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“Hi there. Neither of you have any firearms, do you?”

“No,” we both said. I assumed we were both being honest.

Bruce went back inside the shack and pushed buttons to open the heavy gate.

“So, is this going to freak me out?” I asked once we were through.

“Maybe. However, I’m not taking you to see an alien, but that would be very cool.”

“I’m not disappointed, and I’m very curious.”

“Excellent!”

Sonny steered the truck around two more curves before we came upon a valley.

“Oh my God,” I said.

“Right?” Sonny stopped the truck.

We leaned forward and looked out to the expanse in front of us.

The cup of the valley held a field of giant satellite dishes, illuminated by lights like I’d seen in outdoor stadiums and baseball fields. There were four rows of five satellites, each of them aimed the same northwesterly direction.

“That’s a lot of bars.”

Sonny laughed. “It does have a good reach.”

“Who are you guys talking to?”

“Anyone who will listen.”

“Has anyone replied?”

Sonny looked at me, glare from one of the giant spotlights brightening his playful smirk.

“No,” I said. “I don’t believe it.”

“It’s not what you think, but I want to show you something else.” He nodded forward. “See that small building. That’s where I spend most of my time. It won’t take long.”

I nodded, eager to see what was next.

We were a world away from Black Vulture, with millions of worlds above us. It was a nice break from my real life, and any hesitation I’d felt dissipated, giving way to something that felt like fun and intrigue.

The aluminum-walled shed that seemed small from the outside was, indeed, a tight space inside. Computer screens covered a wall in front of a desk set up with a laptop and a mouse. There was room for the two of us, but it was tight.

I nodded. “This is where you work?”

“It is. I’m a computer scientist. These computers, data, spreadsheets, all my jam.” He paused and then reached toward the keyboard. He typed for moment and then cradled the laptop in one arm as he pointed.

Five wide graphs filled the screen. The lines inside them reminded me of EKG readouts.

“This one,” he put his finger on the second graph, “look at the slight upward blip.”

“I see it. Is that someone talking?”

“At this point, it’s only a possibility. We need more information, but this is the kind of stuff I look for. And we need a pattern before we can decide anyway. Here.” He set the laptop back on the desk. A move of the mouse brought the wall of screens to life. Sonny nodded at one of them with a cluster of white dots over the otherwise black screen. “The blip came from here. This galaxy four thousand light years away.”

“If it’s not communication, what else could it be?”