The Last Transmission

Prologue

The year was 2847. Humanity had spread across the stars, forging colonies in distant galaxies, constructing megacities in the void, and harnessing the power of entire suns. Yet, for all their advancements, they had never encountered another intelligent species. The universe, vast and infinite, remained eerily silent.

That was until The Transmission arrived.

Chapter 1: The Signal

On a remote research station orbiting Gliese-892b, a blue supergiant on the outer edge of the Andromeda galaxy, Dr. Elias Raine leaned over his console, staring at the impossible data streaming across his screen. The station had been listening to the cosmic background noise for decades, hoping to detect even the faintest whisper of alien intelligence.

For years, there had been nothing but static. Until now.

The signal was unlike anything recorded before—an organized sequence of prime numbers, followed by repeating harmonic frequencies. It was a message, deliberate and intelligent.

"Are we recording this?" Elias asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Already on it," replied Lina Orlov, his assistant, her hands moving rapidly over the controls. "It's broadcasting from deep space, roughly 400 light-years beyond Andromeda’s core."

"400 light-years?" Elias muttered. "But there's nothing there..."

Nothing known, at least.

They enhanced the transmission, filtering out background radiation and cosmic dust interference. The message grew clearer. Alongside the numbers and frequencies, a series of pulsating light patterns emerged—a form of binary code.

Lina's face paled. "Elias... this isn't just a message. It's coordinates."

Chapter 2: The Journey into the Unknown

It took less than a week for the United Stellar Council to authorize an expedition. The signal had sent shockwaves across the galactic community. If this was truly an alien intelligence reaching out, it could be the most significant event in human history.

Elias and Lina were assigned to the mission aboard the ESS Horizon, an advanced deep-space exploration vessel equipped with a quantum drive capable of folding space-time. Their destination: the uncharted void beyond Andromeda’s core.

As the Horizon initiated its jump, Elias felt a deep unease. The silence of the universe had always been a mystery, but what if there was a reason for it?

Chapter 3: The Arrival

The Horizon emerged from its jump into absolute darkness. No stars. No planets. Just an abyss.

And yet, the signal was stronger than ever.

"We're close," Lina whispered, adjusting the ship’s scanners. "But there's nothing here."

Then, the void trembled.

A massive structure, unseen before, phased into existence—a colossal construct spanning light-years, its surface shimmering like liquid metal, pulsating with an otherworldly glow. It was neither natural nor entirely mechanical. It was something beyond human comprehension.

Then the transmission changed.

The ship’s systems flickered. The AI, Athena, struggled to process the incoming data. "New signal detected. Deciphering... Pattern resembles... human neural activity."

Elias exchanged a look with Lina. "Neural activity? You mean a mind?"

Athena hesitated. "Correction: multiple minds. Billions."

A cold realization gripped them. The construct wasn’t a beacon. It was a vessel. A graveyard of consciousness.

Chapter 4: The Whispering Void

The ship’s lights dimmed as a presence washed over them—an awareness so vast and ancient that it defied all logic. The transmission was no longer a series of numbers and patterns. It was a voice.

"You have come far, little ones."

The words weren’t spoken; they were felt—echoing in their very atoms.

Elias's breath caught. "Who... or what are you?"

"We are the Echo. The last remnants of those who came before."

Visions flooded their minds—galaxies consumed, civilizations erased, a cosmic predator moving unseen in the depths of space. The Echo were the survivors, their physical forms long gone, their consciousness preserved in this structure, a warning to any who would listen.

"The Great Silence..." Lina murmured, horror dawning in her eyes. "It wasn’t natural. It was... deliberate."

"Yes," the Echo confirmed. "The universe is not empty. It is hunted."

Chapter 5: The Last Choice

Elias steadied himself. "Why call us here? What can we do?"

A pause. Then, the Echo responded:

"We have watched you. We have seen your kind rise beyond your world, reach for the stars. You are young, but you are not powerless. You must prepare."

Lina’s voice was barely audible. "Prepare for what?"

"For war."

The Horizon's alarms blared. Something massive was approaching from the void. A presence darker than the abyss itself. The entity that had silenced the stars.

"Go," the Echo urged. "Take our knowledge. Become the light that fights the darkness."

With no time to hesitate, Elias initiated the ship’s emergency jump, the Echo flooding their systems with data in their final moments. As they vanished into the folds of space, they caught one last glimpse of the Echo’s construct—its luminescent form fading as the darkness swallowed it whole.

Epilogue: The Awakening

Back on Nyx-Prime, the data from the Echo was decrypted. Blueprints for technology beyond human understanding. Warnings of what lay beyond.

And a single, final message.

"You are not alone. You never were."

Humanity had thought itself the sole voice in the cosmos.

Now, it was time to decide if it would be the last.