மேகம் வந்து தாலாட்ட – பாகம் 2

Chapter 1: The Discovery

Dr. Sarah Chen stood at the observation deck of the Kepler Space Station, her eyes fixed on the holographic display floating before her. The comet's trajectory was unlike anything she had seen in her fifteen years of studying celestial mechanics.

"Run the simulation again," she said to her assistant, Marcus, who was hunched over a console nearby.

"That's the fifth time, Sarah. The results are consistent." Marcus looked up, his face illuminated by the soft blue glow of the screens. "This comet isn't following any natural orbit."

Sarah felt a chill run down her spine. She had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed made it real. The First Comet, as they had dubbed it, had entered the solar system three months ago from the direction of the Oort Cloud. At first, it seemed like any other long-period comet—a frozen relic from the early solar system making its way toward the sun.

But then the anomalies started appearing.

The comet's velocity changed without any apparent cause. Its trajectory adjusted in ways that defied the laws of orbital mechanics. And most disturbing of all, it was emitting a signal—a faint, rhythmic pulse that repeated every 47 seconds.

"We need to inform mission control," Sarah said, her voice steady despite the implications of what they were seeing. "This changes everything."

Marcus nodded and began typing rapidly. Sarah turned back to the hologram, watching as the comet's predicted path took it dangerously close to Earth's orbit. In six months, it would pass within a million kilometers of the planet—close enough to study in detail, but also close enough to pose a potential threat if its behavior continued to be unpredictable.

She thought about the signal. What could cause a comet to emit such a regular pulse? Natural processes were chaotic, random. This was neither. Someone—or something—had sent this comet toward Earth deliberately.

The question was: why?

As Sarah stared at the display, she couldn't shake the feeling that humanity was about to receive a message from beyond the stars. Whether that message would be one of greeting or warning, she couldn't yet say.

But she was determined to find out.