Dr. Sian Vell drifted through the Obsidian Array, a vast web of dark matter collectors orbiting a rogue planet. She was the sole engineer maintaining the silent sentinels, their gravitational lenses harvesting energy from the unseen.
A routine scan revealed an anomaly—one of the collectors pulsed erratically. Approaching, Sian’s suit registered a frequency embedded in the oscillations. A pattern. A message.
Deciphering it, she gasped. It wasn’t an error but a response—something, someone, out there had noticed humanity’s grasp into the void.
Her orders were clear: report anomalies, await further instruction. Yet, she hesitated. If she followed protocol, this signal might never be pursued. The weight of isolation pressed against her, the years of solitude stark in her mind.
She transmitted a simple pulse back: “Who are you?”
The collectors whispered in return. And for the first time in years, she wasn’t alone.
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