Light Years Apart

thematical symbols nestled amongst alien glyphs and sequences that twisted my brain into delightful little knots. It was the ul

notes clinging to every surface like colorful barnacles, and the ever-present aroma of stale coffee mingling with the

sequences, I'd find patterns that felt... expressive. Almost like a sigh in binary. Or a curious tilt of a non-existent head. I was anthropomorphizing

cosmic game of hopscotch, I threw my hands up in exasperation. "Okay, whoever you are out there," I muttered to the silent moni

wed the "hopscotch" sequence and consisted of a repeating pattern of three identical

standing of my frustration. This felt less like a cold, scientific exchange and more like... well, a conv

representations – basic geometric shapes, hoping they'd be universally understood. I even threw in a representation of the hydrogen atom, figurin

myself constantly checking the monitors, jumping at every beep and flicker. An

tor showed me the latest data logs. That... repeating se

y lost it' unusual?" I asked, trying to

etween, perhaps. It definitely warrants further inves

t like a superno

They had responded to my geometric shapes. They had even... elaborated on them, adding their own va

ld" (a series of swirling, interconnected patterns), was a new symbol. It was unlike anything I

shing over me. It felt... significant. Important.

gers tracing the unfamiliar glyph. A crazy thought flickered throug

cting all sorts of human emotions and concepts onto a series of alien data packets. But the feeling... t

ike it held a secret, a potential for connection that I had never dared to imagine. And