Nora walked briskly across the moonlit campus, clutching her coat tighter in the chill night air. She arrived at the languages building and used the faculty keycard Amir had given her to enter through a side door. Climbing two flights of stairs, she knocked softly on his office door.

Amir welcomed her in, locking the door behind them. He looked weary, but Nora noticed the same glimmer of obsession in his eyes that she felt herself. They sat down to review progress decrypting the message.

"Any luck extracting more meaning?" Nora asked.

"Some," Amir said. "But the content only adds to the mystery."

He showed her a rough translation he had pieced together. While still fragmented, more terms made sense now - references to light, time, language, minds. One phrase stood out: "Your whales sing well."

Nora shivered. "So whatever sent this has observed whales on Earth? This implies an extraterrestrial origin."

Amir nodded. "That may also explain why it piggybacked on whale songs - mimicking patterns of an indigenous species might enable undetected communication over centuries without alarming humans."

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The implications astounded Nora. An alien civilization advanced enough to subtly modify whale behavior for their own ends raised profound questions about humanity's place in the universe.

They discussed bringing in a marine biologist to help determine when and how these "edits" to whales happened historically. The changes could not have been abrupt or whales would not have survived. There were still tremendous gaps in understanding this message and its makers.

Nora noticed Amir glancing anxiously at a thick binder on his desk - photographs and articles about mass panics triggered by past media events like War of the Worlds.

"You're worried how the public might react," Nora said. "I am too. But knowledge has a way of creeping out eventually. Maybe it's better we uncover it carefully than let it emerge chaotically."

Amir looked thoughtful. "You're likely right. But let's take this one step at a time. Get closer to understanding their intentions before we even consider going public."

Nora knew he was correct. They were still sailing in uncharted waters, the shoreline of truth merely a distant blur. Patience was essential, no matter how the mystery beckoned. In time, the meaning would surface, like a whale breaching majestically from the ocean depths. First contact was near - but understanding was a longer voyage they had only just begun.

They agreed to meet again in two days. Analysis would continue discreetly until the message revealed its full purpose. All they could do was listen closely and await the next call of the cosmic whale song, wherever it led them.