Light Years Apart

nes. I stared at it for hours, rotating it in my mind, comparing it to the patterns in their world-descriptions. Did it represent a phys

aceholder based on their new glyph. It felt less impersonal than just "the signal" o

ne? Neither seemed to capture the complex, messy reality of being human. I finally settled on a simplified diagram of human DNA, hoping it conveyed somet

equence that seemed to depict their own fundamental building blocks – intricate, geometric structures that pulsed with light. It w

echniques. The music was still hauntingly abstract, but now I could discern individual "instruments" – resonant hums, delicate chim

r than usual, and it contained a repetition of the Crystalline symbol followed by a sequence of three new, di

rns I had observed in their previous transmissions, trying to find correlations. Maybe one glyph appeared more often in sequences depict

ecting everything else in my life – my sleep, my diet (instant noodles were becoming a staple)

, commented during one call, her brow furrowed with

ied vaguely, trying to sound nonchala

u forget to eat?" Fatima retorted, her voice sharp with si

e Crystalline and their enigmatic messages. I felt like I was on the verge of a breakt

ith the emotional undertones I perceived in their music (yes, I was now assigning emotions

m, but then... a new sound emerged. It was a series of clicks an

eeks of abstract data and haunting melodies, were they fina

chest. The clicks and whistles continued, forming intricate patterns, rising

pattern of sounds that seemed to correlate with the Crystalline "name" symbo

ien clicks, but it felt like a monumental step. They were identifying

my microphone. Hesitantly, I spoke int

t-year delay meant they wouldn't hear me for years, decades even. But the act o

nce their "name" symbol, mimicking the patterns I had heard in their vocalization. It

s of space. But in that moment, I didn't feel like a lonely scientist staring at a screen. I felt like someone reaching out a