Marina woke up early in a small cozy hotel in Sergiev Posad, lay in bed for a minute, stretching and smiling, then got up, took a shower and began to dress to go down to breakfast. She liked to eat breakfast early, especially in summer, enjoying the still cool freshness of the morning and the waking nature outside the window. Marina had chosen this hotel in the countryside to spend the weekend away from the hustle and bustle of Moscow before starting a new working week.
Only two tables in the restaurant were occupied. At the farthest table by the window, a young couple were quietly whispering and giggling, and a little closer to the exit, two middle-aged women were silently sipping coffee. Marina chose a table against the wall, poured herself a large mug of American-style coffee, took from the counter a couple of muffins, strawberry yogurt and a large ripe pear. From where she sat, she could see the huge floor-to-ceiling window, which framed, like a painting from the last century, a green meadow with the sunlit poppies of the church glowing blue, white, and dazzling gold.
Still smiling, Marina gazed mesmerized at the peaceful landscape outside the window, savoring her yogurt and glad that the people in the restaurant were arriving sluggishly. At that moment, a strange hum accompanied by a whistling sound, similar to that heard in the cabin of an airplane at takeoff, broke the silence in the hall. It was so unreal and so out of sync with the surroundings that it seemed as if it was not really happening, and someone was watching an action movie in the hotel lobby. Marina would have thought so, because she did not want to return to reality from that blue-white-gold glow, but the couple at the window stopped whispering and began to look anxiously around the meadow, and the two women stood up fearfully, looking around.
In the meantime, the whistling sound was cut off with a thud that made the glass shudder and the glasses on the tray in front of the juice carafes clink. The young couple clung to the window, the women ran out of the restaurant, the kitchen behind the counter stopped clattering dishes and ran, doors slammed in the hall. Marina also went to the window, joining the couple, and looked out, but saw nothing.
- What was that? - She asked the freckled boy who was clutching his girlfriend's hand.
- I don't know," the man replied, "maybe an earthquake?
- Near Moscow? No, it can't be," Marina replied.
- Rom, let's go up to the room," said the girl, "it's kind of creepy here.
- But we won't recognize anything in the room at all. Let's go to the lobby and see what's going on.
They left, and Marina decided to finish her breakfast. She hadn't run away from the city to get involved in some story about a piece of meteorite falling seventy-five kilometers from Moscow on a Saturday morning. The lobby seemed to stop running, but then there was a quiet click and the lights went out. In the bright sunny morning it was not very noticeable, Marina only saw through the open door of the restaurant, as the desk lamp at the reception desk turned off, and heard muffled swearing in the kitchen.
"No," Marina said to herself resolutely, "you're not going to succeed in ruining my weekend anyway!" but suddenly there were startled screams from somewhere and there was another rush through the hotel. She sighed and, unable to stand it, walked out of the restaurant. A maid accompanied by a tall man ran down the hall and they began to climb the stairs. Screams came from somewhere upstairs. The elevator didn't work because there was no electricity, and Marina's room was on the fourth floor, so she had to walk up the stairs too.
On the second floor, it was discovered that a woman was stuck in the elevator, screaming in fear from inside, "Get me out! Get me out!." A tall man tried to calm her down, saying he had already notified all the necessary services and help would arrive any minute. There were about a dozen people gathered around the elevator, and there was a freckle-faced kid who was still holding his girlfriend's hand. Suddenly he went to the window of the stairwell and said loudly:
- Look, what's that over there?
At the same time, a fire siren wailed, and everyone ran to the window, peering over each other's shoulders. Marina was the closest and saw at once that smoke was rising near the church, which was so clearly visible from the restaurant. From the stairs, the church was visible from the side, a large tree had fallen near it and was smoking, and people were gathered around, restrained by the police who had already arrived.
- Let's go see what's in there," the ubiquitous boy dragged his girlfriend down the stairs, but she shrieked as she struggled:
- Roma! I'm afraid! It could be dangerous!
