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- Captain’s Log, Saturday, January 1st, 2058. Warp drive system still in development. Zefram thinks we’re nearly there. I think we need a miracle.
James Kirk stared at his journal and sighed. He didn't know why he was going to work, lately. It had been months since they actually moved forward in their research. He looked at the page, and gave a sarcastic laugh: “Captain’s Log” … Pft. Their vessel, The Phoenix, was never going to fly. Why would it ever need a Captain? He looked at the time – 11PM. It was a reasonable time to go home. He closed his journal, gathered his things, and left the hangar that was their lab.
His spirit lifted a bit- it was coming to his favourite time of the day: 25 years ago, he had purchased a radio licence and it had become his daily routine to go on air at midnight. Sometimes, people messaged him, and he answered their questions. Sometimes he just talked about his day, about his dreams, about astronomy, about biology, about anything really. And sometimes, it was just music, mostly old-school. It was his little happy space. A way for him to keep going, even though he had pretty much given up hope.
Of course, he had chosen a radio frequency that could be broadcasted in space, because that’s just how big of a space nerd he was. In fact he liked to believe that somewhere, someone was listening. Maybe they laughed at him (he could be quite unpredictable sometimes), but he didn’t care, because when he thought about space, he felt at home. He felt less alone.
He turned on his recorder and the transmitter, and he was on air:
“Ground Control to Major Tom, Kirk here, this is Space Oddity”
He played his little jingle, and shook his head on beat. That was better.
“Today, as promised I’m going to open my inbox and answer your questions. I wonder what you will ask me this time! I hope that someone will finally dare ask me about quantum physics, because I've prepared a little speech on this topic a long time ago, and I never had the chance to deliver it, haha!"
"Sooo..! We’re starting with Mrs-Daddy-Dani’s question! She asks: ‘Are you married?’ – Well Mrs Dani, no, I’m not. You know, with the kind of work I’m doing, I don’t really have time to find a partner, and my co-workers are not really attractive, hahaha... But hey, I guess to each their own, right? Haha... But anyway, next question! User Leifor asks: ‘We all know aliens exists, so my question is, do you think you could date an alien?’ – Huum, you guys seem very interested in my non-existent love life! Well, hum, to answer you Leifor, if I can find a meaningful connection with someone, yeah, why not, if they are consenting and they like me too... Yeah, sure! People are people.”
Kirk stopped. He didn’t think the questions would be so personal. Usually, people asked him about his work, or about science. He wasn't sure that he wanted to have a program which sole purpose was to discuss his person.. He wasn't as self-absorbed as that.
“Hum, maybe one more question, and then we’ll move on?” he said. He paused while opening a dozen other messages – all about his personal life, and how sexy he sounded… A deep sigh escaped his lips. His listeners had definitely heard that, he thought. Well, too bad for them.
Finally, after a good 5 minutes, he found an interesting question.
“User Kernovich asks: ‘Last year, you said that you were also broadcasting into space, and I was wondering how it works?’ – Thank you very much for your question Kernovich, it’s very interesting! See, currently, we can broadcast into space as far as 200 light-years. So, anyone within 200 light-years from earth could theoretically pick up our signal. Of course, it would mean that they should have some kind of superior technology, because the signal would be attenuated, but it is possible. Also, not all of the radio spectrum is useable for space communication – it has to be comprised between 30 MHz to 30 GHz.”
He paused for a second. He just thought about something.
“Now, we’re going to have a musical break. I give you: Wouldn’t It Be Nice, by the Beach Boys!”
The music played, and Jim was left alone with his thoughts. He realised he wasn’t even in the mood for entertainment tonight. He used to be a very joyful and hedonist kind of guy, but he had been under so much stress, lately, that he felt that all his energy had been sucked out of his body, and his last vacation dated back to a year. He really needed to clear his head.
The music stopped, and it was silent for a full minute.
“Alright people, tonight we will have to stop early. Kirk out.”
He turned off the transmitter, put on his sneakers, and went for a run.
