The dome of Lucidum always trembled slightly in the light of the six moons, reminding the inhabitants that Earth was more than a thousand light days away. Here, on the surface of the planet Caligo, technology mingled with dreams, and time flowed differently under the artificial sky. Eighteen-year-old Lira sat bent over a holovision in the control room, where the walls were lined with radiation-absorbing material and the screen illuminated her face with pale green light. Beside her, Kian was doggedly reviewing line after line of security systems code. They were part of an informal team of young programmers who tested the limits of Lucidum's systems after hours. On the surface, it was just innocent fun - until Lira accidentally discovered a file she couldn't decipher. This file had no sender, no recipient. Its metadata indicated a time before the colony was founded. It contained incomprehensible symbols and fragments of voice. It resembled a complex puzzle that no one should be able to find. Kian rewound the recording - a distorted whisper flowed through the speakers, as if someone was trying to pronounce their names, though Lira was sure that was impossible. "It's impossible," she whispered, looking at Kian. "It's been here for years.... as if it's been waiting." For a moment, the control room was completely silent, only the power panel buzzing quietly from the overload. Lira felt her pulse accelerate under her skin. At that moment, Essi rushed in - holding a portable decoder in her hand, her eyes wide open. "I got a notification of unusual online activity. Someone - or something - responded to our signal even before we sent it," she breathed out. A line of text appeared on the monitor that shouldn't have been there. None of them had stored it in the system. The letters slowly arranged themselves into a bright, pulsating sentence: "ARE YOU READY TO RECEIVE A MESSAGE?" Everything in the control room froze. Only six moons were still reflected in the dome, like silent witnesses to what was to come. Lira glanced at Kian and Essi, feeling reality slowly crumbling away. She had a million questions in her mind, but the answer to the most important of them - was still in their hands.