They did come down, and Marina saw through the window how the couple ran along the gravel path, skirting the meadow, and disappeared from sight. Two guards came in, one of them began to work on the elevator door, opened the outer doors and began to turn some wheel at the top. The inner doors slowly opened, and the frightened lady fell into the arms of her husband, who was waiting for her in front of the elevator, and he hurriedly took his wife to their room. While the guard was doing these manipulations with the elevator, the tall man asked the second guard in a low voice:
- Artem, what's going on in there?
- I don't understand it myself. First our computers shut down, and then they started working.
- How can that be? There's no electricity.
- I don't know, we've already called the electricians, and they confirmed that all the plugs are in place, but the whole hotel is blacked out," Artyom explained quietly, but Marina could hear. - They couldn't figure out the cause of the problem yet.
- What about computers?
- Imagine, suddenly they're all on at once, only they don't respond to commands.
After releasing the woman from the elevator, all three of them, the two guards and the tall man, started walking down the stairs. Everything that was happening finally piqued Marina's curiosity and she followed them. "I still have all of Saturday and half of Sunday ahead of me," she consoled herself. - I'll have time to rest, and in the meantime we'll find out what happened there."
She went down to the lobby. There were already many more people there, who had been driven out of their rooms by their interest in what was happening and the lack of electricity. The three hotel employees hid behind an inconspicuous door behind the reception desk, where a couple of seconds later they heard surprised exclamations, then a lively discussion. A few minutes later the door opened again and Artyom appeared, accompanied by a tall man. Marina heard the end of the phrase the man had uttered:
- ... call the appropriate authorities.
They went out into the lobby, headed for the reception desk, remembered that the phones didn't work, and Artyom pulled out his cell phone. But then suddenly the tall man seemed to have an epiphany, he made a hand sign to Artyom, muttering: "Wait a minute...", then walked out into the middle of the hall and said loudly, addressing the gathered people:
- Gentlemen vacationers, is there by any chance anyone among you who knows about stars?
***
Marina's passion for astronomy was passed on to her by her father when she was still a child. They would sit down on the sofa and have long conversations about stars, planets, comets, nebulae, black holes and galaxies. Her father told her in simple and accessible language, so that she, a child, would not only understand, but also find it fascinating.
- Stars," he told Marina, "are suns like ours, but they are so far away that the light from them sometimes reaches us only after millennia. There are stars that are hundreds of times larger than our sun, and not all of them yellow like ours. Their color depends on their temperature: white and blue stars are the hottest, while orange and red stars are cooler than our sun.
Gradually Marina began to read on her own, and the mysterious world of the cosmos took hold of her. The shelves in her room were filled with books on astronomy, atlases of the starry sky and albums with colorful photographs. In tenth grade for her birthday her parents gave her a telescope, and Marina stayed up all night with excitement after seeing the Andromeda galaxy for the first time with her own eyes. She chose Ural State University and dreamed of going there to study astrophysics, but at the last moment she got scared and didn't go.
Marina entered the Moscow Technological University, and then thought for a long time whether this passion was her vocation and whether she had killed her dream for nothing. But the train left, Marina graduated from the university and got a job as a foreman at the factory. After working for a week, she decided that after a long study and defense of her diploma, she needs to be alone for at least two days and left Moscow. In addition, she had to think about the handsome technologist Gene, who saw her off with long looks, and these views seemed to Marina not at all vulgar, and very even benevolent.
And no sooner had she woken up in this quiet, crowded hotel than she witnessed a meteorite fall, which awakened her former passion. She was about to follow the freckled boy Roma and his girlfriend to see the meteorite with her own eyes, when a tall man, who was obviously the head of security, asked if there were any guests who understood the stars.
- I understand," Marina replied, remembering the tons of books she had shoveled through during her ten years of childhood and adolescence.
Everyone standing in the hotel lobby turned their heads in her direction, and the tall man said:
- Can I ask you to look at one thing? If you would be so kind, please come this way," he invited Marina to the room behind the reception desk and opened the door in front of her.
She entered the room hesitantly and found herself in a tiny room with only two tables, two chairs, a closet and a narrow couch against the wall. A tall man held out his hand to her:
- My name is Evgeny Yurievich.
- Marina Ilyina," Marina introduced herself, shaking Evgeny Yurievich's hand.
