The scariest message

if something or someone in space ever actually got a real message out there to us as humans, what would make us feel

More alone than ever?

In a series of algorithmic coded garbles, the message chills the scientists trying to understand it:

“You are utterly alone. There is nothing outside of earth. What you hear is nothing but an echo. It’s you missing something you’ll never find. It’s more invisible than anything you’ll see on a microscope. By looking for others in space like yourself, you’ve made humans more lost than ever.”

the haiku the terrified scientist wrote then promptly threw away:

The echo in space

Is worse than a silent scream

Ghosts searching for ghosts.