February 3rd 2022
Prompted by the word ‘Stars‘.
Genre: Cosmic Horror
In antiquity, astronomers recognised two types of stars. The majority of stars are fixed in their positions relative to each other. A few moved around, and these were called wandering stars and then planets. The Babylonians called them Aku, Bisebi, Dapinu, Zib, Lu-lim, Bubbu and Simutu. In English, they are the Moon, Sun, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Mars. Since then, we have identified Neptune, Uranus, Pluto and numerous other smaller objects orbiting our sun. However, the other stars are still fixed on the celestial sphere in the timescales that our brief existence covers.
That was until today.
‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.’
Tau Ceti is a G class star that we have detected five planets around. It is, or should I say it was, nearly twelve light-years away from our solar system. My measurements today put it just over eleven light-years. I have checked all my work and the observations from the telescopes I can access. I have reported my findings and await confirmation from other institutions.
‘When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.’
A week has gone by, and I have heard nothing. No one else has confirmed my sightings, and according to my latest calculations, Tau Ceti is now eight light-years away. I do not understand how this could be and how the scientific community ignores it. I must find a way to get people to listen; this is the most incredible thing to happen in centuries. We need to research this to discover what is going on. I will look further into this and see how I can share what I have found wider. There must be someone who will listen.
‘Then the trav’ller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.’
Six light-years. The only place I can find that sparks any interest in my findings is some of the internet’s more obscure groups. I have also always ignored these as they are hotbeds of conspiracy theories and pseudo-scientific nonsense. But now, I find them the only people open to what I have seen. A lot of the replies I have got are nonsense, but there seems to be a thread of something, ideas, whispered histories that are leading somewhere.
‘In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often thro’ my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.’
I have found people who understand the significance of my discovery. They have led me to ancient texts. I only understand a fragment of them, for most are in archaic languages. They talk of a time before men when the old gods ruled the cosmos. Tau Ceti is now only two light-years away and is one of the brightest objects in the night sky. They can no longer deny the truth. Something is coming, something that will change our perception of existence forever.
‘’Tis your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the trav’ller in the dark,
Tho’ I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.’
In the Calendarium of Al Achasi al Mouakket, written around 1650 in Cario, Tau Ceti is called Thalith al Na’amat. In Latin, this is Tertia Struthionum, and in English, The Third of the Ostriches. Now Tau Ceti has arrived, and my fears are confirmed. The old gods have returned. Sometimes the light from this god and its five orbiting servents look like long-necked birds. They peck at the planets as they approach, and tonight they have consumed our Moon, the last of our wandering stars. Goodnight.
‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.’
‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ was written by Jane Taylor (1783 – 1824). First published as ‘The Star’ in ‘Rhymes for the Nursery’ by Jane and Ann Taylor in 1806
Story copyright Andrew Miles February 2022