The observatory hung above the burning clouds of HD 189733b, its solar shield crackling under the onslaught of stellar winds. Dr. Lian Rho, a neuro-linguist turned exoplanetary researcher, sighed as yet another data glitch scrambled the alien signal she’d been decoding for months.
She hesitated before purging the corrupted segments. The signal pulsed oddly, almost…deliberately. Adjusting the decryption filter, she replayed it. Patterns emerged—syntax, context. This wasn’t just noise; it was a message.
A desperate one.
The planet below, scoured by violent storms, held no life… but perhaps it once had. Lian’s fingers trembled as she rearranged the fragments. A final warning. A plea. The last trace of a civilization swallowed by its own sky.
She saved a copy before sending a reply: “We hear you.”
Outside, the storms raged, indifferent.
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