1 views
The Last Message From Space
< Recording no. 6577. Timestamp 12 Jul 2078, 17:55:34. Data size 23.456 Gib. Recording length 13 hours 12 minutes 21 seconds. The following recording has been truncated to remove any confidential information and silent segments. The recording may contain explicit words. The contents of the recording shall remain classified until further notice. >
Hi, uh... hope my voice is clear. There might be slight distortion because of the magnetic fields leaking through the surface of the ship, but it shouldn't be an issue if you filter out the noise at 3000 Hz and its harmonics if any.
This is Sanjay Singh, my ID is AN560... Heck, screw it. I don't have so much time.
This is a message from the last crew member alive from the Deep Space Telecom mission. I assume an amateur astronomer might discover this message before ISRO so I'll brief about the mission a bit.
The DST mission's goal was to send a group of astronauts to the outer boundary of the solar system so that we are outside the influence of the strong magnetic field of the sun and perform telecommunication tests. Also, if any extraterrestrials tried to communicate with the Earth, this would be a good place to receive the signals because of the lack of interference from the sun's magnetic fields. Other objectives of the mission are classified.
I am currently about 4.02 billion miles from the Sun. The Sun is barely visible from here, it is almost as bright as any other star. Pluto is visible using the telescope onboard the spaceship.
After the end of this mission, on our way back, we were hit by an asteroid. It is probably from the Oort cloud. We had a malfunction in the LIDAR just before that and could not locate the asteroid accurately. The P - section of the spaceship was destroyed in the impact and we lost Paula and Christopher who were in the Bio Lab.
Anthony went for a spacewalk to fix the thermoelectric generator which was affected by the impact. Unfortunately a piece of debris that was left after the impact punctured his spacesuit and depressurized it. Nolan tried to go out and help Anthony, but there was too much debris outside. We lost both of them, and I am the only one alive.
I have about 362 liters of Oxygen left, which should keep me alive for about 20 hours. Life support is not working, I am in my spacesuit inside the ship. The ship's surface is badly damaged and there's no way to return to Earth now. I have no idea how I'm going to send this recording to Earth. But the primary purpose of this recording is to convey the mysterious data we received just before the asteroid impact. I believe the data has some information but we were not able to decode it. I'm hoping to find a way to send the data to ISRO so that they can decode the information. Although, now I doubt if it'll even make it there. I have just 20 hours left!
Okay, I need to think about what to do next. The primary power generator is dead so the high-power transponder cannot function. That was our only means of communication with Earth. There's a secondary transponder that can be powered by the backup power generator. But it's too weak and the signal can hardly make it to a few million miles at best. Think Sanjay, think! Holy crap! I can't think clearly! I'm about to die in 20 hours! What the... Wait, is it still recording? Shi...
Okay, so it's been around five hours since my last recording. I've tried to be calm and think about what to do next. But my mind is too busy. The thought about the time I have left keeps coming. It's like a fly dancing in the air in front of your eyes. No matter how much you try to shoo it away, it keeps coming back. I think I need some fresh air. I mean, I need to get out of this place. I've been floating inside this section of the ship all alone for over fifty hours. No sleep, no company. I need to figure out a solution before I go crazy.
Okay, let's get to the facts. What do I have available? There's power in the backup system. The secondary transponder is working. The lights are working, thankfully. Around fourteen hours of oxygen left. I have two additional spacesuits for backup.
If I use the secondary transponder, the signal will barely go to Pluto. God, I wish it was Earth, not Pluto. Or at least a transponder in Pluto would have...
Wait! Pluto has three artificial satellites orbiting it. If I can figure out a way to communicate with one of them using the secondary transponder then it should do the job. Thankfully I have all data from space missions on a hard drive. It's like the encyclopedia of everything. I need to check if any of the satellites have a receiver of the right frequency.
PlutoCam is an imaging satellite so it can't do anything other than photography. PSAT-41 is also an imaging satellite with the capability to see in the near-infrared and ultraviolet regions. I can't communicate with that too. PSAT-51 is an electromagnetic field monitoring satellite. Its primary purpose is to monitor electromagnetic fields in Pluto's atmosphere. Crap. None of them have a receiver. I guess that was bad luck. Neptune is too far and I doubt if it has any satellites useful to me either. I guess it's over. Few more hours an...