Artyom came in behind them and closed the door. The second guard got up from behind the desk and politely gestured for the girl to sit down. She lowered herself down on the offered chair in front of the computer.
- Marina," Yevgeny Yurievich asked, pointing at the computer screen, "do you know what this is?
- Yes," she replied surprised, "it's the constellation of Orion.
The three men looked at each other, and Marina realized from their faces that they were not relieved. At that time Evgeny Yurievich's phone rang.
- Yes," he answered, listened for a few seconds, then asked: - Absolutely everything, are you sure? The guards have the same thing. No, don't do anything yet, I'll call you back.
- Say," Marina asked timidly, "what's going on?
Then they saw through the window of the guards' den as a covered military truck, accompanied by two police cars with flashing lights, drove toward the church. One car drove in front, the other behind, and in the truck Marina saw armed emcees. Seeing this, Yevgeny Yurievich became quite sad.
- You see, Marina, we don't know anything yet. After that blow, the electricity disappeared in the morning, then suddenly the computers turned on. For a while there was only a glowing screen, then suddenly this appeared," he jabbed his finger at the monitor. - Now I'm being told that all the computers in the hotel are showing the same thing. This is your constellation Orion.
The two guards and Marina looked at Yevgeny Yurievich in amazement, and he continued:
- I can't leave the hotel, but someone has to go there," he nodded toward the church, "and see what's going on. The city phones don't work, and I don't know many people in town who have cell phone numbers, except for friends and relatives. I thought I'd call the police, but they were already here. Go ahead, Artem, we'll be in touch if anything happens.
Artyom nodded, and Marina said:
- I'm going too, I was going anyway when you invited me here.
- Go, Marina, - said Evgeny Yurievich, - and thank you for your help.
They were about to leave, when suddenly Marina had a thought.
- Yevgeny Yurievich, can I try something? - she sat down at the guard's desk again and touched the mouse with her hand. The cursor ran across the screen.
- The cursor is moving," the guard said, "but you can't delete the picture.
- It does not need to be deleted, - said Marina thoughtfully and, pointing the cursor at the Orion Nebula, which was clearly outlined under the star Alnilam, clicked on it.
Nothing happened. The image was very high quality, as if taken by a Hubble telescope, but it remained silent and still. Marina clicked on the very star Alnilam, located in the center of Orion's belt. Nothing. The girl clicked on Alnitak, Saif, Rigel, Mintaka. Nothing was happening. Bellatrix, Betelgeuse... The change was so unexpected that all four jumped in place. When Marina clicked the mouse on Betelgeuse, the picture came to life and seemed to throw people into deep space at a terrifying speed, like a handful of peas.
Betelgeuse changed from a small reddish dot into a large dark orange ball, not far from which a smaller, pale yellow ball appeared. Around this white-yellow star revolved six planets! Two small red planets orbited closest to the star, the third was a larger, brownish-colored planet. The fourth was green, very beautiful, and behind it came two blue giants, the orbit of the last of which was at a considerable distance from the star than all the others. The three men and the woman looked at the computer screen in silence and mesmerized for a long time, then Evgeny Yurievich asked quietly:
- Marina, what is it?
- I think it's the closest star to Betelgeuse with a planetary system. Based on the distance, it's about the same distance as Alpha Centauri, maybe even closer.
- And what does it all mean? - Artyom asked. - Why did the picture move?
- I have only one explanation," Marina said slowly after a moment's silence. - Someone wants to tell us something.
The three men stared at her in amazement, then asked in one voice, whispering for some reason:
- Who?!
- I don't know that yet," Marina replied.
There was an approaching murmur, and two helicopters flew over the hotel, heading toward the church. One of them landed right next to the fallen tree, still smoking after extinguishing it, and the other circled a little and landed somewhere far away, out of sight. Artyom said:
- I think it's a good time to go there.
- Yes, let's go, - answered Marina, and they left the hotel, leaving Evgeny Yurievich with the guard to admire the movement of planets around the yellow star.
