The Fermi Paradox - Stars #1900

[Archaeopteryx.]

5 Hypothetical explanations for the paradox

5.1 Extraterrestrial life is rare or non-existent
5.2 No other intelligent species have arisen
5.3 Intelligent alien species lack advanced technology
5.4 It is the nature of intelligent life to destroy itself
5.5 It is the nature of intelligent life to destroy others
5.6 Periodic extinction by natural events
5.7 Inflation hypothesis and the youngness argument
5.8 Intelligent species are too far apart in space or time
5.9 It is too expensive to spread physically throughout the galaxy
5.10 Human beings have not existed long enough
5.11 Humans are not listening properly
5.12 Civilizations broadcast detectable radio signals only for a brief period of time
5.13 They tend to isolate themselves
5.14 They are too alien
5.15 Everyone is listening, no one is transmitting
5.16 Earth is deliberately not contacted
5.17 Earth is purposefully isolated
5.18 It is dangerous to communicate
5.19 They are here undetected
5.20 They are here unacknowledged

Clan of Eternal Sun || Stars #1900
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Username: Archaeopteryx.
Cat Name: Fermi
Gender: X'che (They/them)
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Playlist - Songs for an Empty World
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Inspired by this screenshot of an old Wikipedia article
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Total word count; 3952 words

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxx...But the Questing Cat realized that they did not know the answer, that fear and uncertainty clouded their heart, and the Travelers' eyes softened.

xxxxx"You do not believe that you know the answer," The bright cat says, grin turning into something softer. "What will you do about it?"

xxxxxAnd the Questing Cat thought, and spoke.

xxxxx"We cannot tell you the answer," The eyeless one finally spoke, harshness of the voice spilling out like gravel on rocks. "That is cheating. You must find the answer on your own."

xxxxx"But, I suppose," The bright one adds, small tail flicking in amusement, "While we cannot give you the answer, we may give you an answer."

xxxxx"You are not the first, and you will not be the last."

xxxxxAnd that does not answer the Questing Cat's question, but they dip their head in thanks. The promise of companionship, even if they may never see it, is relief enough. Though there is still fear in their heart, the aching desperation of never wanting to be alone, not in a world as big as this.

xxxxx"Keep going, then." There is the brush of a tail against their shoulder, and the Questing Cat looks up to meet the empty stare of the eyeless one. They may be bigger than he, but he towers over them, the skull on his face staring down in judgement. "Find the answer."

xxxxxAnd the Questing Cat, struck by the pull of a vow they cannot deny, obeys.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxAmong the harshness of the desert existed a God of Blooms.

xxxxxA God whose size betrayed his nature, whose soft gray fur and large paws spoke of a body not suited for the extreme of the desert, but of the extreme of a different world, where snow fell like ash from the sky. A once-mortal who had found favor with the Gods, who brought green down from the mountains and into the valleys and creeks of the desert.

xxxxxShe was the easiest to find, as mortal life is hard to forget, even if it happened lifetimes ago. An immortal who pretended to be mortal again.

xxxxxHe sat along the riverbed as the Questing Cat approached, the desert sunflower growing from his fur rustling in the wind. He did not look as they approached. His eyes remained fixated on the opposite shore.

xxxxx"You have a question for me," She said.

xxxxxAnd the Questing Cat nodded and spoke it aloud.

xxxxx"You think we are alone?" The God of Blooms said, voice harsh with the reprimand he used to scold his students. "Of course we are. There is no one like us. We alone look to flora to nuture us, to guide us, to heal us. Do you see the others doing that?"

xxxxxAnd the Questing Cat shook their head, staring down at their paws. At how the bright growth of winter grew up and around their paws, basking in the cold winter sun and drinking from the water of the stream, a ephemeral life lived only between the blinking of the Sun above.

xxxxxThe God of Blooms softened, tail flicking in apology.

xxxxx"I know that is not the answer you would have liked to hear," She said, voice calm and quiet like the rushing creek below. "And I am sorry. But it is my truth. We should be proud of this burden, that the weight of this responsibility is ours alone to carry on."

xxxxx"But my truth is not your truth," He continued, turning to look the Questing Cat in the eyes. And the call of their gaze singed, like it did any Divine, but the Questing Cat held firm and met his eyes. "Go and keep searching."

xxxxxAnd the Questing Cat bowed their head in respect and stood, leaving the God of Blooms behind as they continued over the vast desert.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxThe wind tugs joyfully through their fur as the Questing Cat crosses a flat plain, salt and grit crunching underneath their paws. There is no shelter out here from the wind, only salt and sand and an endless sky both above and below.

xxxxx"Where are you going?" The wind howls, so loud the Questing Cat must stop to shake their head.

xxxxxRefusing a question is impolite, though, and so they answer.

xxxxx"Hah!" The Wind shouts, the sensation of wings beating against their fur causing them to shiver. "Your God told you that? How bold of them to assume that they have that responsibility to begin with!"

xxxxx"Dare I say, that we are the superior species? You cats may have the joy of greenery at your paws, but we crows have no need for that."

