OTR
of sending them messages? Why are we even bothering trying to figure out what they’re saying?” Cassandra asked. “Maybe they aren’t dead, though. What if they’re still alive now?” Jonas asked. “Even if they are, they won’t know we exist until another 20,000 years from now. Will they be around then? 40,000 years from when they sent this signal?” Cassandra asked. “I don’t know. Personally, I’d like to think they’re still around, colonizing some solar systems nearby. Eventually they’ll hear us and find us,” Jonas said. “If we’re still around by then,” Cassandra said. “Yeah. I hope we are. Maybe one day humans will actually be able to interact with other intelligent life forms. That would literally change everything,” Jonas said. “For better or for worse, yeah,” Cassandra said. “But I don’t get the point of trying to communicate with aliens. Anything we eventually reach would be too far to respond to or make contact with. Seems pointless.” “Maybe it is pointless. But I think it’s important for humanity to acknowledge that there are other life forms out there, even if we never do make contact. You can see how much our whole
perspective has changed in less than a year since the clicks started,” Jonas said. “I know, Jonas. I know. But it kinda sucks that this is all the evidence of extraterrestrial life we’re going to have in our lifetimes. At least they could speak English, right?” Cassandra asked. “At least,” Jonas said. “And who knows? Anything can happen. Maybe they’ll drop by in our lifetime. No one believed this was possible, right?” “Where are they? Like, where’s the signal coming from?” Cassandra asked. Jonas looked at the digital display and peered at the night sky. “NASA says that the signal is strongest at 58˚ from where Jupiter is now, right there.” He pointed at Jupiter. “Which would put the signal right in the middle of Gemini.” He lay back and pointed at the Gemini constellation. Cassandra followed his finger with her eyes. They had become habituated to the clicking, which continued irregularly and had thrown off the beat of the crickets’ chirping, leading them to flee the clearing in confusion. The stars had never seemed so familiar to either of them, and Cassandra realized how minuscule Earth and the sun were in the grand scheme of things. What if their sun had been that blue one? Or
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