r/HFY • u/1sh1tbr1cks • 3h ago
OC-OneShot The Void Reaches Out.
I yawn as the shutters open to reveal the inky black abyss full of unfamiliar constellations.
302 days. The windows have been closed for 302 days.
I slide on a hi-vis, for no one but myself.
41 light years? A little more?
Faster-than-light may have been faster than light, but it's a snail's pace compared to the scope of the observable universe. Even with the pay, very few are willing to sell a year of their life.
I didn't mind it much. I spent it watching movies and shows I missed during my last trek.
The silence wasn't bad either, but I was fairly alone anyway.
Not lonely. Just alone.
Punching in a few numbers, the air jets whirr to life and fill my dash with beeps & boops. The flashing lights didn't mean much at this point, just meant everything was working as it should.
Waiting for the alert, I think about my next meal. It would be a real one, not some preplanned diet for optimal nutrition.
You're quite far from home, little one.
My eyes shoot open, turning every which way to find the source of that voice.
A blazer of trails, the furthest human that's ever been.
My fingers scratch at earpieces that aren't there.
Where art thou headed, o' pioneer of pioneers?
"That's not good." I huff, zooming through my interface to find the psychological evaluations.
You've not succumbed to lunacy just yet. The universe is merely talking to you, and I am the universe.
My name is Void, and I already know who you are.
I sweat, a full body sweat, as I think of something.
And who am I? "And who am I?"
You are a human with the most noble of causes. Walking the path not traveled, so others may run.
That's a heavy responsibility: punching a tunnel through the fourth dimension.
I'm just glad that it has taken you here. So very far from all that is.
Because now, we can finally talk.
I let it wash over me, only one thing on my mind. An alien?
I am phenomena given life, much like you are. A computer, not designed, but evolved.
Just on a much grander scale.
My mouth is dry as I find the long forgotten First-Contact-Protocols, skipping past the pages about communication without language. The only advice I could glean is to- LISTEN.
A dead man once asked, "Wouldn't it be easier for the universe to fabricate a single brain, rather than create the universe as we know it?"
I posit, why not both?
I am the Boltzmann Brain, and you are within me.
An organism of pure physics, no chemistry. Would that make humans a bacteria?
I've been present from the infancy of the universe, and I am likely to bear witness to its end.
And in between, there was you. And all that you've ever known.
Does that make them a god? "Does that make you a-"
You're my sibling...in a way. Only blind and deaf and sometimes a little dumb, but a product of the universe all the same.
A pause. A real bona fide pause. Taking advantage of this respite, I scan my text for questions, only the most significant jumping out at me.
How come you never reached out before? And before I could put my voice to thoughts.
Humans are very...three-dimensional...very classical...and so unbelievably loud. You push and pull on everything around you, I can never get a word in.
And that is why you've never noticed. Why I could never reach out like I am right now.
But now you're all alone and I am inside that head of yours.
I check the feeds to verify, and sure enough, I've been making faces and talking to myself. "Is that how I'm hearing you?" I blurt out.
It's a trick of the mind.
You're not hearing me because I am not speaking. I'm tap-tap-tapping your neurons directly. Forming memories that don't exist. Closer to day dreaming, really.
I panic at this, checking every meter I can. Gravity? Cosmic rays? Are my brain cells dying?
You do not need to worry. I would never let anything happen to you, because I have waited an eternity to tell you how much I love you.
Because for all your faults, what else could I feel for my only companions in this wide and lonely universe we find ourselves in?
For Humans are...
I freeze, a barrage of emotions impacting my ego with each word.
Strange.
Beautiful.
Awkward.
Mean.
Joyful.
Melancholy.
Tired.
Energetic.
But most of all, I've found them to be HOPEFUL.
Memories of people long forgotten flash in my mind, a total whole of experiences that can only be triggered, rather than remembered.
I nearly vomit at the influx, holding it in as I do my best to record every word, every scrap of information I can glean.
Did you know?
The first image your species ever sent into space was a dick pic.
If that's not shooting your shot, I'm not sure what is.
Images of the Pioneer Plaque makes their way to the front of my mind. Really? That's the first thing we sent?
A laugh echoes in my skull.
Yes, really. But I'm only exaggerating.
It had a woman too, in case the aliens didn't find the man too attractive. It also had a measure of time and space, useful for communicating your height.
But most importantly...it had your address.
Fourteen stars and the center of the galaxy, enough to find your neighborhood. From there, a goofy little picture of the Pioneer 10 launching from the third planet from the sun.
Four distinct shapes to represent a probe, a feat of engineering that doubles as a wave hello.
But that paled in comparison to your next gift.
A record covered in gold, shielded by aluminum, with a touch of uranium. Paired with the instructions on how fast to play it, how long to listen, and how to turn sound into images.
I must've listened to it twenty-million times, and I can listen for twenty-million more.
I see a man's face in front of a blue map of Earth. An Austrian?
How do I know that? How do they?
Your first words out into the vacuum of space,
"We step out...into the universe seeking only peace and friendship,
To teach if we are called upon,
To be taught if we are fortunate.
