Chapter 2
Before sunrise the next morning, Nisha and Priya struggled to talk in their sleep. They bolted upright, sweating profusely. Quinn woke up. Nisha acted calm, not wanting to upset priya.
"Mommy, I dreamed about them," Priya said.
Nisha reached down to Priya, who was still in the sleeping bag on the floor and put her hand on her shoulder.
"You're cold and sweaty. We're here Pree! I dreamed about them too."
"Dreamed about whom?" Quinn said.
Nisha and Priya both struggled to talk. Nisha tried to describe it.
"They were like ummmm?"
Silence.
"They? Like what?" Quinn said.
"It's hard to explain. I couldn't visualize them clearly. I dreamed about hazy figures moving about. The voices were the same voices as yesterday. The voices seemed to come from them. But they weren't speaking audibly."
Priya nodded her head as she put her sleeping bag on the bed and climbed in. Nisha continued.
"It sounded as though they were all speaking at once. I couldn't hear them clearly enough to pick out words."
"Did the voices contain words?" Quinn said.
"It's weird," Priya said. "They were talking but all the words were jumbled together. Maybe they were talking too quickly for me. What I picked up made me think of a stream of consciousness. My vision appeared dark and I could barely see anything."
"Neither could I," Nisha said. "I gazed out a big window. Saturn and its rings were outside. I dreamed of Saturn, but I didn't see it. I can't explain this."
"Neesh, you're usually the logical one, but this time I'm confused," Quinn said. "Are you telling me aliens are contacting you and Priya?"
"Well, I don't think they're trying to communicate, if they exist at all," Nisha said. "I think we're overhearing them, or it. In class yesterday I said I'd be excited to encounter or learn about real extraterrestrial life. However, now I'm anxious and I don't want to know anymore. We've never found evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence. I'm sure there's some rational, non-extraterrestrial explanation for all of this."
"Rational?" Quinn said. "Now that's the Nisha we all know and love!"
She entered, 'mass hysteria' into Google. She reviewed the Wikipedia page.
"Guys, check this out! Someone on Twitter called the voices mass hysteria so I did some research. Mass hysteria refers to the collective delusions of threats to society which can spread rapidly through rumors and fear. Mass hysteria can be anything from people dancing for days on end until they die, to thousands of people thinking polluted water has turned sweet, to people laughing until they become sick. Thousands of people can get rashes with no known cause. The delusions can start with one person having something happen to them. Soon after, others think the same thing too and the delusion spreads like a meme on the internet."
"That's odd," Quinn said. "Might this be happening now?"
Nisha glanced at Priya, raising her eyebrows.
"No way!" they both said simultaneously.
"We heard the voices at the same time with no chance for a meme or rumors to spread," Nisha said.
"Oh, look at the time, we gotta go," Nisha said.
They got up, ate a quick breakfast and walked quickly to the front door.
"Okay I have to go to the auditorium for my second class, I'll see you tonight Quinn."
"Okay Neesh. Bye Pree," he said.
"Bye Daddy."
Nisha dropped off Priya at school and drove to Caltech. She walked onto the stage 10 minutes early and the auditorium was filled to capacity. The crowd estimator app in her Eyepiece counted five hundred students and only four hundred seats. Nisha felt a buzz of excitement in the room. The air conditioning didn't help much to cool things down.
"Okay everyone, settle down!"
Slowly the noise decreased and the auditorium settled into dead silence.
"I had a lecture planned for today about the exciting details of our most recent discoveries of ancient life on Mars. What would be more exciting than that?"
She could hear a pin drop. She scanned the crowd and concentrated on presenting a calm appearance.
"However, I wish to discuss a few things which happened since we last met. Yesterday, voices came to three of your fellow classmates and me. They were also heard around the world. How many of you know about this?"
Almost everyone raised their hands.
"That's good. Yesterday around dinner time local time, the voices came again. They were heard over half of the world each time. The Earth turned 1/3 of a revolution in the eight hours between the first two occurrences of the voices. When I plotted the Twitter location data on Google Virtual Earth, I realized the voices must be originating from off the planet."
Mr. Kepler broke the silence.
"They were from the Klingon home world, right? I knew it!"
The students chuckled. Nisha smiled and glanced up at the ceiling as the morning light reflected up onto it. A few beads of perspiration appeared on her forehead. She resisted wiping them off. She didn't want to frighten anyone so she kept it light.
"Well, if the Klingon home world is directly behind Saturn, then you're right," Nisha said.
The students turned to each other, whispering.
"Let me explain. This morning the voices came back. After doing some calculations, the voices originate from the general direction of Saturn."
The audience let out a hushed gasp. Some in the audience smiled, as if they were waiting for the punch line of some elaborate joke.
"The transmissions might be originating from in front Saturn or behind it, I don't know yet. I say this because in all three instances, 99% of the tweets came from the side of the Earth facing Saturn while few tweets originated from the half of the Earth facing away from Saturn. The voices seem to rise and fall like the Sun once per day. They rose here around breakfast time and last night they set around dinner time. Saturn is almost behind the Sun from our perspective right now, so this makes sense for the voices to rise and fall with sunrise and sunset."
"Sounds like mass hysteria to me!" Mr. Kepler shouted out.
A few students in the audience clapped.
