Floccinaucinihilipilification

In An Astronomical Shadow

Browsing through the web as usual, an unassuming woman's window-shopping random links, webs, and e-shops. She's stumbling over herself to get through all the offerings all the sites have proudly displayed as decoration and eye candy to defraud any and all unsuspecting, as one seemed too miscellaneous; no face to represent the product, no description, traits, characteristics, or uniqueness, just a few cryptic words that haunted the woman's gaze.

"Its maw has unhinged. Its moans have reappeared. Watch. Listen."

She couldn't hush her glare away from such an ominous non-product. A sense of curiosity, urgency, and importance asphyxiated her rational thinking as she mindlessly and swiftly decided to fall for such a link. Instead of the other parts of the website slowly revealing themselves through the programmed fog, it took her to a blank, faceless, featureless, white page, and an .exe file downloaded into her computer automatically, with its own binary will. It was untitled. It was unnatural, impossible to code. She ran into her files and frantically searched for the program, hiding itself in the deepest, most shadowed, overlooked corners of the memory rather well. She did eventually find it, and she did expressionlessly eye up and down the sinister program, sitting there motionlessly, unable to do anything without her say or direction. Not having anything else planned for this yet uneventful day and curiosity having already swallowed her ration whole, she instructed the cursor to land above the program, as she then rapidly double-clicked. The program opened, absorbing the screen full, with no name or no hints as to what it really is. The screen's first snowy, then obsidian, then ending on a deep, sinister dark blue, almost as if the program's screen is halfway through the way to the seabed of the Mariana Trench. Nonetheless, the program spoke its first words in bold, white, ancient letters, barely remaining glued together.

"A COSMIC KING WAS BIRTHED.

ONE OTHER PLANET JOINED THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

LEVITATING, MUTATING AROUND OCCASIONALLY.

IT HEARS US."

The woman, reading each sentence carefully and cautiously, swapped the curiosity that swallowed her whole with sharp, painful anxiety. What was it talking about? As far as her knowledge currently reads, no other planet was ever spotted invading the solar system. She's sure of it. The program kept these words on the screen, seemingly awaiting something. She first tried using her keyboard for communication, although that turned to go nowhere. Not knowing what else to do and desperately devoured by a creature summoned by curiosity, worry, and anxiety, she spoke to the monitor, expecting to be berated for her naiveness. "What?" Her only question was echoing around the room. To her absolute shock and terror, however, the monitor obeyed and proceeded to start to respond. The previous words arranged in short sentences one by one vanished, then being replaced and rearranged to convey a new meaning in a blink.

"MISTAKEN FOR A PLANET, IT WAS AN EGG.

ITS SHELL WEAK AS DEADSKIN.

SURVIVING AS A PARASITE FEEDING OFF BLEEDING MOONS.

CAN YOU HEAR IT?"

The program, now providing more questions rather than answers, sealed its mouth shut again. The woman, now speechless, keeps staring at the screen, unable to make sense of things. It's obviously recounting a story, but of what sorts? Is this terrifying reality or innocent fiction? Is poor programming to blame?

Silent, the woman's perception remained fixated on the screen as a silent, but noticeable, ambient breeze intruded into the room. Its sounds were alien. Its sounds were eldritch, freezingly nightmarish. She slowly turned to face her window, only to see nothing unusual. Just the bright, sunny sky as nature continued to go about around the house. She keeps her hearing on edge, listening to the intruding noise. It mesmerized her mind, keeping her attention perplexed by its words. She can hear it. It has spoken to her.