âYou guys wonât be around for much longer anyway,â say aliens
By Klara Woldenga, Entertainment Editor
A decade ago the United States received an encrypted audio message from outer space. As of last week, after spending billions of dollars and thousands of work hours, the message has finally been deciphered, but it doesnât look good.
âI donât understand it,â Mary Alden, head of the NASA Department of Decoding, told the Other Press. âWe spent all of this time decoding the message and we find that itâs about them not wanting to chill with us? Talk about disappointment, fam.â
According to the report NASA filed, the aliensâ message discusses their curiosities towards the human race but states that, ultimately, they arenât interested in hanging with Earth. The recording starts as any message would, stating: âSorry for the late response, we were just away for the weekend,â and then proceeds to discuss the alienâs weekend activities as âtotally chill (-2039 degrees Celsius)â and âWe just needed some collective self-care, you know?â
There follows a two-minute pause in conversation during which munching is heard. NASA assumes this munching to involve space potato chips.
âAll-dressed chips, maybe. We arenât 100 percent sure,â said Alden. âAll we can be certain of is that they arenât ruffled.â
After the munching ends, the aliens finally move onto the bulk of the message, collectively saying, âWoaaaaaaah. You guys are way more violent than we thought you were. Your planet is so beautiful, why are you so angry?â
Mumbling, followed by a collective voice that says âYou know what⌠Weâre going to sit you guys out. Iâm sure when you kill everyone your planet will still be habitable, and probably in better shape than when you left it. See ya!â
The recording is followed by more rustling and idle talking, which initially confused researchers.
âAfter the main message we figured out that the aliens forget to turn off their recorder,â said Alden. âNerds.â
After some incoherent murmurs, a clear voice is heard on the recording.
âDonât worry, weâll be back in like⌠1000 years?â the voice is heard saying. âBill? Is that what the computer says? Oh⌠100 years? That soon? Well, our computers donât lie, just like us. Iâm sure theyâll have fun! They have so many wars, they must enjoy them.â
The final minutes of the recording have caused quite a stir in the NASA community, resulting in an information cold war and two department wars involving spitballs and general slapping.
âItâs not our fault!â said Rose Walker, head of NASAâs communication department, in defense of her departmentâs slapping. âThe HR department started it.â
Currently, NASA is crafting a response, stating that âWe have put our best people to work in writing a perfect, simple message to the aliens which will entice them to answer back.â
NASAâs âU up?â message is set to launch in 2021.