***
Marina and Artyom arrived at the church about twenty minutes later. The place was full of people, despite the early Saturday morning. The police, the military, and the emcees were busy doing their own things: holding back the crowd, talking on their radios and their phones, taking measurements, and almost sniffing the ground around the impressive smoking hole that the meteorite had made in the churchyard, knocking down a tree at the same time. From somewhere there was freckled Roma, dragging everywhere by the hand of his girlfriend. He saw Marina and went straight to her.
- And you're here? This place is awesome! We were almost the first ones to get here before the police. There's no meteorite in that hole!
- And what is there? - Artyom asked.
- Spaceship!
- Not a big enough hole for a spaceship.
- Maybe they have small aliens," Roma suggested. - There was a light blinking!
At that time, they started unloading something from the helicopter that had landed in the churchyard. They took out something like a white tarpaulin and made a tent out of it next to the pit, which was immediately fenced off and covered with another piece of tarpaulin. The tent was filled with all sorts of equipment: a couple of computers, various instruments, a folding table and a couple of chairs. Several men in dark suits entered the tent, and for a while there was only the clattering of instruments and muffled voices. Then there were surprised exclamations, animated conversations, and one of them came out with a telephone at his ear, saying:
- It will take them an hour and a half to get there by car from Moscow, send a helicopter to pick them up! I've already called the director of the observatory, they're waiting! Good, keep me informed, we have everything under control here for now!
Another man came out of the tent and said to the one who had just been on the phone:
- Everything is the same within a two kilometer radius of the crash site: the same picture on all computers. None of the other electronics are working, so it's a waste of a haul. What do the astronomers say?
- They're coming, we have to wait.
The men were about to return to the tent, but then Artyom suddenly called out to them:
- Excuse me, do you also have a constellation on your computers...what's its name, Marin.....
- The constellation of Orion," Marina prompted.
- Citizens, we can't answer any questions for anyone yet," cut off one of the tentmakers.
- Maybe we can, Mr. Mayor," Artyom said, recognizing the man who had spoken on the phone, but then he realized and pointed at Marina: "I mean, her.
- Who are you?
- I work security at the hotel. And this is one of our vacationers. But she solved the picture. It's the same thing that happens to all our computers. And she made it move.
The two men in the tent looked at Artyom in the guard's uniform and Marina, dressed in a simple chintz dress, incredulously. Finally, one of them made a decision and made a sign to the policeman standing by the tape tied to two trees as a makeshift fence. He lifted the tape.
- Come on in," the mayor said.
Two of them led Marina and Artyom inside the tarpaulin, where eight people were crowded together and stared at them in surprise.
- My name is Igor Dmitrievich Rybakov," the mayor introduced himself and extended his hand first to Marina, then to Artyom.
- Marina Ilyina.
- Artyom Ugarov.
- Well, while we are waiting for the arrival of the helicopter with Moscow astronomers, physicists, computer scientists and other specialists, tell us what is going on in your hotel?
- It's the same as here," Artyom said, "except that we watched the arrival of firefighters, military and helicopters from the window. It's the same picture on all the computers and ours. But Marina," he gently nudged the girl forward, "first explained to us what it was, and then she managed to get in contact with the aliens.
- Do what, I beg your pardon? - the mayor interjected.
- No," Marina corrected her new partner and smiled, "I was just making an assumption. And actually, I did this. May I? - she approached one of the computers, at which sat a guy with glasses.
Igor Dmitrievich nodded to the guy and he got up from the folding chair, giving way to Marina. She sat down and made the same manipulations as in the hotel: she clicked on Betelgeuse, all the other stars went away and the yellow star with the planets revolving around it became visible. The exclamation of surprise from the more senior officials was more subdued, and the bespectacled guy shouted:
- Yes I clicked, nothing happened!
- I got it by accident, too," Marina reassured him. - I guess it's just that the signal is coming from this particular point in the galaxy.
- What's the signal? - one of the men in the blue suit asked warily.
- You see, - Marina began to explain, - I think someone in this way wants to draw our attention to the planetary system of a star located near the star Betelgeuse.