Wait! PSAT -51 monitors electromagnetic fields in the atmosphere. If I can send a strong enough signal to Pluto and pulse the signal in a Morse code, the tiny fluctuating electromagnetic field will be picked up by the satellite. As long as the scientists on Earth don't mistakenly think it's random space noise, it should do the job. Holy shit! That's it! No more time to waste, let's get to work asap!
The plan is to encode the extraterrestrial data in morse. I'll let the computer carry out the encoding process and get the transponder ready in the meantime. I'll also keep talking since it's helping me distract myself from that fly in front of my eyes and also giving me a feeling that someone is here listening to me.
I'm going to perform a test transmission to Pluto before sending the actual signal. Rotating the antenna to point at Pluto ... and here we go!
Oh crap! The lights inside the ship are blinking. I guess the backup system batteries do not have enough energy left to power the ship and the transponder at the same time. I'll have to cut off power to everything except the main computer and the transponder.
I have about five hours left. While the transponder sends the Morse codes to Pluto, I wish to perform one last spacewalk. I will carry the recording device with me. It is wirelessly connected to the main computer so that once the extraterrestrial signal is sent, I can queue this recording too.
I'm moving to the airlock. Although, there's no point in calling it an airlock anymore. The entire ship is depressurized.
"Confirm depressurization"
That was the ship's safety system. Although the whole spaceship is depressurized, I need to confirm it as it is part of safety checks before opening the airlock hatch. You don't want an astronaut without a spacesuit to accidentally depressurize the airlock.
The hatch is opening slowly. I wish you could see this with your own eyes. The lights from my helmet are reflecting inside the airlock and lighting the inside. But only a circular portion of the airlock remains completely black. It looks completely flat. Two-dimensional, as if it's a black-painted circle on the wall. Moving out of it feels like you're moving through a portal. Into a completely different world. I can see millions of stars all around me. The brightest one, to the left of me, is the sun. Our sun. I wish I could be closer to it. I've always wanted to go closer to the stars, but today, I want that star to be the same old sun.
It's black all around, with no sounds, no forces, no motion, except for a few blinking lights from my ship. The stars look like tiny grains of white powder sprinkled on a black canvas. Everything looks flat, although I know it's not. There's very little perception of depth. But the irony is that I'm falling into the deepest well humanity has ever seen. It's infinite in all directions. I can fly forever, without ever reaching an end. There's no up, there's no down. Whether you sit, stand, or lie down doesn't make any difference. You are always relaxed. Possibly the best way to relax ever. When I first did a spacewalk, it was very weird to move my hands around and feel no resistance. In fact, too much motion can disorient you. Thanks to the auto stabilization of the space suit, I'm able to stay at a fixed orientation.
It's silent everywhere. Not a sound! The world's most silent room is louder than this. This is heaven for the librarian of my college. I'm well aware that there is a lot of debris around, but I can see very few in this poorly lit condition.
Speaking of librarians, there's one thing I always wanted to do in space. Read a book! Nolan knew how much of a bookworm I am. He used to joke saying half the rocket fuel was getting used up taking the weight of my books. Thankfully I have brought a book out here. It's Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse. I read half of it before the impact. It's time I finish it.
The best part about reading in space is not just the silence. If I'm careful enough, I can leave the book in front of me and it will remain here. I don't even have to hold it! Although it's something I haven't mastered yet. Even the motion of your hand when you release the book can make it drift away slowly. It needs constant readjustment. And this is the most relaxing place to read a book. It's as if you can read lying down without a strain on your neck. Plus not having to hold your book is a bonus.
I'm going to go silent for a while and read my book.
I think it's been a few hours. You cannot tell it from the recording, but I'm starting to breathe heavily now. I think the oxygen is about to get over.
Before I end the recording, here's a message from the lonely astronaut to the people of earth. This is for everyone who wants to be an astronaut. Don't let my condition scare you. I know it's scary to be alone in the last moments of your life, and knowing the exact time of your death is even scarier. But I am grateful to God for letting me live the life I always wanted. The earth is beautiful, it is like your mother who provides you with everything you need to live happily. But outside the tiny world, lies an infinite world of beautiful planets, stars, galaxies, and whatnot. It is something I wish everyone could experience at least once in their lifetime. But it is not a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Because once you experience it, you will crave more.
Doesn't... Doesn't it sound interesting? A place that is silent, completely da... dark, and lonely can be beautiful too? You... You need to see it to believe it.
I think...