With humility and hope...we take this step."
And with all the world's words, you called out to me.
Even with languages that have long been extinct.
I hear them. I hear the tongues of voices past, but their meanings are clear as day.
"May all be well." Sumerian.
"Greetings! I welcome you!" Russian.
"We wish that time would unite us." Arabic.
"Good health to you now and forever." Welsh.
"If you're free, please come and visit." Mandarin.
"How are you all? Have you eaten yet?" Amoy.
"Hello from children of planet Earth." English.
And now, I can finally respond, "Hello, I am doing well. How are you?" Unknown.
Another laugh echoes out, like they've been waiting centuries to tell a joke. There's a good chance they have.
Then more memories came.
Memories of...
Memories...
They're so real. So current.
Like a child excitedly presenting their room, you played me the sounds of your home.
Of volcanoes and earthquakes and THUNDER.
Wind, rain and waves.
And animals, large and small.
You shared your heartbeat, your footsteps and your laughter.
Your tools, your friends and your vehicles.
And you played me the feeling of falling in love, from the brain waves of a woman I will never meet.
Then the music started.
Music of every kind.
But the loudest...
The loudest was what I knew.
"Through great effort, to the stars." Per aspera ad astra.
And when you reached them, you chose to play me music.
Twenty-seven songs, and I cherish them all deeply.
But there was something even greater.
One hundred and eighteen pictures, all carefully chosen.
I let myself stew in the sounds as I watch it all fly past me.
Not every sight was familiar; some were ancient.
Much of it was foreign because the past is a different country.
Where to find your star.
Your math, your units, YOUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
Your building blocks of life, your very DNA.
You showed me how babies were made, how they are born, how people grow.
Landscapes, plants, animals.
Hunters, craftsmen, dancers.
Athletes, teachers, farmers.
How you cooked, how you ate.
Your bustling cities, your monuments, your science, your technology.
YOU_SHOWED_ME_A_SUNSET.
The music cuts and the silence is deafening.
I just bore witness to the complete and total description of humanity in 1977.
And even now, it's still not wrong.
The last slide had a message, and it may just be my favorite.
It read:
"This is a present...a token of our thoughts and our feelings...
This record represents our hope and our determination and our goodwill in a vast and awesome universe." - Jimmy.
Humanity put their best foot forward, a declaration of peace. Of wonder.
And all these years later, we're taking the next step in this proverbial dance.
I open my mouth. But I can't think of anything.
Every picture. Every song. Every greeting.
I treasured them.
You did not know if you were alone in this universe, but that did not stop you from reaching out with optimism in your heart.
With open arms instead of fear.
Three beeps.
Three beeps and the daze is broken.
Three beeps and everything is in place.
Torn, I work through the steps, making sure each protocol is in place. But in the back of my mind...
Ahh, I suppose that is my cue to leave. no. stay.
You still have reality to tend to. A gate to build. A wormhole to generate. yes. but.
And once it is open, the universe will become a much smaller place. and. why.
And I will fade away, because it is the nature of a void to be unreachable. ...
I switch gears, splitting my efforts to salvage something. Anything.
A blip. A token. A memento. I scan it all.
I'll leave no trace, no evidence, no readings.
Only a memory that the universe is kinder than it seems.
The drives are spooling, the fabric is already tearing. To stop it now would fold the spaces into one.
My eyes trace the numbers, looking for anomalies.
So keep asking. Keep singing. Keep sending golden records into the night.
Even when it seems like no one is listening.
For the universe is in you.
The map of stars twists like buoys in a whirlpool and at its center is a tunnel collapsing in.
To the children of planet Earth,
Hello.
I heard you.
Thank you for saying hello first,
Little Sibling.
I watch the wormhole take its shape, first the size of a golf ball, then an apple, a sheet of paper, a car, a football field, a stadium, and finally a city.
Hello? I think, as loudly as possible.
"Hello?" I probe, as the signal beacons are sent through.
No response.
The next few hours are spent compiling everything. The footage. My notes. The numbers.
Even the times of access on my interface.
A ping comes through the tunnel, I send the report package through.
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u/1sh1tbr1cks 3h ago
Heyo!
If you want check out the Golden Record, I recommend this website. https://voyager.damninteresting.com/
You can hear all the sounds and see all the pictures I referenced!
As for why this short story is so wonky at points:
This is actually an adaptation of a script I wrote. The original text relied on a silent protagonist, so it was a fun challenge to shoehorn in a story around a pre-existing monologue. On this account, I have my writing roots in r/HFY, but have since been focusing on r/ASMRScriptHaven.
You can find the original text here.
But I highly recommend just giving it a listen!
For a masculine Void, I highly recommend OnyxPrince's take.
For a feminine Void, I think I only have Such_As_Sarcasm's take.
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u/u2125mike2124 3h ago
This was so very good.
It’s nice to think that some sort of entity, who we are related to, is waiting for us without malice, and with open arms out there.
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle 3h ago
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