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Description

Translation of a message recovered from a barren planet by the exploration probe, UW-37.

"We tracked it across the stars. I remember the childlike glee I felt when we discovered it. The object moved in a pattern that potentially indicated intelligence! It was close, approximately thirty light years away. It was an energy signature, bigger than anything we had ever seen! It appeared at a nearby star, lingered there for several days, then it would vanish and suddenly reappear in the orbit of another star. We couldn't fathom how it made these jumps. We didn't think it possible for any known form of matter to surpass the speed of light, but what we saw... defied explanation.

Of course we were observing it as it appeared in the near past, so we scrambled to come up with an estimate of where it could reside today. I felt a mix of excitement and dread as we plotted a trajectory based on the stars it recently visited. It was heading towards us!

We continued to monitor the energy signature as it jumped from star to star, steadily closer to our own suns. A hypothesis ha3 been floating around that our observing of it somehow alerted it to our presence, but with so little evidence to work with, nothing left the realm of speculation. All we knew was that it was moving towards us and we couldn't even pretend to know what would happen once it arrived!

We didn't have much time to prepare or even ponder what was in store for us. My mind went blank, save for the screaming coming from every direction. It almost felt as though our very existence was causing it pain! I remember something slithering... squiggling, boring into our minds, until there was nothing left but a husk.

Beyond this point, my memory begins to fail. Someone or something that long dwelt in the shadows on our world, made itself seen. It fought back with- with what I could only describe as magic! They couldn't overpower the being, only deceive it... deceive it into believing that we were already dead and hollow, that its work was complete at last! It fell dormant, colossal body plunged to the ground... sleeping. It's body now rests beneath a lake created just for it. A statue marked its watery tomb to serve as a memorial to those it took from us, and as a warning about the potential horrors of an uncaring universe.

Now we can only rebuild, hope, and pray that it never awakens, that it leaves us to our peace for all time, but I fear that our hope may have been premature.

I heard it again. The screaming that plagued my nightmares for years returned to me last night. The shackles were purely symbolic, no physical means could ever contain it! The screaming pierced my mind, tearing away at what little remained of my sanity, I fear that our time is short now. I can only hope that it leaves something behind, some remnant to prove that we ever existed! Is it even capable of such a mercy?

End of Message.

Description

Translation of a message recovered from a barren planet by the exploration probe, UW-37.

"We tracked it across the stars. I remember the childlike glee I felt when we discovered it. The object moved in a pattern that potentially indicated intelligence! It was close, approximately thirty light years away. It was an energy signature, bigger than anything we had ever seen! It appeared at a nearby star, lingered there for several days, then it would vanish and suddenly reappear in the orbit of another star. We couldn't fathom how it made these jumps. We didn't think it possible for any known form of matter to surpass the speed of light, but what we saw... defied explanation.

Of course we were observing it as it appeared in the near past, so we scrambled to come up with an estimate of where it could reside today. I felt a mix of excitement and dread as we plotted a trajectory based on the stars it recently visited. It was heading towards us!

We continued to monitor the energy signature as it jumped from star to star, steadily closer to our own suns. A hypothesis ha3 been floating around that our observing of it somehow alerted it to our presence, but with so little evidence to work with, nothing left the realm of speculation. All we knew was that it was moving towards us and we couldn't even pretend to know what would happen once it arrived!

We didn't have much time to prepare or even ponder what was in store for us. My mind went blank, save for the screaming coming from every direction. It almost felt as though our very existence was causing it pain! I remember something slithering... squiggling, boring into our minds, until there was nothing left but a husk.

Beyond this point, my memory begins to fail. Someone or something that long dwelt in the shadows on our world, made itself seen. It fought back with- with what I could only describe as magic! They couldn't overpower the being, only deceive it... deceive it into believing that we were already dead and hollow, that its work was complete at last! It fell dormant, colossal body plunged to the ground... sleeping. It's body now rests beneath a lake created just for it. A statue marked its watery tomb to serve as a memorial to those it took from us, and as a warning about the potential horrors of an uncaring universe.

Now we can only rebuild, hope, and pray that it never awakens, that it leaves us to our peace for all time, but I fear that our hope may have been premature.

I heard it again. The screaming that plagued my nightmares for years returned to me last night. The shackles were purely symbolic, no physical means could ever contain it! The screaming pierced my mind, tearing away at what little remained of my sanity, I fear that our time is short now. I can only hope that it leaves something behind, some remnant to prove that we ever existed! Is it even capable of such a mercy?

End of Message.