I think my oxygen is running out. I... I'm kinda feeling sleepy. I guess it's time for me to re... rest. If... If I were to be born again, I... I'd choose to be an... an astronaut again.
#sciencefiction
#space
#story
#science
#life
© arpan
Hi, uh... hope my voice is clear. There might be slight distortion because of the magnetic fields leaking through the surface of the ship, but it shouldn't be an issue if you filter out the noise at 3000 Hz and its harmonics if any.
This is Sanjay Singh, my ID is AN560... Heck, screw it. I don't have so much time.
This is a message from the last crew member alive from the Deep Space Telecom mission. I assume an amateur astronomer might discover this message before ISRO so I'll brief about the mission a bit.
The DST mission's goal was to send a group of astronauts to the outer boundary of the solar system so that we are outside the influence of the strong magnetic field of the sun and perform telecommunication tests. Also, if any extraterrestrials tried to communicate with the Earth, this would be a good place to receive the signals because of the lack of interference from the sun's magnetic fields. Other objectives of the mission are classified.
I am currently about 4.02 billion miles from the Sun. The Sun is barely visible from here, it is almost as bright as any other star. Pluto is visible using the telescope onboard the spaceship.
After the end of this mission, on our way back, we were hit by an asteroid. It is probably from the Oort cloud. We had a malfunction in the LIDAR just before that and could not locate the asteroid accurately. The P - section of the spaceship was destroyed in the impact and we lost Paula and Christopher who were in the Bio Lab.
Anthony went for a spacewalk to fix the thermoelectric generator which was affected by the impact. Unfortunately a piece of debris that was left after the impact punctured his spacesuit and depressurized it. Nolan tried to go out and help Anthony, but there was too much debris outside. We lost both of them, and I am the only one alive.
I have about 362 liters of Oxygen left, which should keep me alive for about 20 hours. Life support is not working, I am in my spacesuit inside the ship. The ship's surface is badly damaged and there's no way to return to Earth now. I have no idea how I'm going to send this recording to Earth. But the primary purpose of this recording is to convey the mysterious data we received just before the asteroid impact. I believe the data has some information but we were not able to decode it. I'm hoping to find a way to send the data to ISRO so that they can decode the information. Although, now I doubt if it'll even make it there. I have just 20 hours left!
Okay, I need to think about what to do next. The primary power generator is dead so the high-power transponder cannot function. That was our only means of communication with Earth. There's a secondary transponder that can be powered by the backup power generator. But it's too weak and the signal can hardly make it to a few million miles at best. Think Sanjay, think! Holy crap! I can't think clearly! I'm about to die in 20 hours! What the... Wait, is it still recording? Shi...
Okay, so it's been around five hours since my last recording. I've tried to be calm and think about what to do next. But my mind is too busy. The thought about the time I have left keeps coming. It's like a fly dancing in the air in front of your eyes. No matter how much you try to shoo it away, it keeps coming back. I think I need some fresh air. I mean, I need to get out of this place. I've been floating inside this section of the ship all alone for over fifty hours. No sleep, no company. I need to figure out a solution before I go crazy.
Okay, let's get to the facts. What do I have available? There's power in the backup system. The secondary transponder is working. The lights are working, thankfully. Around fourteen hours of oxygen left. I have two additional spacesuits for backup.
If I use the secondary transponder, the signal will barely go to Pluto. God, I wish it was Earth, not Pluto. Or at least a transponder in Pluto would have...
Wait! Pluto has three artificial satellites orbiting it. If I can figure out a way to communicate with one of them using the secondary transponder then it should do the job. Thankfully I have all data from space missions on a hard drive. It's like the encyclopedia of everything. I need to check if any of the satellites have a receiver of the right frequency.
PlutoCam is an imaging satellite so it can't do anything other than photography. PSAT-41 is also an imaging satellite with the capability to see in the near-infrared and ultraviolet regions. I can't communicate with that too. PSAT-51 is an electromagnetic field monitoring satellite. Its primary purpose is to monitor electromagnetic fields in Pluto's atmosphere. Crap. None of them have a receiver. I guess that was bad luck. Neptune is too far and I doubt if it has any satellites useful to me either. I guess it's over. Few more hours an...
Wait! PSAT -51 monitors electromagnetic fields in the atmosphere. If I can send a strong enough signal to Pluto and pulse the signal in a Morse code, the tiny fluctuating electromagnetic field will be picked up by the satellite. As long as the scientists on Earth don't mistakenly think it's random space noise, it should do the job. Holy shit! That's it! No more time to waste, let's get to work asap!
