Starlit Secrets

There has always been something about the peaceful sound of nature—the creek down the hill, the buzz of a hummingbird, and the classic sound of peace. Except today is anything but calm. It’s the day we land on Proxima Centauri B, exploring the world supposedly most like Earth. We were selected to go on this 10-year journey thanks to the groundbreaking discoveries of Antimatter Technology.

With stress, my escape has always been my home. I sit at a Californian lake, taking in the beauty of True Earth. Birds are passing, trees are whispering, and there’s nothing but a sense of calmness entering my soul. Above the lake, there’s a glow of orange clouds that starts to blend into an opaque view of my starship windows. Thanks to augmented reality technology, Madison gently comes into view. Her head eases into my world and says, “Come look at what’s in front of you!”

I’ve always appreciated the advances in virtual reality technology. The transition from Earth to my current view of stars is so seamless.

“I’m just relaxing,” I say. “Don’t you remember how peaceful nature is?”

She nods in agreement, reaches her arm down, cuts through the orange sky, and touches the driftwood I’m sitting on, joining my virtual sunset. Madison reminisces with me, saying,

“These views always seemed so endless.”

“And now we’re about to land on a planet four light-years away.”

But to me, it’s something more. Before I left for the stars, my aunt—who was both a scientist and a conspiracy theorist—told me she had found data showing clear signs of a pulse representing the unlimited power of the cosmos. She kept this Starlit Secret to herself, fearing it would end up in the wrong hands for the wrong reasons.

One Month Passes.

I wake up on the new planet to a sudden force on my shoulder.

Madison has a look of angst in her eyes and says, “Wake up—it’s time.”

Madison and I have been best friends since childhood. I trust her, especially to tell me when the time is right to track down our secret. She had a secret of her own. While I was at the School of Science, following in my aunt’s footsteps, Madison went to Yale and became part of its secret societies. Coincidentally, we were both selected for the mission, and before launch, I had shared my aunt’s ideas of the Starlit Secrets. A vision for exploring the new star system for sustainable progress, rather than pure extraction.

With her background at Yale, she knew that if we could find the source before the rest of the elite, we could make sure it ended up in the right hands. Even Madison, an insider herself, agreed that if they got to it first, the whole galaxy would face the same destruction Earth had. This was a rare chance to change the narrative they had clung to for so long. We knew we were here to make sure the Starlit Secret served all of humanity, not just a privileged few. The adventures began.

One Year Passes.

We walk through the underworld of Stellarae, what the other beings describe as their sacred ground. They trust us, but not Earth. Madison and I have started to align with these beings more than with our friends back in California. They’ve even mentioned they could help us transition. The jagged, cave-like structure is vast, with hints of light penetrating from above.

Xerious, our guide—whose exotic appearance we are still getting used to—leads us down a path that begins to radiate light unlike anything we’ve ever seen. When we turn a corner, we begin to hear distant whispers, distant energies, and unique thoughts and colors overtaking our souls.

Hallucinations begin. Old memories flash before our eyes, and I experience exactly what these beings warned us we would. Then, in an instant, everything goes white.

An ominous hum begins, pressure builds up inside my chest, and suddenly, a collective

voice of beings—possibly thousands, invisible to the eye—calls out two words:

“The source.”

That’s when I knew: the Starlit Secret had been found.