.”
The next day, the Exoplanet Institute was a madhouse of activity. The sphere had not moved from its current location. There had been no further communication. The sphere sat eerily silent as the #159 rover spiraled closer and closer to the sphere. At a distance of one meter, the rover stopped.
Chuck ordered,
“Extend the dig arm horizontally and report on the distance from the sphere.”
The rover 159 team intended to as gently as possible physically touch the sphere.
“We are at 100 centimeters. 50 centimeters. 10 centimeters.”
Chuck shouted, “All stop. Ready an electrical arc on my mark.”
“Ready.”
“Ok. Do it.”
An electrical arc shot out from the rover arm and connected with the surface of the sphere. The video clearly showed the letter-like markings on the surface of the sphere. The sphere did not react at all.
“Ok. Cut the arc off. Extend the arm to nudge the object.”
The rover arm extended to push the sphere out of place. After being displaced, the sphere pushed back with equal force. The rover moved backwards proportionately.
In the conference room, Dr. Jenner was meeting with Dr. Zhang and Dr. Bergson.
Dr. Jenner remarked, “The last communication from the sphere appeared to require us to respond. The sphere appears now to be waiting for a response.”
Dr. Bergson asked, “Despite the fact that we do not know how to respond, we do not know what the content of our response should be. Does anyone have a suggestion?”
Dr. Zhang shrugged his shoulders,
“Why not just acknowledge that we will meet them at Mount Graham? If we want to go any deeper, we could tell them that we are Earth and they are the aliens. They are not Earth, or from Earth. So, a clarification of the ambiguity in their outreach would be in order.”
Dr. Bergson replied, “If we are restricted to their broken style of speech our response will be very limited. However, if we are allowed to be more precise, then I would like to know where they came from, how they found us, and what they want. What is their mission?”
The sphere started to move. Chuck called the conference intercom,
“Dr. Jenner, the sphere is slowly circling the rover, it is starting to modulate as it moves. We are receiving the message and will have the decoding shortly.”
Dr. Jenner clicked off the intercom,
“Well, I guess physically prodding it turned out fruitful.”
Dr. Bergson said, “It could have been the end of rover #159. That was a very risky maneuver. I just hope it says something more significant than ‘Don’t touch me.’”
A little later the message from the computer was properly analyzed and secured. The all too familiar synthetic voice filled the conference room.
“Understand now. Here is the key. Respond.”
The remainder of the message was unintelligible to listen to. They had delivered the necessary Rosetta stone. The programming adjustment for the response began. The technical teams followed the alien prescription. The coding of the language was binary with a virtual CPU specification that was self-similar such that the message itself provided both a virtualization and a language that matched their mode of communication. It could run on any hardware that could bit shift. The teams worked tirelessly around the clock to make sure that the human interface was easy to use. One could type the proper messag
e and it would be translated and transmitted to the sphere.
At 15:00, the first two way conversation with the sphere began. Chuck was at the keyboard. Dr. Jenner stood behind him. Chuck typed,
“We understand. We are Earth. You are not Earth.”
The sphere responded,
“Good.”
Chuck typed,
“What day will you meet us? You gave us the time but not the day.”
The sphere responded,
“Good.”
Chuck typed Dr. Bergson’s queries,
“Where are you from, how did you find us, what is your mission?”
“We are Earth. Location dispersed. Earth is target.”
Chuck typed,
“Why did you destroy our rover?”
“Feedback accident. Volume exceeded.”
Chuck typed,
“What are you called?”
“We are Earth. Names are not Earth.”
Chuck typed,
“But Earth is a name.”
The object hesitated, then responded,
“Earth is not a name.”
Dr. Zhang looked at Dr. Bergson. Somehow they realized that despite the restrictions of the language transfer so far, the aliens and the humans were disagreeing about something.
Chuck typed,
“What is Earth?”
“We are Earth. Our mission will be revealed when we meet at the coordinates provided.”
Dr. Jenner was afraid that they wanted control.
Chapter III
“Dr. Thomas, there is a gentleman to see you about a security matter at Mount Graham.”
“Send him in please.”
Dr. Thomas heard a gentle knock at the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened widely. A man in a black suit with sunglasses entered the room.
“Dr. Thomas, my name is Agent Granger. Here are my credentials. You are welcome to make phone calls to verify their veracity.”
Dr. Thomas stood up, walked around his desk, and shook his hand vigorously. He couldn’t help but notice the earpiece worn by the Agent,
“No, that won’t be necessary. Sit down. Can I get you anything?”