Ask The Universe

By CraigBeckham5

Ann stood with her back to the ancient stones of Hadrian's Wall with nought but her trusty telescope and camera by her side.

Ann's parents had gifted the camera to her on her sixteenth birthday, so with the thing being nine years old, it was no wonder why it wouldn't connect to her state of the art telescope. Not that it would stop her from trying, of course.

Ann was still unplugging cables in a frenzy, cursing and rapping the side of the camera, when she heard someone approaching. She'd forgotten she wasn't alone until her fellow friend and Astronomer Lilly came trudging back over the rough terrain with a well-aged bottle of Shiraz in hand.

'What?' Lilly demanded. 'It's not like we're underage. Plus, you know as well as I do that there's no fun in stargazing without good wine.'

Ann chuckled. 'I prefer to 'see' my stars, but thanks.'

Lilly persisted. 'Don't get all judgemental on me. It's bloody freezing out here, and we need something to warm us up.'

Ann shook her head this time. 'We're in the north of England. It's always freezing. Anyway, you shouldn't have brought that here. Wine and History are not a good mix.'

Lilly went to pick up the two glasses sitting at the top of her backpack, pointedly ignoring Ann. Then her jaw dropped as she watched them roll onto the patchy yellow grass in what seemed like slow motion.

When the glasses didn't shatter, Lilly sighed and tried again, this time remembering to yank one of the wool mittens off her hand first. Of course, she pretty much had to shove Ann's glass in her face for her to get the hint. 'You'd rather I drank both?'

Ann paused before sliding her camera back into its worn-looking case and bowed so low she almost toppled as well. 'Oh, why not? I humbly accept this fine offering,' she noticed Lilly staring up into the starlit sky mid-pour and had to snatch the bottle and glass from her before the whole lot spilt. 'What is it? What's wrong?'

Lilly pointed toward the southern skyline, and as Ann followed her gaze, she couldn't believe her eyes.

Sirius A, The Dog Star, was already the brightest in the sky, much larger than its dying counterpart Sirius B, but now it appeared ready to explode. It wasn't blinking blue and white as it did the last time Ann had seen it; now it was flashing through what seemed like every colour of the rainbow, again and again, each burst more chaotic-looking than the last.

'Ignore me; this is normal. Or rather, it was normal since everything we see of Sirius happened roughly nine years ago. Man, time is weird. Still, the research doesn't lie.' Lilly seemed confident of that as she painstakingly scrolled through pages of data on her tablet.

'Prove it.' Ann snapped, reaching to see for herself.

Lilly pursed her lips, unimpressed. 'Fine,' she stubbed her finger against the glass screen. 'Sirius is known as the multicoloured twinkling star. Supposedly, its light refracts as it passes through a planet's atmosphere.'

Ann bit her lip, still not believing her friend.

'Hey, at least you were right about one thing. Wine and Astronomy don't mix.'

'That's not quite what I'd said about wine. And I don't care what the textbook says; that star's not twinkling. Come on, look at it,' Ann pointed again. 'That's not normal. It can't be.'

Lilly patted Ann on the shoulder. 'You're mistaken. It does happen sometimes.'

Inwardly fuming, Ann bent her eye closer to the telescope lens, drowning out her friend's voice in the process. 'One second.'

'Did you say something?' Lilly asked a few minutes later, her wine glass pressed to her face.

Ann pulled away from the scope with difficulty, seemingly fighting the urge to keep looking. 'There are four one-second flashes of light followed by a pause followed by a one-second flash of light. Don't you see what this is?'

Lilly puffed out her cheeks with the light from Ann's torch under lighting her face as if she was the villain in some bad movie. 'What am I not seeing?'

Ann pointed up again. 'It's Morse Code with light.'

Lilly snorted into her drink. 'You've got to be kidding? And who, pray tell me, could be signalling us from the great beyond? We're talking about a star, not some flashlight.'

Ann knew what she'd discovered, she also knew how ridiculous it sounded, but she couldn't ignore it. 'Pass me your tablet.'

Lilly rolled her eyes. 'Why?'

'I'm going to record a video using the telescope as a guide.'

She handed the device over without a fuss but was still shaking her head. 'I admit, I thought it odd at first, but now, I think we're wasting our time out here.'

'But, we came to Hadrian's Wall to star gaze!'

'We came because the entire class did, and I joined because I said I'd help you find a project for your dissertation, but I don't think this is it. Why not study Proxima Centauri or ANYTHING else?'

Ann sighed. 'Everything else is or has been studied to death, Lilly. I need something different.'

'Fair enough.' She replied, walking back down the hill.

Ann's heart sunk. 'You're not leaving, are you?'

'Of course, I'm not leaving! But we have to tell the Professor that we need more time.'

Ann checked her watch, amazed that it'd been hours since they'd arrived. 'Can you still see the others?'

'I can barely see you and those damn wild sheep stalking us over there! Give me a minute.'

The Astronomy Professor and the other four students who'd come with them had seemingly moved further along Hadrian's Wall, but why they'd not said anything was a mystery, not to mention cruel.

Ann didn't dare turn away from where she stood facing down the sloping hill. She was so scared that she found herself squinting at every shift in the shadows or rustle of nearby trees.

Even the cattle were now silent, which was most unsettling. 'Lilly.' She whispered, hoping that her friend might still somehow hear her.

Nobody could hear her, though. Ann was alone with only Lilly's distant torchlight to keep her company.

The star Sirius was flashing brighter than ever now as well, demanding Ann's attention, so she quickly connected the tablet and telescope before pressing the video record button. 'Okay, okay, what is it you want to tell me, Sirius. What could be so important?' Ann realised she was talking to herself this time and didn't care.

Sure enough, the pattern was repetitive. Four one second flashes of light would be four dots if Ann's memory served her right. 'H? Okay. Keep them coming.'

A one-second flash of light arrived next, following a pause. 'E.'

A one-second flash of light that grew brighter than the rest came next, followed by a pause and a prolonged burst of light that lasted three seconds.

Then came another break in the pattern, a one-second flash, and another before the same sequence repeated for a second time.

Ann felt herself sweating now despite the cold breeze battering her skin. Still, she continued to transcribe the lettering. 'LL? It has to be.'

Her heart was hammering so hard she could hear every beat. Then there came further rustling from somewhere behind, though much closer this time. Still, Ann didn't dare turn around.

Instead, she focused on Sirius. 'A three-second flash, another one and another. What are you trying to tell me?!'

No sooner had she yelled did the Morse Code start over, leaving her to work through the lettering in her head. And she had to go over it several times to be sure she'd gotten it right. 'Hello. That can't be it-' Ann's breath caught at the back of her throat as she realised the implications.

Her mind was racing. 'Hello. You're saying hello to me?!'

'Who's saying hello?'

'Professor, I-' Out of the corner of her eye, Ann noticed to her dismay that the star Sirius had stopped blinking so erratically.

The Professor shook his head when he noticed the still full wine glass resting on the ground. 'Lilly said you needed more time, but I think you've had enough already. Ten minutes, Ann, if you don't have your dissertation proposal in mind by then, you may never have it.'

Ann wanted to scream, and she very nearly did when she noticed that her video wasn't there. It'd recorded something, but the footage was black with no stars in sight, yet as she went to take one last look at Sirius, she could have sworn the star blinked again.

Was Humanity alone in the universe? Or were there other intelligent lifeforms out there, after all? Perhaps they'd been patiently waiting for the right moment to say hello. Those questions would stay with Ann for years, but because of them, she'd never give up hope.