Chapter 35: First Contact
The applause refused to die.
It rolled across the ballroom in waves as the recipient of the ’Brilliant Mind Award’ raised the crystal trophy above his head with a huge smile.
"Thank you. Truly, this recognition belongs to everyone who believed in my vision."
Merit Smith’s smooth voice echoed through the hall while cameras flashed from every direction.
Behind that polished smile, Edith knew there was nothing genuine. She had sat through this exact moment every year the award ceremony was held. Another project stolen. Another researcher silenced. Another award accepted by a man who had mastered the art of buying brilliance instead of cultivating it.
Roger quietly reached beneath the table and intertwined his fingers with hers.
"You alright?" he whispered.
Edith forced a smile.
"I’ve been better."
Across the hall, Merit lifted the trophy toward the audience.
"The future belongs to those willing to reach beyond what others believe is possible."
Edith almost laughed.
The irony was almost painful.
He never moved a single finger for all the awards he had sitting in his condo but he was still getting them.
Merit stepped off the stage to another standing ovation while the host returned to the podium.
"What a wonderful speech from this year’s recipient! Ladies and gentlemen, let’s hear it one more time for—"
"Excuse me."
The microphone wasn’t loud.
It didn’t need to be.
The room gradually fell silent as Edith rose from her seat.
Hundreds of curious eyes shifted toward her. Roger stood beside her, wheeling forward a waist-high trolley concealed beneath a black velvet cloth.
The host blinked in confusion.
"Dr. Burkman?"
Edith offered an apologetic smile.
"My apologies for interrupting the ceremony. I promise I won’t take much of your time."
Merit folded his arms from the executive section, a small tick forming at his jaw.
"What exactly are you doing, Edith?" He muttered under his breath while staring daggers at her.
She ignored him.
Instead, she looked around the enormous ballroom.
Scientists.
Politicians.
Military officials.
Engineers.
Astronomers.
Men and women who had spent their lives expanding humanity’s reach among the stars.
"We’ve spent the last seven years celebrating humanity’s ability to travel between worlds."
A hologram bloomed into existence above the trolley.
Earth.
Meredith.
Arcadia.
Elysia.
The four inhabited worlds revolved slowly before the audience.
"We crossed impossible distances."
Lines connected the planets.
"We terraformed worlds once thought impossible to inhabit."
The hologram zoomed outward.
"Our ships have travelled farther every single year."
The stars expanded.
"But..." Edith paused. "...have we ever stopped to ask ourselves one simple question?"
The ballroom became utterly still.
"If we searched this hard for other habitable planets..."
She looked toward the countless stars surrounding the holographic solar system.
"...what if someone else is searching just as hard for us?"
Silence filled the hall. Confusing dancing amongst them.
Roger pulled away the velvet cloth.
Beneath it sat a compact cylindrical transmitter surrounded by rings of rotating emitters.
"This..." Edith rested a hand on the machine.
"...is REACH."
The name illuminated above the device.
REACH: Research for Extraterrestrial Awareness, Contact, and Harmony
"Our proposal is simple."
She looked back at the audience. "Instead of waiting to be discovered..."
The rotating rings accelerated. "...we introduce ourselves first."
The projector expanded again, displaying mathematical equations, prime number sequences, hydrogen spectral frequencies, star maps and hundreds of translated linguistic patterns.
"We have spent years developing a universal transmission protocol based on mathematics, physics and recurring natural constants. A language any sufficiently advanced civilization should recognize."
Whispers spread throughout the ballroom.
A renowned physicist stood.
"You intend to broadcast this beyond explored space?"
"Yes."
An astronomer followed.
"Continuously?"
"Yes."
Another voice echoed from somewhere near the back.
"For how long?"
Edith smiled. "For as long as it takes for someone to answer."
The silence that followed lasted several long seconds.
Then...Someone began clapping.
Another joined.
Then another.
Within moments the entire ballroom erupted into thunderous applause.
People rose from their seats.
Scientists who moments earlier had barely acknowledged Edith now applauded so fiercely that some wiped tears from their eyes.
Roger leaned closer.
"I think they like it."
Edith laughed softly.
"I think they do."
Even the host had forgotten the award ceremony.
"Ladies and gentlemen..." she announced with obvious excitement, "...I believe we’ve just witnessed the beginning of a brand new Chapter in human history!"
—
The following weeks passed in a blur.
Every major news network covered REACH.
Children drew strange creatures in classrooms.
Universities held debates regarding ’first contact’.
Religious organizations argued over humanity’s place in the universe.
Social media overflowed with theories, excitement and fear.
