Light Years Apart

from the main observatory building a kilometer away. Here in the Radio Astronomy Annex, it was quieter, almost reverent. Ex

t particularly mind-numbing). Tonight, though, the usual cosmic white noise felt... different. Like someon

urs, this weird little blip had been dancing across the spectrum. Not the chaotic burst of a supernova, not the predictab

and her 'intelligent signals' again," I could practically hear her dryly comment during our next video call. Anya was brilliant, no doubt, but her idea

t interference. A rogue satellite. My overactive imagination fueled by too many late nights and not enough human interactio

e into astrophysics in the first place, whispered the possibility. What if, across

My breath hitched. The pattern was repeating. Three short bursts, a pause, two

hysicist who considered a lively debate with a particularly stubborn al

" A ridiculous grin stretched across my face. This was either the most significant discovery in human history, or I was seriousl