update from sparkleup
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Madison Scott-Clary
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<p>True Name had set the flashlight against her thigh, pointed vaguely up toward her so that he could see her in more detail. Her face was kind, open, and clearly excited. Something about the bristle of her whiskers, the angle of her ears, and the relaxed state of her cheeks worked with her smile to give the impression of happiness, though if he were pressed, he would’ve had a hard time defining why.</p>
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<p>“Beautiful.”</p>
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<p>They sat in silence for a while, simply looking up at the stars, both with their red lights pointed toward them to light themselves up. Because it <em>was</em> beautiful, he knew. The night sky, one as pure as this, demanded a reverence, an acknowledgement.</p>
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<p>“Which one do you suppose they came from?” the skunk asked.</p>
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<p>“Which ones do you suppose they came from?” the skunk asked.</p>
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<p>“It could be any, at this point,” he said. “We have no idea how old their vehicle is. We know their speed and position with some accuracy, but who knows how much that has changed since they launched.”</p>
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<p>“Do you mean they might have, ah…attitude jets, I believe they are called?”</p>
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<p>“Almost certainly, but more than that, any time they get too close to any system with any appreciable gravity, it’ll influence their course.”</p>
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<p>He nodded, grinning as well. “Their speed and the laws of physics make all of those very unlikely. The only reason they may have even bothered to contact us is because we have a chance at some sort of contact that won’t immediately fade into light-days.”</p>
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<p>“They did say that they were moving fast, did they not? I suppose that helps alleviate some of those old space-opera-fueled fears.” She returned her gaze up to the sky. “Though, you know, it got me thinking. How many things like this LV might be zooming around the galaxy at incredible speeds? We can be sure now that there are at least, three, yes? Our dear home, Castor, then Pollux way on the other side of the sun, and this new one.”</p>
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<p>“True, true. Maybe everyone’s just figured out that this is the safest and easiest way to travel.”</p>
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<p>“You took the words from my mouth,” she said with a laugh. “It makes one wonder, perhaps this is the great filter. Perhaps Kardashev was wrong all along, and we should not be looking at the energy usage of a civilization but on the scale from Earthbound, spaceflight, and then uploading, and it is only civilizations that reach that third state that might pass through that filter.”</p>
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<p>“You took the words from my mouth,” she said with a laugh. “It makes one wonder, perhaps this is the Great Filter. Perhaps Kardashev was wrong all along, and we should not be looking at the energy usage of a civilization but on the scale from Earthbound, spaceflight, and then uploading, and it is only civilizations that reach that third state that might pass through that filter.”</p>
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<p>“I’d not thought of it that way.”</p>
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<p>“There was, of course, no need for you to rush back, but that is what I have been thinking about while waiting for you. Thank you for the light, by the way.”</p>
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<p>The sudden departure from the topic of the sky above to the here and now shocked Tycho out of the realization that he’d fallen in such easy conversation with the skunk. They’d talked like friends, like those who had known each other but perhaps had just met for the first time.</p>
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<p>Tycho#Artemis shook his head while #Tasker stood.</p>
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<p>“Reach me down my Tycho Brahe, — I would know him when we meet,” she quoted. “When I share my later science, sitting humbly at his feet; He may know the law of all things yet be ignorant of how We are working to completion, working on from then till now.”</p>
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<p>“I–“</p>
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<p>“You are both, Tycho. We may yet share our later science with them as they may share theirs with us. Perhaps we shall take our turns sitting at each others’ feet. But Tycho,” she said, smiling. “That is a poem on death. Please understand that there is risk here, as well. Now, come with me.”</p>
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<p>“You are both, Tycho. We may yet share our later science with them as they may share theirs with us. Perhaps we shall take our turns sitting at each others’ feet. But Tycho,” she said, smiling. “That is a poem about death. Please understand that there is risk here, as well. Now, come with me.”</p>
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<p>After True Name and Tycho#Artemis left, he stood there on the top of his hill, in the middle of his field, surrounded by his ring of trees, and looked up into the night sky, thinking on all that it meant to be powerless.</p>
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</article>
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<footer>
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<p>Page generated on 2021-09-28</p>
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<p>Page generated on 2021-10-23</p>
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</footer>
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</main>
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