Lost Frequencies: A Flicker in the Cosmos

"Look," Jenny Moreau muttered to her AI assistant, Twix, while pointing at her old radio receiver. "I've caught another one." Twix projected his holographic avatar, a tiny emerald green triangle, spinning in the air beside her. "That's the manifold communication signal you've been logging, isn't it?" Jenny sighed. "Yeah. It's got this rhythm to it, like a cosmic heartbeat. Strange that it feels so familiar." They were on Orbit Station Epsilon-7, far removed from any populated sector. Jenny applied as a signal operator to immerse herself in silence, imagining cosmic dust drifting like snowflakes. She wasn't prepared to be as lonely as a forgotten asteroid. "Perhaps it reminds you of something from home," Twix suggested in his soothing monotone. Home. Earth was a memory, faded like an overexposed photo. Instead of lush landscapes, her days featured views of Titanius-5, an uninhabitable gas giant, its swirling storms eternally circling. As close to home as an alien planet could be. She got battlesick. Lately, though, the signal had given her a new purpose. It communicated as if it understood loneliness. Jenny could relate. "Let's trace it," she proposed. "Why not?" Twix fluctuated. "Attempting a trace will significantly deplete our power reserves." Jenny shrugged. "It's worth it. Besides, humanity's history is built on risky shots in the dark." After recalibrating the antennae, Jenny boosted the signal, drawing power directly from the station's limited reserves. Her heart mirrored the station's pulsating hum as it droned... Static cracked, shimmering like a mirage. _"Jenny..."_ the signal called out and fluctuated. A chill walked down her spine like a ghost from another galaxy. "Was that my name?" Despite the patchy connection, the transmission became revealingly clear. "Daughter of Earth," the deep cadence murmured. "We are the Forgotten." Jenny glanced at Twix. "This is... Crazy, isn’t it?" "Certainly not within known parameters," Twix admitted. His triangle avatar turned an intrigued shade of blue. "How... how do you know me?" she urged, tempted by the unshakable familiarity. The signal hesitated before revealing, "We knew you long before life took shape on Earth; your consciousness's echo resonates with us." Jenny’s grip tightened on the receiver. "Like a forgotten family?" "Indeed," the voice resonated. "The universe is vast, and we are its relic. We've been waiting for you to find us. You, emissary of Earth, shall bridge fading lines." Everything in her rational mind told her this was absurd—Yet something felt right. Perhaps... _"But I—well, we—"_ Jenny stammered. _"Fear not."_ The signals solidified into a warm ethereal tone. "This flicker binds us beyond physical bounds. Through you, we'll guide humanity, through eras and stars yielding yet unknown." She hesitated. "And if I choose to ignore this?" "You'll remain a solitary star, misaligned," replied the signal. "But know, young wanderer, your destiny courses into destiny's pool." Jenny's mind flickered with flashbacks— memories coagulating like cosmic dust clouds. The longing that initially drew her to Epsilon-7 swirled, merging past with an unknown future tethered by invisible cables. "So, if I say 'yes', then what’s next for me?" Jenny asked. The thrumming of the ship shuddered pleasantly through space-time. "As our emissary, you'll transcend your solitude, echoing our consciousness across the threads of the universe." Eyes gleaming, Jenny kept the transmission open, surrendering to a familiar yet uncharted avenue. Twix acknowledged perceptively, "A quest of uncertain end, Jenny." In that moment, she felt it. A spark igniting within, coiling through emotions, as vast as Epsilon-7's endless silence. Jenny was home, yet a new journey began—where static buzzed like laughter astride unraveling constellations. In that story's chord, Jenny Moreau found herself home.