Rogue Planet.(Kevin Hughes) “It’s not possible. There is nothing out there!”

Graham stared at the Data. Mabel, the best Astrophysicist in the last millennium- shook her head lightly.

She tapped the screen once again. Their newest (and last) giant space telescope, clearly showed it. A planet eerily close to the size of their own planet was edging into the Solar System. Moving fast.

There would be no more Telescopes, except to continue the Studies of their Galaxy. The only one known to exist. It was a giant of a Galaxy - but it was filled with things that made the Physicist go Crazy.

Some nut jobs even suggest that it isn’t really even one Galaxy. Their numbers proved to them that it is really a combination of two Galaxies that collided. That was fringe Science, of course. Graham and Mabel both thought so.

And they had good reason to think it was balderdash. Because the entire known Universe consisted of just their Galaxy. No mater how far they looked, or what spectrum of the electromagnetic spectrum they used…nothing. Not a thing. There were no objects outside of the Galaxy at all.

Not a single one. Until…this object showed up. They didn’t see it until it reached the edge of their Solar System for a very simple reason. It had no light. None at all. It was just a giant mostly spherical rock. Almost exactly the size of their own Planet.

It sent shivers down both Dr. Graham, and Dr. Mabel Showers’s spines. Some Grad Student had already named it, and it stuck: “Ghost Shadow.”

For it felt like that. A shadow of their very own planet…a ghost.

There was no funding for another telescope. Two thousand years of refining optical, radio, X-ray and any other possible receivers had proved over and over again. There was nothing out there beyond the Galaxy. Just Darkness. Endless Darkness.

But, thought Dr. Graham …”there would be funding for this!”

And there was.

*****
Davida looked out the Window of her Spaceship. It had taken just thirty years to get to Heather- and make a permanent base. Heather was the next Planet out from their own little planet: Parker. She could see both Parker, which looked like a pale blue dot, and Heather, which looked like a Ruby, in the screens showing what was behind her.

But out her Window, she could see another dark object. It was growing bigger every moment the Ion Rocket jetted along at a comfortable 200,000 thousand miles an hour. Much faster than the original Chemical Rockets of just ten generations ago.

Everyone wanted to get to the “Ghost Shadow”. I mean Everyone. The Entire Planet was abuzz with what they might find. Papers have been coming out for decades - ever since Dr. Graham and Dr. Showers discovered it more than a century ago.

In fact, the very Space Ship she was in command of was called: “The Doctor Graham.” Her sister ship, still undergoing testing off of Heather, was named: “The Doctor Showers.”

Good Ships, named after good people. It made her proud. Seven more days. That’s all. Seven more days after the turn around point (It takes a while to decelerate when moving at 200K an hour!) And then, her and her crew will get the first real look at Ghost Shadow

She kept staring out the window as she thought to herself.

“I wonder if we will learn anything?”

Seven days later, almost in shock, she, and everyone else learned a lot.
So much that their entire world went into shock.

Ghost Shadow had once been inhabited. The National Space Agency was regretting their decision to let the cameras roll when the first pictures of the surface were taken.

For on that surface were clearly buildings. And not just a few. The whole rock seemed to be covered with what amount to above ground warrens. Some preliminary Data suggested that more than four billion, and possibly as many as eight billion aliens lived on that planet.

It had water once, that was clear to see. As most of the Warrens were located near what must have been liquid water before it burned off in space.

Everything was spectacular preserved. The Planet was so cold and without anything to act on it, there had been no weather since the water boiled away into space.

It , in a way, had been freeze dried, and kept pristine.

Every Scientific Paper of the last millennium, was now outdated. And we know we aren’t alone, or weren’t.

After orbiting for two weeks. Davida decided it was safe for the Scientific Team to go down to the Surface. There wasn’t anything alive there. But it still spooked everyone who saw the films. For Life had been there. And for a while.

“What did they look like? How did they get here? Was the end quick? Where was their star? Where did they go? Or did they all just die somehow?”

Questions they had, answers …none.

*****
They weren’t Quacks anymore. Instead all of the other Scientists and Physicists were seeking them out to study what they found. Professional Jealousy was pounded to dust under the grinding feet of wanting to know.

So many people had to collaborate, sift, and discover the secrets of the rogue planet - with the now common name of Ghost Shadow- that it seemed no one on Parker, or up on the Base on Heather, had any other thing to do but to find out the latest discovery.

Finally, the Government released the first full briefing. Davida was chosen to present that Data.

A giant screen filled with a huge warren that must have held more than 20 million of these creatures was behind here. There was a statue of one of these creatures holding a torch in the foreground. They weren’t sure if it was Life Sized …or not. For it didn’t match the size of any of the opening on the towering warrens.

But maybe she was the Queen? And workers were much smaller? Archeologists of all types were busy trying to sort those things out. Whatever they were, there were a lot of them.

Davida cleared her throat.

“What you are looking at is a Planet called: “Earth.” It once held as many as 8 Billion of these creatures on it."
Davida showed a stream of pictures of the creatures. Most were made of some kind of stone. Some of them looked like mutants, and many were missing heads, had wings, or other strange appendages. Scientists were working furiously to ascertain if these were different species, or perhaps…ART? Nobody knew.

Then she showed them the Bombshell picture. That is what it was called. The Government had restricted its existence for a decade. But it was time to tell the Truth.

“And this, this is a picture taken from one of their Telescopes. A telescope called the JWTS. It was primitive, but effective.

What you are looking at, are Galaxies like ours. Billions of them.”

Everywhere on Parker and Heather, people gasped.

“It can’t be!”

Davida let the roar of denial course through the giant hall. She herself had the same reaction when they found these pictures. She also wondered where that telescope went.

“It is. I am afraid that it looks like this Planet was ejected from a Universe. A universe unlike our own. It had billions of Galaxies, trillions of stars, and who knows how many planets. “

“But…but…that’s impossible!”

Davida shook her head at the outburst from the Grand Committee Member. One of the most powerful individuals on Parker. Head of the Committee for Science.

“Honored Member, that isn’t even the most shocking thing we have discovered.”

“What? What could be more shocking than that?”

Davida squared her shoulders, and showed a picture of the Big Bang, as those creatures called it. It was a treasure trove of knowledge they never expected to find in that warren. An entire block of what could only be Science and Physics studies. It was called the Hayden Planetarium - or the Colombia University School of Astrophysics …they weren’t sure. Their writing was unique.

She showed the picture and had to explain what it was. Stunned silence for a long time. Finally the Grand Committee Chair spoke.

In awed tones he said:

“Their Universe had a…a..beginning?”

“Yes.”

“And obviously it ended?”

This was the hard part. But Davida had days to get over her shock. So she was ready.

“Not quite.”

“What do you mean?”

She showed a picture of their own Galaxy.

“We are the end of their Universe.”

The silence was deafening. To discover to find out you weren’t alone, only to find out you are all that is left …and you are the end.

People started to cry.

Davida included.

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