***
- Captain’s Log, Saturday, January 1st, 2058. Wow!
The next day, Jim woke up a little bit past 4 PM. He didn’t shower. He didn’t go out. He just spent his afternoon on his computer, working, even though he knew that wouldn’t make much difference. He was still stuck. He spent the last hours of the day just doodling and dozing off.
So when it was time for him to prepare for his program, he almost didn’t get up. He almost skipped it. Yet he still felt some kind of duty towards his virtually non-existing audience.
When he arrived in his little recording room, in the attic of his 2-story flat, something felt off. It took him a full minute to realise what it was; the room, which was ordinarily very quiet, was vibrating to the buzzing sound of his radio.
Jim was puzzled. He was the only one emitting on this frequency. Unless…!!
At the thought, Jim literally jumped across the room. Because of a sudden surge of adrenaline, his entire body was buzzing too, synchronously with the radio. He was ecstatic. He set out to record the message, his hands shaking with excitement. He couldn’t be wrong about this – he had worked on the Wow! signal for his thesis, back in 2022. He just couldn’t be wrong about this!!
His little radio program now way out of his mind, Jim rushed back to his desk to decipher the code.
The first observation he made was that it was very similar to the wow signal in some aspect, and that's why he recognised it immediately. The second observation was that it was also very different – and somehow, the combination of known and unknown elements made it extremely clear to him that this message was almost too easy to decode. Almost as if it was a code for a message written in English…
***
For three sleepless days and nights, Jim worked on his decoding. He didn’t go to work, he barely ate, seldom got out of his study. And the forth day, at exactly 8:31, he got it.
A scientist named Spock on a planet called Vulcan, 16 lights years away from earth, was making contact. In his message, he said that he believed that they could learn a lot from each other, but he insisted that Jim shouldn't be talking about his communication with him. He added that he had been listening to his radio for two years, and that he was unexplained drawn to him, which is why he contacted him.
Kirk did the maths: it didn’t add up. How could an extra-terrestrial being from planet 16 light-years away have been listening to his program for two years? It didn’t add up… And yet… And yet, after a triple check on the general data he had gathered on the signal, he was certain that it didn’t come from earth. It wasn’t someone trying to prank him, unless this someone was emitting from outer-space. The only way for the message to be honest was if the “Vulcan” had found a way to record his program and broadcast his response somewhere close to Earth - but close enough to make it fast, yet far enough not to be detected by human space agencies! Jim reflected on this for a long time... Yeah, maybe that was that.
Or maybe Jim was just so desperate for this that he just didn’t care, and that’s why he just went in head first. Maybe that’s why he spent the next five days to code his response. Maybe that’s why he just stood by the radio the night after broadcasting his response, like a teenager by the phone. Yeah, maybe that was that.
But when he received his second message, he realised that it maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t just that. Maybe it was legit. And when the third message came in, he wasn’t even stressed out anymore, even though his stomach sometimes hurt when he thought about the eventuality of it being a prank. And when the fourth message came, he was certain. He had been discussing with an alien.
And a very charming, intelligent, fascinating one at that! In the course of their discussions, Jim had learned a lot about the Vulcans. Apparently, they were very similar to humans in their anatomy, except their blood was copper-based, and they had a lightly green-tinted complexion. They also had pointed ears, and their culture was dedicated to the complete mastery of logic, and learning to suppress their once-violent emotions in nearly every aspect of their existence.
But Spock had been describing his interest in Jim as something illogical. When he asked him about that, Spock added that he had always been peculiar. He was a scientist too, and he was also trying to make discoveries. He imparted he had learned that one has to step out of their comfort zone and forget what they had already learned in order to make discoveries. Later, he said that listening to Jim had made him understand things about himself, about the world, the galaxies, about life, and had given him a whole new point of view on these subjects. And Jim really liked that.