"Funny you should mention that," Nisha said. "Mass hysteria seems to be a real documented phenomenon. As a scientist, I must ask myself if I'm imagining these voices and visions. By the way, I dreamed about Saturn this morning. Is this part of the hysteria? In the dream, I thought the voices came from near Saturn, not on it. I might have generated a vision in my own mind. I don't know for sure. I'll keep an open mind. These voices might be real. I'm a scientist, and mass hysteria doesn't happen instantaneously all over the world."
A student in front said, "Do you think they're real?"
Nisha paused for a drink of water.
"Yes I think they're at least real in the minds of the 1% of the population who appear to be affected. What convinces me they're real is how the hard data favors the hypothesis speculating the voices originate off planet. I'm not saying they're from some intelligent alien species. However, something real is happening that's affecting people in a real way all at once. It's not mass hysteria."
"How many of you think this is mass hysteria?"
About 25% of the students raised their hands.
"Good!" she said. "I like a healthy dose of skepticism. I would be more skeptical too if I hadn't experienced them myself."
"So if these voices are real, what are the possible causes besides aliens in some space ship?" Mr. Kepler said.
Nisha didn't respond to the question and began to sweat.
"What did you say?" she said.
He repeated the question.
"So if these voices? Are you okay?"
Nisha fell into a trance for a few seconds and snapped out of it.
"I'm sorry everyone, the voices came back again. How many of you heard them?"
She took another drink of water. Four students raised their hands. She felt a chill shoot down her spine and into her toes.
"I notice the same three students as yesterday, but you're someone new. Were you here yesterday?"
"No," said the fourth student. "I came today because my friends told me to come. The voices came through a bunch of static. But they were clearer today than yesterday."
"Yes they sound a little louder too, with less static," Nisha said.
The other three students agreed.
"It's as though they're closer, or louder, or both. Raise your hands if you heard them today but not yesterday."
No hands went up.
"So, you either have the ability to receive them or not. Those who haven't experienced the voices may never be affected. Among you four, did any of your family members hear the voices?"
All four students raised their hands.
"Well, genetics appears to play a role in your ability to receive the voices."
"Or mass hysteria runs in families!" Mr. Kepler proclaimed.
Nisha smiled and glanced up to the ceiling again. The class chuckled.
"Or mass hysteria! This could be true despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I've been accused many times of being hysterical. Maybe? Hold on class?"
Nisha got another incoming message in her Eyepiece from Priya.
"Mommy, the voices came back again. They're louder. I'm getting headaches."
Nisha scanned the class. Her smile disappeared.
"Sorry about that. The voices came back to my daughter too."
Nisha messaged back to Priya, "Me 2. In lecture. .. all will be ok. xoxo!!"
"Okay sorry!" Nisha told the class as her hands shook again. "This is more evidence that susceptibility to the voices runs in families!"
A student in front raised her hand.
"What if these are real aliens with real ships and maybe real weapons or diseases? What do we do?"
"Well, we need to figure out where we stand compared to them. We're only now beginning to become a technological civilization. As I mentioned yesterday, many planets are older than ours. Chances are their technology will be far in advance of ours. I doubt we would be able to defend ourselves against them if they were aggressive. Let's hope they're peaceful. I'm still looking for other explanations for this phenomenon. I don't know if these are alien voices. They might be our own reflected TV and radio transmissions, or they might come from some planet or alien probe that reflects them by accident. I don't know yet but I'll find out. We might be picking up our own internet traffic."
Nisha didn't think it was reflected transmissions from Earth, but she felt a need to be professional about it. She finished her lecture and walked outside into the hot late summer day. She checked her Twitter stream. She gained 250,000 followers overnight for a total of 500,000. She noticed the location of the tweets for #WeirdVoices. The origin of the voices shifted slightly.
Nisha sent out two tweets.
"#WeirdVoices might be our reflected TV/radio/internet transmissions. Origin has shifted. #astronomy."
"The ability to receive #WeirdVoices seems to run in families. Genetics?"
Priya and Sophie faced bullying at their high school because of the voices in their heads. They bullied Ami for being their friend. At lunch, they ate alone at a table in the corner of the cafeteria when a group of kids walked by.
The biggest kid said, "Well look who's hiding away in the corner. It's the loonies! Wow, they're still wearing shirts with two sleeves. One sleeve will be enough when they send them away to the loony bin!"
The kids laughed and walked away.
"I'll kick their ?" Priya whispered.
"Shhhh," Sophie said under her breath.
Priya imagined several different scenarios of retaliation, but didn't say anything. They finished lunch and walked back to class. Priya stood up in front of the class to give the second part of her report on genetics. Halfway through, the voices came back as she spoke.
"I think in the future, we'll be able to repair any defect and even?"
Priya froze in place for a few seconds. She awakened and her hands shook visibly. A few students were giggling.
"Shut up jerks!" she said.
She ran out of the classroom with Sophie and Ami running after her.
Priya messaged, "Mommy, can u pick me up? Where r u?"
A few seconds later Nisha said, "I'm heading home now. I'll be there in a few minutes. The voices are back."
Priya picked up a rock and faced the big windows of her classroom. She imagined the rock crashing through the glass, startling everyone. Then she realized that she would be the prime suspect. She stared at the windows for several minutes and dropped the rock as Nisha pulled up just as class ended. Sophie and Ami ran up to her in a panic. They got into the car and drove away from the school. Nisha understood they were both in distress. She tried to talk about it. She held the steering wheel tightly to disguise her shaking hands.
"Pree, did you think they were louder this time?"
"Yeah Mommy, they're louder. They don't sound human at all. They aren't real voices. I wish they would stop. For a second I imagined the planet Jupiter through a giant window. It wasn't like a vision though. It was like a dream."
