A week after the race for the decryption started, the NSA uploaded some new information to the network. Their neural networks determined what was likely to be the modulating signal used by the transmission.
With it, they could unpack the signal into its raw components. Unsurprisingly, two symbols turned out to still be just two symbols underneath. Still, it hadn’t been a guarantee, so it was interesting to note. No one would have to change their approach to the race.
There was a burst of interest from the physicists in the network concerning the raw form of the Caltech Pattern. But nothing groundbreaking there either.
It was two-days later that the real news came in. NASA, for once, gave out new information: the raw form of the MIT Pattern was a carbon copy of a retired radar search pattern.
Everyone would have a field day picking at the meaning behind that!
*
Brute forcing a decryption meant the supercomputer got to do all the work. Balancing his family with the project had been hard on Harlow. Now he had time to spare.
He repainted his home office, visited his dad in Providence, and went to a baseball game with Sean. And he still had more time.
So much so he watched re-runs on a Monday afternoon. He had had the house to himself all day; Sean was due back from school soon. That’s when Morgan called.
“Have you looked at the network today?” he asked without any greeting.
“I haven’t checked it all week,” answered Harlow.
“The Naval Research Laboratory made a breakthrough. The President is going live in 10 minutes to make the whole thing public.”
“You’re joking!? The Pres—Wait, the navy was on our side of the race, weren’t they? What grouping?”
“Twelve bits. Check the network for details. After the speech, we’re allowed to discuss everything that’s made it to the press, but we can’t volunteer anything new.”
Harlow took in the information and switched tracks. “Morgan? You know we weren’t working with the rest of the world on this, right? I think we didn’t just win the race at home. I think we’re breaking the news worldwide.”
“America wins another space race.” Morgan said in a flat tone. “The international reaction is the least of our worries. There are enough nuts at home that are gonna crack and maybe do something crazy when they hear we have proof we aren’t alone in the universe. Not to mention the waves it’ll make on the stock market.”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“I’ll start worrying about that when I’m actually starring in my own movie. My son just got here; I’ll call you back after the conference.”
Sean entered the house and Harlow switched channels to national news. Right on time, the anchor announced an urgent live conference from the President’s office. Harlow motioned for his son to come and take a seat.
“My fellow Americans,” the president began, sitting at his desk. “In the pursuit of knowledge and truth, humanity has encountered moments that redefine our collective understanding. Today, we are faced with one such moment.”
“We’ve always been a nation that reaches for the stars, and today, it seems the stars have reached back. I come to you with news that reminds us of the limitless possibilities of human endeavour.”
“Thirty minutes ago, I was informed that the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence program at NASA, in partnership with Caltech, the MIT, the NSA, the Naval Research Laboratory, and all the other great thinkers of our nation, has decrypted a communication they believe to be of extraterrestrial origins.”
He paused. “The message was captured a month and a half ago by the VLA Radio Telescope Observatory in New Mexico. Its origin has been identified as the star TRAPPIST-1 40 light years away, in the constellation Aquarius.”
“Since reception, America’s greatest and finest have toiled to unlock its content. And they have achieved this on this very day.”
“Though the message has been decrypted, it’s still too early to tell what the exact meaning is. Be assured that there will be no rest while this message remains meaningless.”
“As we move forward, I urge each and every one of you to consider this groundbreaking discovery with the thoughtful reflection it deserves. As we stand on this new frontier, let us face the unknown with the same courage, curiosity, and unity that have always defined us as a nation, and as a species.”
“Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless these United States of America.”
The news returned, but Harlow turned the TV off.
He could see that some mental calculation was going on in his son’s head. Sean looked confused. Not the kind of confused that comes from not understanding something, but the kind that comes when you don’t know how you should feel about it.
“What…” Sean felt his way to a question. “What would aliens want to tell us?”
“Well,” Harlow started, not having considered the question in depth before. “They could just be doing what we’ve done in the past. They could be saying ‘Hello Earth. We are intelligent and we know about space. Are you intelligent? Do you know about space?’ Or it could be something else. The first thing that comes to my mind isn’t necessarily the first thing that will come to their mind.”
“They’re… calling ahead to see if anyone’s home before they come visit, then?”
That was certainly a possibility. The message itself showed some advanced technical capabilities, so coming to visit could be in the cards.
That would also feed into why the government wanted to keep things secret. Is the message a friendly greeting, telling us we should tidy up the place for visitors? Or, is it a threat, terms for our surrender before the invasion fleet gets here?
If these aliens were anything like humans, then Harlow thought both were actual possibilities. And evidently, so did the US government.
“I hadn’t thought of that, kiddo. Keep being ahead of me and you’ll be doing great things in no time.” Harlow hoped the praise was enough to deflect the question. He didn’t know how he could word it in a way that wouldn’t scare Sean.