In all the vastness of the universe, we are alone. Three millennia of searching and not a sausage, not even microbes. Theory says life should be common. So, why? Why does no-one answer us?
The solution, I think, lies in dark matter. This, too, we sought for thousands of years without explanation. Two mysteries? Or, maybe, one?
The only remaining possibility is that dark matter is the gravitational effect of adjacent universes.
Yesterday, we finished the test—collided two galaxies together, then four, then eight. If there’s anyone in the universe next door, maybe they’ll hear our message and tap back on the wall. The reply should be “sixteen”.
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here
Neil MacDonald Author 
Interesting.
How can you be sure that it’s sweet 16? 🙂
Universe can surprise & shock!
We really don’t know so many answers.
Humans are not even a speck in our planet, leave alone galaxy or Universe!
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Or multiverse
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Fascinating! Maybe the dark matter houses un-labelled time zones 🙂
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Could be anything. Nobody knows
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And the meaning of life is 42.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I’ve always thought so
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If it’s not sixteen, I assume the human default position is war?
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If there’s an answer and it’s not sixteen, I think the default position will be confusion
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Hehehe, what an imaginative story. I find it quite likely that they answer, ‘How dare you collide our galaxies, look what you made us do’ instead of 16, and send 32 annihilators through. LOL.
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So far as we know, there’s no way through
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Not for us… 😉
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Now wouldn’t that be a suprise? Maybe an unpleasant one, but a surprise nevertheless.
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After three thousand years on a desert universe, perhaps we’d be glad of the company
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We are almost vanquished by a virus and we are colliding galaxies? But I like the idea 🙂
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You don’t get noticed if you don’t bang things together
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The eternal question. is life out there? Good story, Neil.
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Thanks so much, Mason
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You’re welcome!
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Maybe they’re already here… Might explain a lot…
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But maybe we’re all alone
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Fascinating story line here. Sounds like it could be a start to something much larger. Maybe “16” will be the new “42”. have a great week!
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Thanks so much, Bear
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Such simple yet elegant math. is it universal?
I like the idea of tapping back on the wall. Cool.
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It’s the only language that would be universal
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And its relative, music?
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Perhaps not. The conventions of music vary even from one Earth culture to another
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True.
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Typical. Kick it and see if it bites. And there’s a risk of killing the aliens you seek. If banging galaxies together is to be noticed, energy must be transferred to the aliens’ universe, possibly with very destructive effects.
Entertaining and regrettably true to life, Neil
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Banging rocks together worked pretty well
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Let us hope they have ways of understanding the language…
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If they can count, they’ll get it
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Nothing like a little sci-fi to get the brain’s gears moving. I don’t do well, thinking in numbers. Not sure I want to exist where an answer has to be numerical. Why can’t the person–being–tapping back just do a little rhythmy thing?
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Mathematics is the only language guaranteed to be understood by an unknown alien species
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I’d be in a world of hurt. I have something called dyscalcula. It’s like dyslexia, only with numbers instead of letters. I don’t speak math very well 🙂
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My head started to hurt at ‘dark matter’! But I’ll remember ’16’ – just in case! Love the story.
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Thanks so much, Jenne. Don’t worry about dark matter. It’s what holds the universe together but nobody knows what it is
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Thanks for that, Neil. At least I know I’m in good company! 😉
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One part of me says it would be good to know if there is other life out there. Another part says why get ET’s attention, similar to a mouse in an open field chattering until the hawk notices it.
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In the end, the fear of loneliness will always win over the fear of contact
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Funny but I don’t care if we’re alone. Each of us is an island already. 😉
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They say we’ll never fully know what it means to be human until we can talk to another sentient species
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Are we sure we want someone to answer? It might be a mistake. And, surely colliding galaxies might not solicit a great response. Great write, Neil!
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It’s OK. The galaxies are in our universe, not the one next door
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A dangerous test, born of lonely desperation.
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You got it
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I kinda like this approach, it is very Scottish!
If I ever get back, maybe we can grab a beer?
Cheers
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That’s a deal. And please don’t leave. Your stories are brilliant. They have a recognisable voice and genre, yes. But they’re far from repetitive
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Hi Neil, sorry for the delay in responding, just life and stuff.
Your kind comments are much appreciated, thank you.
After Sandra, who to my mind stands alone here on FF, I consider you in the small elite always worth reading.
Obviously right now I have no idea when I’ll be back in Scotland, but I normally spend time in or round Edinburgh, Glasgow and Ayr, and would enjoy a beer wherever is best for you.
If you send me a text or Whatsapp on 0033664223460 I’ll give you a shout sometime…
Cheers
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What if one of the galaxies they used in their experiments was the one which could have answered their question?
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Only galaxies in the next universe can answer their question
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What if our galaxy is one of the 16? I’m not sure all this obsession with getting ahead of ourselves will end well for humanity. Science is incredible, but are we equipped to handle it?
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That would be a schoolboy error. There are billions of other galaxies for them to choose from
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based on the laws of probability, there must be life out there. perhaps we’re just not ready to handle the reality of co-existence. 🙂
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The laws of probability say they should be out there. But then we should be seeing them everywhere
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i think they’re already here among us. 🙂
https://plaridel.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/could-i-be-a-space-alien/
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Maybe nobody wants to talk to us. I can’t blame them. Smashing galaxies probably makes us look like children throwing a tantrum.
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That is a distinct possility. But if you thought you were alone in the universe and someone knocked on your door, I bet you’d peek out of the curtains
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Nope. I’d hide in the closet.
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Oooooo cool. What a fascinating concept. I hope someone somewhere knocks back
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Wouldn’t it be sad if we were the only life in the universe, and in all the other possible universes?
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It really would
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Hi Neil, wow, now there is a story told on an epic scale: 14 galaxies smashed together in 100 words. I like the sci-fi tone of this. Would make a very fascinating novel.
David
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And another 16 perhaps in the sequel
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I’d say the communication might get expensive on galaxies but I suppose the multiverse has quite a number to spare.
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16? What if they’re on the metric system?
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Good question. If they don’t count to the base 10, it’s going to take a lot more galaxies
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Cool. Especially creepy since I just finished reading Piranesi, this book about a parallel world where there’s a mysterious 16th person (called simply 16). You don’t find out who they are until the Very End. And then, plot twist. Oh, and you wouldn’t need base 10 because that’s just for the Arabic numeral representation. By doubling the amount of knocks/universes you’re actually operating on a base 2 (binary) system anyway. That’s how they would know what number of times to knock or in this case I was assuming a single person in each of the resulting universes was the reason for 16? That’s assuming a certain theory of parallel universes that I don’t necessarily ascribe to, but some physicists do consider it possible if unlikely. I’m the only one geeky enough I’m actually thinking about this, aren’t I?
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It’s just possible you’re overthinking it
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Ha, I love the bit about not finding a bit of sausage in the entire universe. Personally, I’m the hunt for intelligent bits of bacon…
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Thanks, Patricia
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Oh, I’m thinking they’re out there somewhere, somehow, likely way beyond our imagination and maybe even our math. Thought provoking story!
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Thanks so much
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The mathematical probability is that we are not alone, One day the numbers will crunch, great writing as always.
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Thanks so much. Yes, the probability is that universe should be teeming with life, much of it older than ours. So the question is, why don’t we see them?
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Its an enduring question for us humans, I think : is there any-body out there ? Elegantly done Neil.
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Thanks so much
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