Sophie's face looked pale.
"They spoke at such a fast pace, I couldn't understand if they were speaking a language. I remember Jupiter also, but I didn't see it."
"I heard nothing," Ami said. "I'm thinking of some explanations. I think they're reflected radio transmissions. The odds of them being from an alien race are small, but we can't ignore the possibility."
They arrived home within a few minutes. Quinn and Sanjay weren't home yet. They walked straight to Nisha's computer to check the current events. Nisha did a quick calculation of the location of the latest tweets. The origin had indeed shifted towards Jupiter, which had an angle of about 20 degrees of arc from Saturn at the time. Both were roughly on the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth. Nisha broke out in sweat again.
"They've moved!" Nisha said. "I better tweet this right now."
"Twitter data: The origin of #WeirdVoices has moved from Saturn towards Jupiter. #astronomy. No #MassHysteria here!"
Priya pointed at the screen.
"Mommy, over one million people follow you now!"
Nisha raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Wow, you're right Pree. There's no sense of good taste on the internet these days!"
The girls laughed. At the height of their laughter, Nisha read a message in her Twitter message inbox. She clicked on the sender link, @DHSGov, the US Department of Homeland Security.
She opened the message.
"We would like to speak with you about your investigations into the #WeirdVoices phenomenon. Click on this link to download the secure transmissions App ASAP so we can discuss. Thank you."
Nisha glanced at Priya and Sophie with big eyes.
"Oh-kay then," Nisha said.
Soon the App loaded on her computer and she activted the [Initiate Transmission] button. On her monitor, several intimidating men in military uniforms sat behind a large table. Dark paneling set a solemn background.
"Dr. Nisha Chandra?" one of them said.
"Yes, this is Nisha."
"My name is General Lucas Sherman. I'm the primary investigator into the possible military implications of the voices phenomenon. I'll report directly to President Martinez for the duration of this event. We're impressed with your work on the President's counsel for the exploration of life on Mars."
"Thank you," Nisha said as she noticed a rash breaking out on her arm. "How can I be of assistance today?"
"First Dr. Chandra, your children must leave, so we can speak in private. This is a sensitive topic."
Nisha waved to the kids and they left the room. They nearly closed the door, but left a crack open so they could listen.
The General continued.
"Thank you. Now is it true you've determined the direction of origin of the voice transmissions has changed?"
"Yes," she said. "Every time the voices retur
n, they appear to be coming from a different direction based on the Twitter data. There's a pattern to the direction. First the origin came from the direction of Saturn and now it's from the general vicinity of Jupiter. I believe they're originating from near or inside our solar system. The angle of origin has changed so much in the past day that a vessel would need to exceed the speed of light if the source were much more distant than Pluto."
"I understand," the General said. "What do you think might be causing these voices? Do you have any hypotheses?"
"General, I'm a scientist. I search for the truth based on solid evidence and try not to engage in idle speculation. My guesses on this matter are based on no real information. They're speculation."
The General smiled.
"Your dedication to the scientific method is exactly why we've contacted you today. We don't want idle speculation or pseudo-science. Go ahead and speculate."
Nisha breathed a sigh of relief. She hid her sweaty hands below the table so nobody could see them.
"Okay, the voice-like transmissions appear to be coming from off Earth. As the Earth rotates, the origin stays in space. The course seems to be moving in an arc ranging from Saturn towards Jupiter. None of my instruments or those of anyone of which I'm aware, have detected these transmissions. They've only been detected in the human mind. However, I'm sure there's a real signal that can be received if we can find the correct frequency patterns."
She paused to drink some water.
"Please continue," the General said.
"I'm hesitant to mention anything that happens in the mind because real data is difficult to harvest from the mind. The imagination doesn't produce reliable data. My initial estimate is 1% of the population of the Earth can mentally receive the voices or whatever they are. This may not seem like much. However with more than eight billion humans on Earth, the 1% adds up to 80 million people. At first I thought the effect must be some form of mass hysteria or an internet meme, with me being one of those affected. The problem is mass hysteria spreads from one person to the next. This however, affected everyone at once. Also, the ability to receive the voices hasn't spread beyond those initially affected. Therefore, I believe the source of these transmissions is off Earth and is real."
The General looked around at the others in the room.
"Yes this is what we've determined as well. We've been monitoring the situation. We're taking this seriously as a national security issue. We consider you to be the world's foremost expert on extraterrestrial life, so we'd like to employ you to be our primary investigator into the nature of this phenomenon. You would report directly to me and the President. If you agree, you must leave your post at Caltech. We need your full attention in this matter. We'll contact Caltech so you can return to your position when this event is behind us. Do you understand?"
"I under-"
Her image froze on the screen in Washington, D.C. The DHS people thought the transmission had been interrupted. They attempted to reconnect when Nisha began to visibly shake.
"Sorry about that, General. The voices came back. They're growing louder and clearer. It's as though the source is getting closer to Earth. As they get louder, I realize they aren't voices as we understand them. However, they sound intelligent and they're communicating in a language I don't understand or recognize. I don't think they're trying to communicate with us. I think 1% of us are passively overhearing their communication."
The General glanced into his eyepiece for a moment.
"I got a message from my daughter. The voices spoke to her friend again. This is definitely a global problem. I'm working with my counterparts in countries around the world. Are you on board Dr. Chandra?"
"Yes General. I'll go on sabbatical at Caltech. Tomorrow will be my last day. Please contact them to let them know about the situation. My career at Caltech spans two entire days, so I don't have much tenure! I want to return to Caltech when this is over."