At that time again there was a growing murmur, which at last became deafening, and the tarpaulin of the tent swayed indignantly. But everyone was so alerted by Marina's words that no one came out to greet the arriving specialists from the Moscow observatory, and when the murmur was silent, she continued:
- This yellow star is similar to our Sun, but judging by its pale yellow color, it's a little hotter, and perhaps a little bigger. Betelgeuse, on the other hand, is a red giant and is preparing to go supernova.
- It's true.
Everyone turned sharply at the voice. At the entrance to the tent, pulling back the tarpaulin, stood a medium-sized man of about sixty, with gray hair and a small beard. There were five or six other people crowding behind him.
- Are you Professor Tregubov? - The mayor asked and walked towards him with his hand outstretched. - Finally! Thank you for coming.
After everyone's greetings, introductions and exchange of pleasantries, the professor said with a smile:
- I couldn't not come, after everything I'd been told. I took a chance before the military swooped in and sealed the deal. But I see you have your own expert.
- No, no, please, Professor, please," Marina jumped up, going to give way to Trugubov, but he stopped her.
- Don't worry, dear young lady, and go on, while I'll sit here next to you. You are all here, so to speak, the first witnesses of the apparition.
The professor was given a folding chair and sat down next to Marina. She was so confused, being in the center of attention of so many officials, scientists and policemen, that she did not immediately remember where she was. Tregubov came to her rescue.
- I was told in the helicopter that after the crash of a certain object in the vicinity of Sergiev Posad, the same image remains unchanged on the screen of all computers within a radius of two kilometers from the crash site. But I see two images, how can you explain it?
- Professor, please click on Betelgeuse on that computer," Marina asked.
Tregubov obeyed. Once again everyone witnessed a miraculous increase in the size of the two stars.
- Very interesting, - muttered the professor, then turned to Marina: - So, you think, dear young lady, that this transformation will not end?
- It shouldn't be over. Otherwise, what's the point of sending them?
- And what would you bet on this time?
- As I already assumed, judging by the size and temperature of the yellow star, it is bigger and hotter than the Sun, hence the first two planets must be too hot, and their size is too small to take into account. The last two giants are too far away, especially the last one, it must be an ice ball. The third planet, the brown one, looks like our Mars, but the fourth one, the green one... - Marina looked at the professor hesitatingly, - there might be life there.
- Well, so be brave," Tregubov encouraged her.
Marina put the cursor over the green planet and clicked. Betelgeuse immediately flickered out of the monitor, the yellow star and planets flew apart, and the people in the tent marveled at the emerald-colored orb with a distinct atmosphere, clouds, continents, and oceans.
- Amazing! - exhaled Tregubov. - Let's go and have a look at that thing that fell down here. May I, Igor Dmitrievich?
- Please, Professor," the mayor threw aside the tarpaulin on the opposite side of the tent from the entrance, and Tregubov rushed in, accompanied by all his brotherhood of scientists.
Marina and Artyom looked out from behind them. In a hole three meters in diameter and a meter and a half deep lay a small object, similar to the capsule in which astronauts land from orbit, but much smaller. It wouldn't even fit one person. The capsule was made of matte black metal, with a red light blinking at the top of it, covered with earth that no one dared to shake off.
- Have you checked the radiation? - Tregubov asked, not addressing anyone in particular.
- Everything is normal, - answered the guy in protective camouflage who was on duty at the pit.
- Come on, guys, give me a hand," the professor ordered, climbing down into the pit and nodding to the two other camouflage-clad men standing nearby.
- Isn't it dangerous, Professor? - the mayor was frightened, and all his officials jumped up and backed away. - An alien ship...
- It's not a ship," Tregubov said calmly, pulling rubber gloves out of his pocket and pulling them over his hands. - It's a transmitter. And it transmits to us what you see on your computers. That's why he was sent here. Guys, take a pair of gloves from Yegor Sergeyevich and give me a hand.
A gaunt old man from Tregubov's team provided the camouflage gloves, the three of them pulled the capsule out of the pit, brought it into the tent and placed it on a folding table. Shaking it off the ground, the professor began to scrutinize the extraterrestrial transmitter. After looking at it, he turned around, took Marina under his arm and led her to the computers, on the monitor of one of which was a green planet, and the other still had an image of two stars with planets.
- So, my dear young lady, I don't think the show is over yet either.