xxxxx"We taste stars on our wingtips." The Wind was a bird now, a crow of silver filaments and too-many-wings and not-enough-eyes, laughing with a voice not his own, landing on the Cat's shoulder as they trodded along, the wind blowing harsh against their face. "My kin dance on my wings! While you and your kind are stuck far below. Do not speak to me of advanced technology, of medicine."

xxxxx"I respect you and your ilk, Cat." The Crow God warbles, digging its claws into the Questing Cat's fur. "If only because doing so keeps my kin out of your claws. But you cannot be so bold as to presume you are the only ones in the world capable of thought, when my kind are the ones who can create anew out of fire and stone."

xxxxxAnd the wind died down and did not return, leaving the Cat behind to continue their trek across the desert alone, save for the red squirrel trailing behind.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxThis was not a God.

xxxxxThis was an ordinary cat, with black fur and patterns shimmering across her pelt, barely visible if not for the sun directly overhead. Gray dappled her muzzle, and she was missing a hind leg, but she stood firm despite (or maybe because of) that. She averted her gaze, staring firmly across the horizon and refusing to meet the Cat's eyes.

xxxxx"I do not accept—"

xxxxxBut the Cat interrupted, though it was rude to interrupt an elder so, and asked their question.

xxxxxThe elder tilted her head, eyes flicking back as if debating on whether she wanted to look at them, to see them. "Child. Do you recall the humans?"

xxxxxAnd they did, and affirmed as such.

xxxxxThe elder hummed. "They were our predecessors. Our monuments to failure. Their shelters and structures scar the landscape, paths of glass and asphalt crossing the landscapes like the scars on my missing limb."

xxxxx"They left within my lifetime. One day, they were there. And the next, the streets were empty. Housecats left to fend for themselves. The mess they had left behind discarded, deemed someone else's job to clean."

xxxxx"We must refuse to be like them. The crows may have their iron and steel, and the dogs may have their rebuilt cybernetics, but they have nothing if they did not learn the lesson the humans taught us."

xxxxx"Pray that we are alone, child. We do not want more humans here."

xxxxxThat still was not the answer. But they dipped their head in thanks and took their leave, as to not linger further.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxIt was safe here.

xxxxxThe Cat could forget their question, forget the vow they had made, and pretend they were a kit again. There were no worries here. No pain. No strife.

xxxxx"My love. What weighs heavy on your heart?"

xxxxxThe Cat purred, trailing off. They did not want to speak of such issues. They wanted to stay here forever.

xxxxx"Your friend tells me you've been searching."

xxxxxThey blinked an eye open, gaze flickering from the beady gaze of his squirrel tag-along, to the expressionless face of their father, guarded behind the eyes of a sheep skull. Slowly, they nodded, though their voice felt heavy and came slow, and spoke their question.

xxxxx"Oh, darling." The God of Beasts purred, and though his voice was reassuring, his words tore deep. "Yes, of course we are. We alone can see what is coming and prevent it from occurring."

xxxxx"The Gods of Old were blind, foolish, too caught up in their own glory to understand the ramifications of their actions. They burned and tore and killed not to sustain, but to entertain."

xxxxxA paw lifted the Cat's drooping head, and they met the crimson eyes of their father.

xxxxx"We alone are here to stop that from happening again. We alone can understand the Beasts, we alone can keep the cycle from continuing." He tilted his head, the bones decorating his pelt rattling. "You understand that, don't you."

xxxxxThe Cat nodded, and began to weep.

xxxxx"I know." The God of Beasts crooned, gathering his kit close to him. Though they dwarfed him in size, no one can truly feel big next to a God. "I know. It's a burden you didn't ask for. But one you must carry regardless. Only we may speak for them."

xxxxxAnd that was not why the Cat cried, though they drank in the comfort regardless. And met the eyes of their squirrel companion, and felt like a liar.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxThey were back in the river.

xxxxxSpring had come, and with it the snow from the mountains melted, returning back to its roots in the desert where all things began. Floods rushed down, roaring water tearing up the new greenery to leave destruction and awe in its wake.

xxxxxBut the Questing Cat still had answers left unfound. And so they stood in the center of the flood, water roaring in their face and soaking their pelt and threatening to sweep them under like it had so many other mortals before, and so many others since.

xxxxxBut the Cat stood firm, claws digging into silt and gravel, and shouted out its question.

xxxxxAnd the river did not answer in words. But an oak tree sapling, struggling to keep afloat, tore loose from the riverbed with a great and terrible cry, crashing down into the river. The Cat flinched, eyes screwed shut, as the child tree was swept away by floodwaters, carried away though it had committed no crime except the act of being alive where it should not have been.

xxxxxAnd that was answer enough.

xxxxxStop looking. Rejoice in the joy of being alive even where they should not have been.

xxxxxBut the vow tugged at their fur and the Cat clambered out of the flood, shaking their fur off and continuing on regardless.

xxxxxThey had no other choice.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxFire was a natural thing, here in the desert.

xxxxxA part of the cycle and rebirth that comes with life. Fire must be used to burn away the old to make way for the new, or the old would choke out any new growth that threatened to rebel against their elders. Dried sagebrush and rotting oak trees must be reduced to the fertilizer that will allow its offspring to grow.