The General smiled.
"Great! We'll send you a more permanent secure communications app for your Eyepiece and other devices so you can contact us at any time. The minute you know anything, we need to know. We'll send you instructions giving details on what we need from you. We've already done due diligence on you and we've granted you full security access to my level. We are contacting another specialist at the CDC who may work with you. We haven't confirmed her yet."
"Thank you General," Nisha said. "I'll continue to work on discovering all I can about the transmissions."
They signed off. Priya and Sophie ran into the room.
"Were you guys listening?" Nisha said.
"How exciting, you're a spy for the government looking for aliens!" Priya said.
"I'm not sure if the voices are from aliens. I'm not sure what they are, but I do intend to find out. And I'm not a spy!"
She did like the sound of it though. A spy seeking aliens.
"Mommy, they're not human and they're intelligent. I felt them just now. You did too Sophie, right?"
"Yeah, they were like living computers. They sound like computers but they're talking. I'm having trouble breathing. And I'm sweating like a pig again. Are they coming here?"
"I'm not sure guys, but I'm going to find out!" Nisha said.
Quinn arrived home and Nisha filled him in, attempting to act like it was no big deal..
"Neesh, you can't fool me. I'm not sure about this. I'm not sure if I trust the government to do what's right."
"I know what you mean but there's a small chance they might be aliens. If they are, there's a big chance they're far more advanced than us. We need all the help we can get. Oh Quinn, can you get dinner on? The voices came back again and I want to locate the origin and find out if they've moved."
"Okay," he said.
Nisha downloaded the new Twitter location data set and sure enough, the source had moved. A cold and damp chill descended down her spine, even on that warm day. She tried to act as though everything was fine. Priya noticed the expression of worry on Nisha's face.
"What's wrong Mommy?"
Nisha focused on the data and ignored Priya.
"Mommy?"
"Oh, I'm sorry Pree. Let me send out this tweet and you'll understand why I'm worried."
"Latest Twitter data indicates the origin of the #WeirdVoices is moving in the direction of Mars. Next planet in this sequence? #astronomy."
"Pree, what worries me is the source seemed to intentionally change direction to move closer to Mars. Mars is at nearly a 90 degree angle in the sky compared to Jupiter. This shows intent and the ability to travel at great speeds."
Priya, Sophie and Ami turned to each other, but said nothing. Sophie realized she was squeezing Priya's arm and let go, leaving a hand print.
"Don't worry," Nisha said, trying in vain to assuage their fears. "This is exciting!"
Nisha relayed what she learned to the DHS. Quinn called everyone to eat an early dinner.
The school bus arrived on schedule and Sanjay walked in the door.
"Hi Mom. Can I quit school and be home schooled?"
"Did they bully you again? I'll kick their-"
"Priya!" Nisha said.
Sanjay continued.
"They bullied me as usual, but now they're bullying this kid who talks about the voices. They won't leave him alone. He ran out of the classroom and left the school. Nobody knows where he is. I hate those jerks! I don't want to go to school anymore."
"Sorry Sanjay," Quinn said. "For the time being you need to stay in this school. It's the best school for you."
"Can Sophie and Ami stay for dinner?" Priya said. "It's okay with their parents."
Quinn glanced at Nisha.
"You're always welcome here guys," he said.
"Sophie's parents are going to visit relatives back east for a while. Can she stay with us while they're gone? It's boring back there."
Quinn and Nisha glanced at each other and nodded.
"Sure," Nisha said.
They ate, discuss
ing the events of the day. Priya, Sophie and Ami were giggling and talking quietly.
"What's so funny?" Nisha said.
"What if they're like an alien fungus and they turn us into zombies like those zombie ants living in the tropics?" Priya said. "And we walk around with an alien fungus sticking out of the top of our heads like those ants, doing what the fungus wants."
"That's not real! There's no such thing as zombie ants silly!" Quinn said.
"It's true Daddy, go search. The fungus infects the ants and the ants do what the fungus needs to reproduce. The ants are real zombies!"
"She's right Quinn!" Nisha said.
"I don't believe that!"
She leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Quinnaleeni!"
Quinn shook his head. He loved her playfulness but he didn't want to fall for another one of her pranks. He did a quick search and found information about zombie ants. He stared in disbelief.
"Wow, you're right Pree. There really are zombie ants! I'm outnumbered in this house."
"Me too," Sanjay said.
"Life takes many forms here on Earth," Nisha said. "Who knows what's out there. That's why I've been excited to be looking for life on Mars. Who knows what we'll find when we-"
"Guys?" Quinn said.
"They're zoning out again Dad," Sanjay said.
Nisha, Priya and Sophie seemed to be in a trance for at least 30 seconds. Ami was unaffected.
Nisha snapped out of the trance first and exhaled violently.
"Oh, that was the most frightening one yet."
She looked over at Priya and Sophie, but they were still in a trance.
"Girls?" she said.
After about 30 more seconds which seemed like an eternity, they also regained consciousness.
"What happened?" Quinn said.
Priya got up and ran around the table to Nisha.
"Mommy, my heart is racing again!"
"What's happening?" Quinn said, glancing at Nisha.
"I felt like they're flying by Mars. Did you get the same impression Pree?"
"Yeah Mommy."
"I imagined Mars too, and a huge canyon," Sophie said.
"Sorry Quinn, I gotta go find out what's happening. The situation might be like this for a while. I'm sorry."