The plan is to encode the extraterrestrial data in morse. I'll let the computer carry out the encoding process and get the transponder ready in the meantime. I'll also keep talking since it's helping me distract myself from that fly in front of my eyes and also giving me a feeling that someone is here listening to me.
I'm going to perform a test transmission to Pluto before sending the actual signal. Rotating the antenna to point at Pluto ... and here we go!
Oh crap! The lights inside the ship are blinking. I guess the backup system batteries do not have enough energy left to power the ship and the transponder at the same time. I'll have to cut off power to everything except the main computer and the transponder.
I have about five hours left. While the transponder sends the Morse codes to Pluto, I wish to perform one last spacewalk. I will carry the recording device with me. It is wirelessly connected to the main computer so that once the extraterrestrial signal is sent, I can queue this recording too.
I'm moving to the airlock. Although, there's no point in calling it an airlock anymore. The entire ship is depressurized.
"Confirm depressurization"
That was the ship's safety system. Although the whole spaceship is depressurized, I need to confirm it as it is part of safety checks before opening the airlock hatch. You don't want an astronaut without a spacesuit to accidentally depressurize the airlock.
The hatch is opening slowly. I wish you could see this with your own eyes. The lights from my helmet are reflecting inside the airlock and lighting the inside. But only a circular portion of the airlock remains completely black. It looks completely flat. Two-dimensional, as if it's a black-painted circle on the wall. Moving out of it feels like you're moving through a portal. Into a completely different world. I can see millions of stars all around me. The brightest one, to the left of me, is the sun. Our sun. I wish I could be closer to it. I've always wanted to go closer to the stars, but today, I want that star to be the same old sun.
It's black all around, with no sounds, no forces, no motion, except for a few blinking lights from my ship. The stars look like tiny grains of white powder sprinkled on a black canvas. Everything looks flat, although I know it's not. There's very little perception of depth. But the irony is that I'm falling into the deepest well humanity has ever seen. It's infinite in all directions. I can fly forever, without ever reaching an end. There's no up, there's no down. Whether you sit, stand, or lie down doesn't make any difference. You are always relaxed. Possibly the best way to relax ever. When I first did a spacewalk, it was very weird to move my hands around and feel no resistance. In fact, too much motion can disorient you. Thanks to the auto stabilization of the space suit, I'm able to stay at a fixed orientation.
It's silent everywhere. Not a sound! The world's most silent room is louder than this. This is heaven for the librarian of my college. I'm well aware that there is a lot of debris around, but I can see very few in this poorly lit condition.
Speaking of librarians, there's one thing I always wanted to do in space. Read a book! Nolan knew how much of a bookworm I am. He used to joke saying half the rocket fuel was getting used up taking the weight of my books. Thankfully I have brought a book out here. It's Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse. I read half of it before the impact. It's time I finish it.
The best part about reading in space is not just the silence. If I'm careful enough, I can leave the book in front of me and it will remain here. I don't even have to hold it! Although it's something I haven't mastered yet. Even the motion of your hand when you release the book can make it drift away slowly. It needs constant readjustment. And this is the most relaxing place to read a book. It's as if you can read lying down without a strain on your neck. Plus not having to hold your book is a bonus.
I'm going to go silent for a while and read my book.
I think it's been a few hours. You cannot tell it from the recording, but I'm starting to breathe heavily now. I think the oxygen is about to get over.
Before I end the recording, here's a message from the lonely astronaut to the people of earth. This is for everyone who wants to be an astronaut. Don't let my condition scare you. I know it's scary to be alone in the last moments of your life, and knowing the exact time of your death is even scarier. But I am grateful to God for letting me live the life I always wanted. The earth is beautiful, it is like your mother who provides you with everything you need to live happily. But outside the tiny world, lies an infinite world of beautiful planets, stars, galaxies, and whatnot. It is something I wish everyone could experience at least once in their lifetime. But it is not a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Because once you experience it, you will crave more.
Doesn't... Doesn't it sound interesting? A place that is silent, completely da... dark, and lonely can be beautiful too? You... You need to see it to believe it.
I think...
I think my oxygen is running out. I... I'm kinda feeling sleepy. I guess it's time for me to re... rest. If... If I were to be born again, I... I'd choose to be an... an astronaut again.
#sciencefiction
#space
#story
#science
#life
© arpan
