Vulcan leans back on the couch, "Let us assume, for a moment, that we could nudge the creation of a means of communication. How would we do it?"

"Even if we could do that, we still can't generate the signal for the mayday call," Damian counters.

"Indulge me," Vulcan drawls.

Damian gets up and starts pacing, carefully avoiding the papers on the floor while he does so. "They would need an energy source that is strong enough to send the signal."

"Nukes?" I ask.

"Nukes," he confirms, nodding, "and then they would need a better understanding of quantum mechanics and relativity."

"Are the humans close on either front?" Vulcan asks.

"I don't know…" Damian hesitates, "they do have a basic understanding of quantum mechanics and relativity, but they aren't sure how to leverage them to their benefit."

"How do we teach them that?" Vulcan asks, leading Damian's thought process the same way Damian has often done for me in the past. I see where he learned it. He waits patiently for Damian's answer.

"We could infiltrate a leading university in the field, and slam through a graduate project. We could potentially convince a current grad student to write a paper proving what we need, as if it is their idea."

"How long would that take?"

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Damian turns to Vulcan, "If we move quickly, we could give them all the building blocks to make an interstellar communications array in a couple of months." Vulcan nods, he has a small smile on his face. I've never seen an elder look so pleased before. "But that still doesn't help us generate an extraterrestrial signal."

"We already have the technology to generate an extraterrestrial signal in my laboratory." Vulcan says, "If we have a three months to fake first contact and have the humans respond. Is it possible?"

I look to Damian, who has stopped pacing and is now staring at Vulcan. I wish I could see is expression, but his back is to me. "It will be tight, we will need a lot of help, but we can probably do it."

Vulcan turns to me, "Can you confuse the internet enough to buy us three months?"

"No," I shake my head, "I can search the internet, but I am not a hacker. I can't influence it or hack things the way I would need to. But Hesta probably can."

Vulcan looks to Damian, confusion written on his face. "Elder Hesta is gone…?"

"Yes," Damian confirms, "Elder Hesta is gone, this is a newborn who also happens to be called Hesta. She was one of the top hackers in the world before she was turned. If anyone can influence the internet, it's her."

"Where is she now?"

"New Eden. I made sure we had internet access, she should be able to do everything she needs to from there."

Vulcan holds out his hand, "It is time to present this plan to all the elders." Damian returns the phone, Vulcan walks to the door while typing. Without looking up, he adds "The elders will meet tonight, spend the time until then detailing a plan for helping the humans respond to the signal. I expect a detailed slide deck on every aspect of the plan I can present. Do not disappoint me."

The door closes firmly behind him. "Did that just happen?"

Damian bends down and starts picking up papers. "Hurtle one passed. If we can convince the elders, we might just make it out of this with our lives."

"Do you think we will be able to convince the elders?" I ask.

He stops, papers slip in his hands, "I don't know."

Damian's never not known something before. We are really in uncharted waters now.