Nisha ran into her computer room with Priya, Sophie and Ami close behind.
"The voices are definitely coming from the direction of Mars. Many people describe this as the loudest and most intense event yet."
"Yeah, I agree," Priya said.
Nisha tweeted, "Latest #WeirdVoices Twitter data indicates the voices originate from Mars or nearby. I'll be working with the US government to determine the origin. #astronomy."
Priya pointed to the screen.
"Mommy, two million people follow you now!"
She turned to Sophie and Ami.
"I have a famous mom!"
"I'm not a celebrity guys. I'm a scientist. I don't want attention."
"You're a celeb!" Priya said. "You need to take some old-school selfies for your fans!"
"You guys are silly. I'm not doing that. Let me work now. Go on."
Midnight came and went. The kids slept in the master bedroom in sleeping bags on the floor. They had a fitful night's sleep with no major interruptions.
The next morning, Quinn made breakfast. Everyone sat down to eat.
"Maybe that's the end of it," he said. "You guys didn't complain about voices all night."
"Yay!" Priya and Sophie said simultaneously.
"Let me look," Nisha said. She browsed her Twitter stream.
Nisha frowned as she read the tweets.
"Sorry guys, we were on the wrong side of the planet to receive them. Two new occurrences of the voices happened a few hours apart. They're louder than ever."
She did a quick calculation.
"Hmm, they don't seem to be near Mars any more. They're moving but I'm not sure where they're going.
"Mommy?"
"What Pree?"
"Can we stay home from school today?"
Nisha turned to Quinn and walked over to him.
"What do you think? Can they stay home?"
"Um ?"
"Quinn-orama, I love you," Nisha whispered softly in his ear.
"Oh-kay," Quinn said. "I'm such a sucker. Fine, I'll keep an eye on them! You can stay home too Sanjay."
"Yessssssss!" they all said at once.
"Today is my last day at Caltech. My long career is ending. I better get going," Nisha said, smiling valiantly.
"Be careful!" they all said.
"I will," Nisha said as she walked out the door.
She arrived at the noisy and overcrowded auditorium and walked in. Even faculty members were present. Her adrenaline was flowing and she felt no anxiety at all.
"Okay everyone, settle down!" she said, looking over the huge crowd. "I want to make some announcements."
Gradually, silence took hold.
"This will be my last day at Caltech for a while."
Whispers spread across the room.
"I'll be working with people in our government to learn more about the phenomenon of the voices. They seem to be real and they were last located somewhere around Mars. Now they're heading somewhere else. Maybe here but I don't know for sure yet."
Mr. Kepler stood up in back.
"So they are indeed coming to enslave humankind?"
This time, his interruption didn't receive the same carefree laughter as before. A few giggled nervously.
"Mr. Kepler, this is no longer funny."
He sat down, sheepishly.
"I'm still not sure who or what they are. I find no evidence other than the sounds in the minds of millions, and the views of our local planets. The pattern has changed. I slept fairly well last night and the voices didn't return this morning. However, the voices have returned on the other side of the world. Tonight the voices might return to this area."
A student in the front row raised his hand.
"Could this be an elaborate prank, played on the whole world? At first we thought you were pranking us."
"I don't think so. Despite the fact I've lived my life with the dream of finding extraterrestrial life, this isn't how I wish to encounter it. I wanted to learn about extraterrestrial life at the end of a microscope. This situation appears real to me. It's too big to be a practical joke. It's impossible to keep millions of conspirators under wraps. And there's no way to simulate signals from off the planet and have the origin travel so quickly across the solar system. However, I still don't know who or what is causing this."
Another student raised her hand.
"What if they're real biological aliens and they visit the Earth? What should we do?"
Nisha paused for a moment, deciding what to say. She had considered this possibility for years and now it might be for real.
"As I've mentioned, any species who manages to visit us will probably be far more technologically advanced than us. The closest habitable planet is more than 20 light years away. They can zip between planets in our solar system like a cruise ship between islands. My advice is to do nothing to provoke them. If we were to shoot first, they might decide to eliminate us as we might do to a dangerous animal species. Be careful and don't panic. This might be nothing at all. It might only be a probe. And this effect might be some type of unusual hysteria triggered by energy emissions of some sort. I'm not sure yet."
"When will you be back?" a student said.
"I want to continue teaching here as soon as this event is over. Follow me on Twitter and you'll know what I know. I promise. I'll give updates as often as I can. The official protocol for SETI is to release all relevant information in the event of a discovery because the world has the right to know."
Nisha said goodbye and walked off the stage. She exited the buzzing auditorium with dozens of students following her. She walked to her car and waved goodbye, wondering if she was doing the right thing. As she drove home, she listened to a headline abou
t the dream phenomenon for the first time on radio on the National Public Radio news hour.
NPR Reporter: "Last night the voices grew louder in Asia. People reported dreaming about the planet Mars. Reports on Twitter tell of voices returning to people in Ireland after 12 hours of silence. The voices travel around the world about once per day. Soon we may be hearing them in the US once again. More after this pledge break."
Nisha returned home. Quinn and Sanjay sat watching Twitter with rapt attention.
"What's happening?" Nisha said.
Nobody replied at first.
"Oh hi Neesh," Quinn said. "We're following the latest developments. Some people in Nova Scotia heard the voices a minute ago. I think they're headed this way."
"You might be right Quinn, let me do a few calculations."
Sure enough, the voices were rising in the east, like an advancing sunrise.
