06. Date

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​"Outer space!" Jin frowned intensely

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​"Outer space!" Jin frowned intensely. "You are saying it is an alien communication? A message from extraterrestrial life?"

​"I think so," Arya confirmed with a nod.

​"Absurd," Jin shook his head, refusing to believe it.

​"I collected all related data," Arya continued. "This signal was received by their deep space probe, Voyager 2, which is now outside our galaxy. NASA even located the source through a very complex process. It came from the Cadmium galaxy, almost two hundred thousand light-years away from Earth."

​"How does a signal travel that far?" Jin remained skeptical.

​"Maybe they used a booster," Arya shrugged. "Don't ask me for the explanation-I don't know how it works. I just know this sound wave was encrypted in a very low frequency. You know low-pitch sound can travel an incredibly long distance."

​"It's unbelievable," Jin commented calmly. "Are you absolutely sure it's not some kind of scam?"

​"I don't think so," Arya countered. "If it were a hoax, NASA would already be on television, declaring their historic 'discovery.' This is, after all, their biggest evidence yet of alien existence!"

​"When was this signal received?"

​"Almost twenty-four hours ago. I checked their electric logbook. It came from Voyager 2."

​"So you do not doubt its source?"

​"No. The Americans have already started their research. One copy of the signal has been sent to Area 51. A specialized team of space scientists has begun working on it using their top-secret computer system under the Air Force. But I think they should declare the news to the world. The longer they delay, the greater the risk of losing credit to others."

​"Why?" Jin frowned.

​"All of NASA's space-based probe and satellite transmissions have been monitored by every developed country for ages. I assure you, all of them have already obtained a copy of this signal and started their own research. At the end of the day, whoever declares the message first will claim the credit," Arya finished with a wicked smile.

​"You said they received it twenty-four hours ago. Why are they still silent about it?"

​"They are waiting to be certain. It's a colossal matter," Arya whistled unmindfully. "If it turns out to be a scam, their reputation is ruined. And then there's the issue of finding the message's meaning..."

​"Meaning?"

​Arya chuckled. "What is the value of an alien signal if it has no content?"

​"I saw you were just looking at some random patterns!" Jin smiled slightly.

​"Not random patterns," Arya corrected, smiling back. "A visual copy of the sound. I'm trying to see if there's any pattern in the intensity and pitch. I can't understand anything only by hearing it, so visualization is the only way." She tapped Jin's hand. "Let me show you."

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