For the first time in years...
Merit Smith was no longer the most discussed scientist on the planet. And that made Edith happier than ever
Funding requests flooded Edith’s office faster than she could answer them.
Within a month, the United Earth Government approved construction of a dedicated research complex.
Roger resigned from his former laboratory without hesitation.
Katie followed two days later.
"I refuse to miss history because I stayed loyal to fluorescent ceiling lights."
The REACH Institute officially opened three months after the ceremony.
It stood far from any major city, surrounded by enormous communication arrays that stretched toward the heavens like metallic forests.
Edith had never smiled more.
Until...
"...Dr. Burkman?"
One of the financial officers entered her office carrying several documents.
"I’ll need your signature."
Edith skimmed the paperwork before frowning.
"These contractors..."
"They’re government approved." The officer stated.
"They’re subsidiaries of Smith Technologies."
The officer nodded awkwardly. "They insisted all large-scale government projects share standardized infrastructure."
Edith sighed. "What happens if I don’t sign it?"
The officer’s face turned stern, "all funds being allocated to this facility will be withdrawn and the facility dismissed and dismantled."
"So Merit found another way inside."
Roger leaned against the doorway. "He can’t control your research."
"No." She signed anyway. "But he can certainly watch it succeed."
—
Four months passed.
Every day, REACH broadcasted its message.
Prime numbers.
Hydrogen frequencies.
Star charts.
Greetings translated into hundreds of Earth’s languages and ’alien languages’ constructed by humans. One of Merit’s many useless inventions.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Nothing.
Until one morning...
Every alarm inside the institute activated simultaneously.
Red warning lights illuminated the control room.
"Incoming transmission!"
"Its source is unknown!"
"Signal strength is increasing!"
Edith nearly spilled her coffee as she rushed toward the main workstation’s console.
"What happened?"
"We received a response!"
Roger came rushing after, toothpaste lather adorning his unsaved beard. "...You’re joking."
"I’m not!" Katie squealed as she pointed to a screen.
The largest monitor flickered violently.
Static.
Then...
An warbling image.
It didn’t look like a planet or an asteroid.
A vessel unlike anything humanity had ever imagined drifted silently through the darkness.
Its surface resembled polished ivory intertwined with flowing organic tissue that pulsed with faint blue light.
Nobody spoke.
They simply stared.
Someone had finally answered.
...
..
.
Three days later...
The vessel entered Earth’s orbit peacefully. It neither fired weapons nor did its occupants exit it.
It simply floated in Earth’s atmosphere.
The internet nearly crashed.
Videos, pictures, blogs and forums erupted with chaos.
Edith and her team had done the impossible.
Following countless discussions between governments, scientists and military officials, a representative was chosen to ’speak’ with the alien.
Edith.
Just like they had done before, they transmitted signals to the ship.
Finally, the ship released one of its own.
She waited inside the quarantine chamber, heart pounding so loudly she could hear it.
The chamber doors slowly opened and the alien stepped inside.
It was taller than any human. Towering easily above her with about 6-7 feet. Its smooth porcelain face reflected the laboratory lights. Bluish-gold rings floated lazily around its entire body.
It was the most beautiful thing she has ever seen!
"We’re live right?"
"Yep!"
"Okay!"
"Just tell us your observations."
She nodded and faced the alien with a small wave, "Hello."
It simply watched her, its head following the movement of her hand.
Curiously.
Edith swallowed. "...Hello."
The alien tilted its head.
A layered melodic voice answered.
"Ah... kha’sei vii na."
"I’m sorry, I do not understand your language."
"What is it saying?" Roger called from behind the second glass.
"I can’t tell...it sounds like it’s singing...and clicking."
"Sha’vek na’vok ai... kha’ri?"
"Body structure indicates it might be a...female! It’s a female!"
"What?"
"It’s a woman alien!"
Edith chuckled as she faced the camera, "are you guys seeing this?"
"Holy shit!"
Katie zoomed in on the rings around the aliens neck, "what do you think those do?"
"Wait, you said it spoke right?" Roger picked another data pad and dropped his.
"Like it was singing and clicking."
"None of that matches the languages we have in our database."
"Of course not, there’s no way any alien is going to speak Merit’s ’proposed’ shit language."
Katie rolled her eyes while stifling a laugh.
"Tuk’Ina sha na."
The alien bowed while tapping her forehead, "Sha esh na?"
"From my readings, the only thing I’m picking up is the clicks and a bunch of frequencies all smashed together."
"See if each frequency can be separated and made distinguishable..."
She faced the alien, "Welcome to Earth."