xxxxxThe cat standing across from them, transfixed, knew that all too well. The Questing Cat could see it, in their black sclera that spoke of looking a God directly in the face, the true image of Them forever burned into their eyes. They could see it in the cinders that mottled their calico fur, in the sparks lingering behind every step they took.

xxxxx"You're a—" The Fire-Touched started, eyes wide with misplaced awe, but the Cat shook their head.

xxxxxThis Fire-Touched was young. Young like the spring growth that snagged on the Questing Cat's fur, but they asked their question regardless. And the Fire-Touched tilted their head, savoring the response, looking them in the eyes though they knew it burned.

xxxxxAnd the Questing Cat felt Seen.

xxxxx"...I'm not sure if it matters." The Fire-Touched slowly said, and the Cat felt their heart sink.

xxxxx"I think... we're sort of like the fire, aren't we? A fire can't be sustained for long. If you find a wildfire, chances are that it's young and hasn't had the chance to burn out yet. That doesn't mean there aren't other wildfires out there, somewhere, just that we won't have the chance to meet them. That we're all too young and foolish to know what we're looking for."

xxxxxAnd maybe that wasn't the answer that the Cat was looking for. But it was a truth, and they thanked the Fire-Touched, and offered a gift.

xxxxxAnd the Fire-Touched laughed. "You know as well as I do that I can't accept that." The fire in their eye twinkled, and the Cat forgot how to breathe. "I've learned to love who I am, anyway. I wouldn't want to lose this fire."

xxxxx"But..." And the Fire-Touched finally looked away. "I'd like to meet you again someday, if possible."

xxxxxAnd now two vows weighed heavy on the Cat's heart.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxx[ELSEWHERE] was not made for the Cat.

xxxxx[ELSEWHERE] was partially the resting place for all desert cats, yes. An eternal limbo where dead and living cats alike wandered, never allowed to leave.

xxxxxBut it didn't want the Questing Cat there.

xxxxxAnd so it bucked and writhed, their vision flickering from pale not-sand and air like water to brilliantly warm desert. They could not recall how they got here but they knew how they would leave—through no volition of their own.

xxxxxSomething bumped against their paw and they stopped, squinting down past the visual static.

xxxxxIt was... a creature. Wholly unlike anything they had ever seen before in the world above. It was minuscule, barely reaching up to the Cat's first leg joint, with a brilliant green carapace and too-many-legs and eyes that stared up at the Cat not in the blind fear of a Beast, but in quiet curiosity.

xxxxxAnd so, hesitantly, the Cat spoke aloud their question.

xxxxxAnd the creature rattled its chitin, trilling out a response to the Cat's question in the same breath that it asked its own.

xxxxxThe intelligence in this creature's eyes was so close to drifting out of the haziness of the Beasts, close to sharpening and becoming alert, aware. It was so close, to speaking language, to creating art, to creating life, just as the ones above did.

xxxxxBut it wouldn't be fast enough.

xxxxxAnd a sob escaped the Cat as they looked down at the tiny Child, who had learned to live in an environment no one else could. And whose knowledge of others before them would exist only in the remnants left behind.

xxxxxBorn too late to speak with their forefathers.

xxxxxJust as the humans before them. And whatever came before the humans.

xxxxxThe answer for this Child was a resounding, absolute, yes.

xxxxxAnd with a tightness in their chest that wasn't there before, they turned to escape, jerking back in time just quick enough to avoid crashing into a wide-eyed, still-breathing cat.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxx"W-wait! Please— hang on. I want to talk."

xxxxxThe desperation in the Unstable One's voice gave the Cat pause. An echo of the same energy that scrabbled and tried to force the Cat away drew the Unstable One here, drew him [ELSEWHERE], the dark green of his pelt and neon green of his eyes a perfect mirror of the flashing glitches marring the Cat's eyesight.

xxxxxThough it hurt, they lingered.

xxxxx"Look, please. I know you're here for something. Let's trade, alright? A favor for a favor?"

xxxxxThe Cat spoke aloud what it was searching for.

xxxxx"A question for a question. That's— yeah. That's fine. I'm not getting out of here anyway. I know that. What's your question?"

xxxxxAnd they asked.

xxxxxSomething flickered across the Unstable One's vision, and he choked out a laugh. "Are you kidding?" He hissed. "You came down here to ask that?"

xxxxx"No, there's no others." He choked out. "No other worlds like ours. This doesn't connect to anything, like the legends said. This isn't a fairy tale. This isn't a bedtime story to tell to kits. You think we have the opportunity to build anything out here, when we're fighting to survive?"

xxxxxThat wasn't the question they had asked. The Cat opened their mouth to say as such, but the Unstable One cut them off.

xxxxx"Please— for my question." He began, as the Cat's vision flickered. They couldn't see him anymore. Couldn't make out his form through their glitching vision. "You're going to leave soon. I can tell. Just— please, can you tell my sister that I'm alright? Big golden cat, same patterns as me, just, please, I need—"

xxxxxAnd then they were standing in the brilliance of daylight.

xxxxxAlone.