The messenger (6) Anticipation (ABCD)

All 4 of the crew are sitting in the control room. Andy and Beatrice have been there for some time. Charlotte and Dave have just come in. Andy is sitting at the main control console facing the main control screen. Beatrice is sitting at the sensor monitoring console to one side. Charlotte and Dave are sitting towards the back of the control room with Beatrice and have turned towards the main screen. The atmosphere is tense as they await the arrival of the visitor.

C: “How long do we have to wait?”

B: “Not you too!” With a smile, “I’ve just been chastising Andy for asking – Are we there yet? You’ve both arrived just in time. There are about 10 minutes to go. Our visitor is very nearly dead astern, as they say. It will appear to draw alongside and come to a halt. Of course we are all hurtling towards the centre of the solar system at the usual phenomenal speeds but the two objects will be stationary to one-another. Even after all this time, I find the mathematics easy but the actuality continues to surprise me. ”

D: “Is there anything much to see yet?”

B: “Not a lot. It’ll all happen a bit suddenly. Because of the end on approach, the relative velocities at the moment and the relatively small profile of the object, it will start off as a disk which will grow in size until it resolves into a long thin object. When there is something worth seeing, with Andy’s permission, I’ll stick it up on the main screen. It won’t be long now. ”

A: “Anybody care to guess what we’ve got?”

C: “Probably a valueless lump of Ice which just happens to be a funny shape. Mind you, if that is what it is, then the shape takes a little bit of explaining.”

D: “Well, I’m going to be optimistic and say that we have a lump with lots of juicy nickel and a sprinkling of precious metals. The shape is because it got squirted out of some explosion.”

A: “That’s a good explanation. Despite all the teasing, I really can’t believe it’s an alien artefact. Those things just don’t happen outside of entertainment. Come to think of it, aliens aren’t really that popular as entertainment at the moment. I think I’ll go for an agglomeration of ice, rock and metals. What about you Beatrice?”

B: “I’m not speculating any more. I’ve seen too much. It would be cheating if I said too much. Take a look at this.” The image on the main viewing screen changes, in the centre is a small white dot. The image is surrounded by a red circle and there are target arrows pointing inwards.

C: “Is that it then? Is the little dot in the middle our visitor?”

D: ”It seems to be twinkling? ” interjected Dave.

B: “Yup. Whatever it is, that’s it. And the ‘twinkling’ which Dave has noticed is one of the things which make me think that it is rotating. There are some other interesting features too.” A table of figures flashed in the bottom of the screen.

“One of the things I find interesting is its albedo. It’s really quite bright. Unfortunately, that might suggest that it’s got a lot of ice on the surface. The twinkling might be caused by a patch of discoloration on the face towards us. As the object rotates, so the colour moves and we see a twinkle. It’s a bit like a spot in the centre of an old-fashioned vinyl record. Also there is a hint of some irregularity further back. Our visitor isn’t a perfect cylinder, that’s for sure. Any bumps may be contributing to the effect. “

D: “It gets full marks for interesting. Have you got an estimate on the rate of rotation?”

B: “That is one little disappointment. The estimate is pretty much the same: one revolution every 5 or 6 minutes. Maybe it’s the lumps, or maybe it’s something else, I really don’t know. What I do know is that we’ll know shortly when it’s alongside. There’s nothing much we can do now. The systems will take care of it all. There’s no risk. Let’s settle down and watch the show. Has anyone bought the pop-corn?”

With that, everyone turns to look at the main screen and the changing disk in the centre of the field of view.