- I think so too, Professor. There must be something they're trying to tell us. A reason why they're sending us these images.
- That's right. Let's work a little more magic on the pictures. Well, be brave," he encouraged Marina, seeing her hesitation: "Now it's your privilege to be the discoverer.
Marina sat down at the computer with the green planet, thought for a while, took the mouse, put the cursor on the emerald ball and clicked. Nothing happened. She tried clicking somewhere else, where she could see the outline of a continent similar to Australia, but twice as big. Nothing. Marina clicked on another continent, then on the ocean - the picture remained the same. She glanced disappointedly at the professor, then back at the monitor, and suddenly an idea occurred to her. She crossed to another computer, the screen of which showed planets revolving around a yellow star. She clicked on the brown planet, then on the yellow star. Nothing. Finally, Marina put the cursor over Betelgeuse and clicked.
For the first second it seemed that nothing had changed. But suddenly the dark orange giant began to swell even more, from its depths burst out dazzling prominences, which became more and more, until the entire star became bright white. As Betelgeuse continued to swell, it continued to change color. When it doubled in size, it turned pale blue, then bright turquoise. At this point its sphere engulfed the farthest planet of the yellow star, slowly melting its icy surface, and when it reached the penultimate planet, Betelgeuse became bright violet in color and began to gradually lose its clear outlines, becoming as if blurred and transparent.
This, however, did not stop the star from continuing to grow larger. Turning into a nebula, the exploding red giant sent its glowing gas farther and farther into the universe at a tremendous velocity of billions of kilometers. The cloud of exploding plasma reached the green planet, which also began to change its color, burning its atmosphere and turning into a charred gloomy ball. Gradually, the red-hot gas engulfed the brown planet, the third planet in the yellow star system. The cloud of violet gas became more and more diffuse and, having consumed the first two small planets, reached the yellow star.
At first, it seemed that everything stopped, but a couple of seconds later, the yellow star, having absorbed the remnants of the supernova plasma, exploded with such a bright flash that for a moment filled the entire computer screen. Gradually, the gas dissipated and revealed to the viewers of this extraordinary movie an eerie picture. Left without their luminary and its gravity, the lonely six planets for some time continued their run along the orbits due to the force of inertia, but quickly began to change their direction, became disorderly, colliding with each other and causing to fly in all directions uneven angular debris. Finally, the image froze, leaving a swarm of stone blocks on the screen.
It seemed to everyone that the silence lasted forever. Stunned scientists, soldiers, administrative workers - just people, representatives of the human race witnessed a universal catastrophe, understandable even to the most unenlightened. The silence was broken by Professor Tregubov, who said sternly:
- We've seen what could happen 642 light-years away. We're not in danger of such a catastrophe, but that beautiful green planet is. If that happens, the race that sent us that signal will be destroyed by the radiation from the supernova explosion.
- Professor," Marina asked timidly, "don't you think that this has already happened, and those creatures are just telling the universe their story?
- Maybe it is," Tregubov said thoughtfully. - But what if it's a plea for help? What if this race has calculated exactly how long it will take Betelgeuse to explode? With such a dangerous neighbor right in front of our noses, and we're probably talking about two or three light years, it would be foolish not to study it thoroughly. The answer, I'm sure, is here! - he pointed to the transmitter, then called out:
- Yura," a disheveled guy, apparently a laboratory assistant, jumped up to him immediately. - Load the transmitter into the helicopter, we'll take this thing to Moscow. Surely these guys know how to travel in curved space, if they sent us this original device.
The lab technician nodded and scurried out of the tent, returning a second later with another, equally disheveled but smaller in stature. They lifted the capsule and dragged it toward the helicopter. The mayor was worried:
- Professor, what about the order? They'll ask me later.
- There will be an order for you, Igor Dmitrievich, don't worry," Tregubov patted the mayor on the shoulder, then told Marina, taking her under his arm and heading for the exit from the tent:
- Come along, dear young lady, if you're willing to help, of course. We've got a lot of work to do. We'll have to make inquiries about the Mars colonization program. We'll try to move our friends there for now, and then we'll see how they can get a couple of oceans.