But more importantly, after some time, Kirk asked Spock about warp-drive systems. And when he received his answer, it had Kirk convinced that he wasn’t talking to a human: the person he was talking to had a very advanced scientific knowledge. Much more advanced than anyone on Earth. Of course, the guy was very cryptic when they talked science. He didn’t give him straight answers, just hints at how to look at things, very much like a teacher. Jim learned that Spock wasn’t authorised to make contact with him, much less assist him… It was not until much later that he realised how dangerous things could have been for him if they had been discovered.
But in a weird way, little by little, Spock and Jim became friends. Or at least, that’s what Jim thought - he didn’t know about Spock, since he was always so stern and cold.
***
- Captain’s Log. September 16th, 2058. Today, I sent a message to Spock about human emotions. He didn’t seem to understand, the other day, when I tried to talk to him about love, compassion, and empathy. He said that he was going to research it, but I doubt that he will find anything in Vulcan data: empathy is everything but logical… Still, I tried to explain to him how, somehow, sometimes, humans can almost feel like they are experiencing someone else’s thoughts and feelings. I will see if he understands it more that way.
***
- Captain’s Log. December 31st , 2058. Spock is often talking about mind-melting now. He says it’s dangerous, but that he really wishes to experience that, as it would be a logical way to access other experiences, and hence, more knowledge. I understand what he means. Sometimes you have to stand upon your desk to remind yourself that we must constantly look at things in a different way. That's what it feels to speak with Spock... I’m starting to feel like we have too many things in common for our encounter to be fortuitous. But that’s illogical.
***
- Captain’s Log. June 7th, 2059. Spock’s indications help a lot with the warp device. Zefram and I are moving forward again, for the first time in forever. He has said something very enlightening to me, the other day: “When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” It may be very philosophical, and maybe a little plain, but it actually unlocked something in me that allowed me once again to look into things under a different light. I think Spock makes me a better scientist – and maybe, even, a better person.
***
- Captain’s Log. January 16th, 2060. ... Today I told Spock that I liked him. I don’t expect him to understand. He still hasn’t quite grasped the human concept of love. But if he does so much as accept it, and me, I’ll be content.
***
- Captain’s Log. May 5th, 2061. Last week, Spock has told me something that really helped me endure the days without him: “After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true.” I like when he talks like that. He sounds very human, and it gives me hope. I really want to see him. I know he once told me that he feels a very deep connection with me, but I never know if we're on the same page. I really want to see him in person. For that, I need to work hard. So that’s just what I’ll do.
***
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***
- CAPTAIN’S LOG (like for real!) April 5th, 2063. I can’t believe how my life had turned out. 5 years ago, I was completely lifeless, I had abandoned all hope. And here I am now. Today, The Phoenix executed its first warp flight. Another huge step for humanity – and I’m at the front line. Literally.
When the vessel had propelled them through space at the speed of light, Kirk thought that there was a high chance that the sound of his heart could be heard through the entire galaxy. When they reached their destination, he thought, not without irony, that he was being totally illogical. And maybe that’s what it meant to be human.
- Captain’s Log. April 6th, 2063. …. I don’t even know how to start. Half the crew was still in the vessel when they came – the Vulcans. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised, but my heart was still pounding like it was going to go out of my chest. Maybe I need to go to the cardiologist.. But maybe, somehow, I just knew that he was here. And part of me knew that he knew that I was here. But I was way too embarrassed to say all of this, because even just writing this I sound like a teenager. But then again, that’s how it feels to be with him. It's funny, I must have greeted a good twenty people, but somehow, I recognised him right away. Even before he even talked. And when our eyes met, it was like I could feel the universe collapsing onto itself. And then, of course, I had to do something inappropriate – that’s what you get for having an alien boyfriend, I guess! How was I supposed to know that even shaking hands was considered promiscuous to the Vulcans? But I’m not really sorry – when he blushed, his cheeks were tainted of olive green, and it really brought out his brown eyes.
The whole day that Vulcan officials spent on Earth, Jim and Spock spent looking at each other. They were always apart from the group. Somehow, they felt so far away that maybe, to them, the couple wasn’t even here. Maybe nobody will remember that they were here. But they were. And their story had only just started.