"Hmm, the direction has changed again. No planets are near my estimated location. The voices continue to get louder and more frequent."
She tweeted, "The #WeirdVoices moved again and are 'rising' on the US and Canadian east coast now. They're getting louder and more frequent. #astronomy."
Nisha read a message from NPR asking her to be a guest ASAP. She replied. Within minutes she spoke on live national radio.
NPR Interviewer: "Dr. Chandra I'm glad you could be on the show on such short notice. We've given the audience information about your background and what you've discovered about the voices thus far. Is anything happening right now?"
Nisha: "Yes, the voices are returning to the US and Canadian east coast. The timing of the transmissions from space is random other than they're becoming more frequent. I'm unsure about who or what they are. They may be biological, machine, a hybrid of the two, or the manifestation of some other phenomenon. We don't know. I want to tell your listeners not to contact them or provoke them, if this represents a biological life form. Be careful."
After 15 minutes, the interview ended. Nisha and the kids browsed Twitter.
"Wow Mommy," Priya said. "Over three million people follow you. Aren't you excited?"
"I'm not excited about the number of followers Pree. I'm happy because I might be able to educate more people about the wonders of the universe. I'm nervous about tweeting to so many people. I'll get over it. I'm going to send one now."
Nisha tweeted, "#WeirdVoices on the US East Coast next. They may happen on west coast after sunset. #astronomy."
After dinner, darkness settled in over them.
"Mommy," Priya said. "Can Ami stay over tonight? It's okay with her parents."
"Sure Pree, she can stay since Sophie will be here for two weeks. Would you guys like to look through my new telescope? There's a full Moon tonight after sunset.
"Sure," Sophie said. "I've never looked through a big telescope."
"Me too," Ami said. "Wow, this is some serious glass!"
Nisha felt excited to show the girls her new telescope, which arrived the past week. She calibrated it, but she hadn't found the time to peer through the eyepiece.
"First, let me check Twitter again," Nisha said. "I'll make some new calculations. Then we can check out the telescope."
A few minutes later Nisha tweeted, "Latest #WeirdVoices detected on US east coast, the loudest transmission yet. West coast next. #astronomy."
Nisha called Quinn over to the computer, chuckling at her Twitter feed.
"A religious group thinks the voices only come to some people because they're the chosen ones. I guess I'm one of the chosen!"
"Neeshala, you are always my chosen one!"
"You're my chosen one too!" she said as she hugged him.
Nisha walked into the back yard and called everyone out.
"Mommy, the Moon is huge! Can we look at it first?"
"Not yet Pree," Nisha said. "I'm going to check out Mars first to make some adjustments, and then we can turn to the Moon."
Nisha made some final adjustments. Mars appeared sharp considering the instability of Earth's atmosphere on a clear night.
Priya peered into the eyepiece.
"It's so red! I notice some spots of blue though."
"The color is mostly red because the soil on Mars contains a lot of oxidized iron," Ami said. "Some of the iron isn't oxidized and the blue iron sand dunes get sculpted by the wind."
"What's the big streak across the middle of the planet?"
"That's Valles Marineris," Ami said. "It's the Grand Canyon of Mars. It's five times deeper than the Grand Canyon and 10 times longer."
"Why is the canyon so deep? Wouldn't the sides cave in?"
"The gravity on Mars is less than 40% of Earth," Ami said. "So canyons are deeper and mountains are higher. The tallest mountain on Mars is about three times the height of Mt. Everest above sea level!"
"Can I see it Pree?" Sophie said.
"Sure,"
"What's all the white stuff on the top of Mars?"
"That's ice on the North Pole," Ami said.
"Is it like our North Pole?"
"No," Ami said. "At our North Pole in the winter, water snow and ice exists on top of an ocean for part of the year. On Mars, there's carbon dioxide and water frost on top of land. About 2% of the topsoil is water. Therefore it's more like our South Pole where there's land, only colder."
"You're a genius Ami. You know everything!" Priya said
Priya checked her pulse.
"Mommy, my heart is beating really fast. It's 120 and I'm doing nothing. Can we check out the Moon now?"
"Wow, you sure are persistent. Why?"
"I can't explain it. I feel sick to my stomach. I want to see the Moon."
"What does the Moon have to do with your stomach?"
"I'm not sure. Please let me look! Sorry Sophie."
"Okay Pree, hold on a second."
Sophie pulled herself away from the telescope, which Nisha pointed towards the Moon using a software app on her Eyepiece.
Priya peered into it.
"Wow! I never realized how many mountains are on the Moon. Why are there thousands of craters everywhere? People rarely talk about craters on the Earth."
Nisha smiled.
"Ami, do you want to tell her why?"
"Sure. That's because there's no atmosphere around the Moon. Therefore meteors don't break up in the atmosphere before impact like they do here on Earth. And when bigger ones do strike the Earth, erosion from wind and rain along with plant life gradually wear down and hide the crater. On the Moon, a crater can remain untouched for billions of years. Those footprints the astronauts made in 1969 are nearly as pristine as if they were made yesterday, though falling dust from space has eroded them a bit."
"Mommy?"
"What Pree?"
"What's the name of the little star near the Moon?"
"What star?"
Priya pointed to the left side of the Moon.
"The little star over there," she said.
She stopped looking through the telescope's narrow view Eyepiece and looked directly at the Moon.
"Oh, I can only view the star in the telescope because it's small."
"Okay let me look," Nisha said.
She felt pleased because the girls showed interest in astronomy. She dreamed of having a child pursue astronomy. Quinn and Sanjay showed no interest at all. They were inside playing Scrabble 3D. Now she had friends with her. She watched Priya closely for a long time. For the first time she saw Priya as a young woman, not her child.
"Mommy, are you going to look into the telescope?"
"Oh, sorry," Nisha said. "Hmm, that's strange. Stars don't have this appearance. It must be a satellite."
She looked closely for several seconds.
"Yes, it's moving slowly. Let me identify the satellite."
Nisha activated her satellite locator app.
"No satellites are in the charts in that location right now, but there's the new satellite the Chinese launched yesterday. The satellite probably isn't on my charts yet."
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"Mommy I'm sick to my stomach."
"Me too," Sophie said.
Nisha continued watching the satellite.
"Nisha tried to change the subject. I hope you're not sick because of my cooking," Nisha said as she smiled. "How are you Amy?"
"I'm fine. I liked the dinner. I loved those brussels sprouts!"
Priya held her stomach.
"I don't think dinner is causing this. My stomach ache began suddenly a few minutes ago."
"Me too," Sophie said. "And I'm dizzy."
"I feel a bit queasy myself. ? Now this is strange," Nisha said. "I'm watching the satellite slowly cross in front of the Moon. Usually satellites close to the Earth pass by the Moon quickly. ? Now it's finally moved past the right side of the Moon and the speed is decreasing. This is odd. Hold on."
Nisha messaged a few astronomer friends in Chile to get them to take a look. She continued watching. Soon she got a reply from one of them.
"I can't identify your object. I'll keep looking. There's no record of any satellite being in this particular area right now. It must be far away because we are hundreds of miles apart but the object is in front of the moon from both our perspectives."
Then she remembered the Twitter data.
"Pree, I realize something."
"What Mommy?"
"My Twitter data predicted the voices returned here on the West Coast at the same time the Moon rose an hour ago. And now I'm seeing this satellite where none should be."
Silence.
"Mommy, my heart is racing fast enough already!"
"Mine too," Sophie said.
"Don't feel worried," Nisha said.
She calmly looked through the narrow view Eyepiece. She held the arm of the chair firmly.
"It could be a coincidence. I need real evidence. I'm watching this thing, which appears to be slowing down from our perspective. Maybe this thing is an asteroid close to the Moon. It's moving too slowly to be in orbit around the Earth. The distance must be great, don't worry."
Priya looked through the eyepiece.
"Mom, it's them," Priya said. "I'm positive."
"I agree," Sophie said.
"Them? How do you know?" Nisha said.
"The voices are quiet right now but somehow I know they're nearby," Priya said.
"My stomach is queasier now, like I'm going to be sick," Sophie said.
"Guys, I know you're worried, and the voices have been around for a few days now. However, there's no concrete evidence the little object we're looking at near the Moon has anything to do with the voices," Nisha said.
Nisha looked into the eyepiece.
"It's gone! I guess the satellite or asteroid went behind the moon because of the Moon's gravity. The satellite may reemerge from the backside of the Moon in three or four minutes if it's entering orbit. I'm going inside to monitor what's happening on Twitter."
They sprinted into Nisha's computer room. Priya and Sophie followed close behind.
"Twitter seems to be quiet right now in regards to the voices. Everything seems normal," Nisha said.
"I don't feel normal and neither does Sophie," Priya said. "Wait, I knew it. The words 'queasy' and 'stomach' are trending now.
Three minutes later, they walked outside to the telescope.
"I don't see anything," Nisha said, appearing relieved. "Maybe we observed an asteroid, which might still be behind the Moon. I'm going to keep watching. I figure if it's in orbit, it will emerge from behind the Moon in less than a minute."
The minute lasted for what seemed like an eternity. Nisha squinted. Nisha held the arm of the chair tightly.
"Ugh, the object has returned from behind the moon," Nisha whispered.
"Mommy this is freaking me out. What is this?"
"I'm not sure Pree. I'm going to do some calculations because I know the distance."
Nisha watched closely. About 30 minutes later, the object passed in front of the Moon again. She timed how long the object took to pass in front of particular points on the Moon.
"Oh my," she whispered.
"What Mommy?"
"According to my calculations, the object is more than 20 miles in diameter. Pree, your hands are cold."
"I can't help it. I know the voices come from the object."
"You might be right, but let's take things one step at a time."
Nisha ran back into her computer room with the kids following like ducklings.
"I need to tell the DHS people about this."
After she alerted the DHS, she tweeted, "A new object is orbiting the Moon. 20mi/32km in diameter. This is no prank. #astronomy people investigate! Correlated with #WeirdVoices?"
Within minutes, Twitter volume doubled. More than 1,000 new people followed Nisha each minute. A few minutes later, astronomers began to confirm Nisha's calculations.
An hour later, her DHS Eyepiece app received an incoming transmission notification. Nisha answered on her computer. General Sherman appeared on the screen.
"Dr. Chandra, the President wishes to speak with you."
The kids whispered to each other.
"Okay kids, please leave the room," Nisha said.
They walked out of the room, leaving the door cracked as President Maria Martinez appeared on the screen.
"Dr. Chandra, I'm pleased to meet you," she said.
"I'm excited to meet you Madam President! I'm honored," Nisha said.
"I've been following you on Twitter for some time now," President Martinez said. "I've enjoyed your perspective on extraterrestrial life. Now we may be a short time away from making contact with someone or something from another world. I need to know what to expect. I need advice. What can you tell me?"
Quinn, Priya, Sophie Ami, and Sanjay huddled on the other side of the nearly closed door, listening quietly.
"First of all, nobody knows what to expect," Nisha said. "I've participated in the creation of protocols to be followed in the event of extraterrestrial contact. They state that any information found should be shared, and no reply to an alien species should be made without worldwide consensus. The problem is; consensus by whom? I've believed if we get a signal from a distant world, we should not reply. I think we should lie low because only recently have we emerged as a technological civilization. Chances are they'll be greatly advanced compared to us. In this case, they're bold enough to not lie low. Of course, anyone with a radio transmitter might reply, so protocols probably will be ineffective."
"That makes sense," the President said.
"Yes, but now this potential civilization has discovered us first. This body orbiting the Moon might be a probe, or it might contain millions of human sized beings. All we perceive are voices in our heads and vague dreamlike images. These may or may not come from the object. Regardless, we can't hide our planet any more. We must be careful."
"I agree," the President said. "I wouldn't want to provoke them. What do you think we should do?"
"First, we should assess their technology and their intent. This thing has orbited the Moon twice. They traveled through our solar system like tourists in the Mediterranean on a cruise. They traveled from Saturn, to Jupiter and on to Mars and the Moon in a few days, in a ship 20 miles in diameter. Those planets aren't aligned right now, so they traveled an extremely long distance. They didn't use gravity to slingshot their way from one planet to the next. This indicates an extremely advanced level of technology compared to our own, as well as a mastery of manipulating enormous amounts of concentrated energy."
"I understand," the President said. "What do you think about sending a mission into lunar orbit? A lunar station supply ship is set to launch shortly."
Nisha took a drink of water.
"I think this would be a good idea if you approach the spacecraft carefully. We can't hide anymore. This action will show them we can get off of this planet without being threatening."
"Thank you Dr. Chandra," the President said. "I'll get back to you soon."
They signed off. Nish
a turned towards the door and smiled.
"Okay guys, you can come out now!"
The door opened and they rushed into the room in excitement.
"Mommy, you hung with the President!" Priya said.
"I'm proud of you," Quinn said. She smiled tightly.
"Are they going to come here to Earth?" Priya said.
Nisha wiped the hair from Priya's face and took a deep breath like the kind she does at yoga.
"There's no way to know Pree. This might be a probe. I think this is exciting!"
Nisha didn't know how long she could keep up the facade of being calm and collected. She knew that they outclass us in every way. She considered the possibility that this may be the last normal day of life on Earth ever, but said nothing of it as she worked on the latest data.
"Okay, it's getting late. Time to go to sleep," Quinn said.
"Daddy, can we sleep in your bedroom?" Priya said.
Quinn glanced at Nisha. She agreed.
"Sure Pree, get the sleeping bags."
They ran to the closet to get them.
"Quinn, I may appear on the outside as though this is fun and games, but this might be the biggest event in human history. I'm struggling to breathe."
"Yeah, I'm pretending like it's nothing for the sake of the kids."
"Things might not turn out well for us. In the morning, pack some emergency things just in case we need to leave quickly. We could escape to the desert. Even though it's orbiting the moon, the spacecraft might be here in a few hours if they desire. I feel like they could easily do us harm if they wished."
"What evidence do you have to support that conclusion?" Quinn said.
"Hey, that's my line!"
"Yeah, now it's my turn to be the logical one. Well, what evidence do you have?"
Nisha took a deep breath and wiped the perspiration from her forehead.
"The only thing I know for sure is they're here. They traveled at least 20 light years if they came from the closest habitable planet. That feat alone puts them in another league compared to us. And they toured our solar system like it was nothing. Their ship is 20 miles in diameter. My guts tell me that we're nothing compared to them."
Quinn smiled.
"Why would you smile about that?" Nisha asked.
"Guts? You're talking like me now. I like it! Not everything can be sorted and categorized into neat little compartments."
"Believe me Quinn, this does fit into neat little compartments, we just need to identify the new compartments."
"Neesh, you need to admit that your logical world is upside down. You sound like a mystic with all this talk about hearing voices and seeing visions."
"There's got to be a rational explanation for those effects. I'm sure I'll find it. I'll admit that I feel uneasy not being able to explain all of this. And I don't have the power to know how to go about finding the answers."
Quinn smiled.
"Now that's the Nisha we know and love! You're breathing so quickly. Don't hyperventilate. It's the fear of the unknown. Not everything can be explained. Some things are mysterious and inexplicable."
"I disagree," Nisha said. "I think that everything can be explained. We simply don't have the answers yet. Many people find comfort in the unexplained for some reason, but the fact is that the universe is a neutral place that can be fully explained. Our species is not guaranteed to survive. The Earth could be wiped out by a meteor and nobody would save us. Remember that near miss a couple of years ago. If it passed by a few hours earlier, we'd not be here talking about it. The universe existed before us and would continue on unchanged if we disappeared."
"You sound so mechanical. You make the universe sound so cold and unforgiving," Quinn said.
"It is. And it's also exciting and full of discoveries waiting for us. Who knows what we'll find. Who knows what we'll discover about ourselves in the process."
"I think you need a spiritual practice."
"Quinn, discovering the true nature of things is my spiritual practice. And I meditate every day. I'm going to sleep now."
"Giving up so easily?"
"No, you pest! We need to get some sleep."
They walked into the bedroom. Priya, Sophie and Ami were talking quietly in their sleeping bags on the floor.
They said good night, but didn't get much sleep.