Planet “ Y ” by Eric C . Friedman
The “ thud ” had me awake and at the controls seconds before the alarms starting going off . The ship had definitely hit something – not something big , but something . Damn , out in the vast expanse of space , and I find the one piece of space junk .... I scanned the sensors , but they showed nothing out there , nothing at all . The ship was on an fixed trajectory ; no way of turning it around to check . The internal sensors showed no damage to the ship at all , and no register of the hull coming into physical contact with anything . “ Thud !” What the ....! It happened again while I was looking right at the sensor display , and nothing . But that time I felt it more than heard it . But there was no detection on the sensors . I turned off the alarms and listened . Nothing but the steady sinuous humming of the engines . The ship had passed Pluto and I was just 6 days out of cryo , having been awakened to navigate the Kuiper Belt , but nowhere near any known objects in space . “ Thud !” I felt and heard that one , but the sensors still showed no physical contact in or on any part of the ship . Now past the belt , I was on my way to Eris - once known as “ Planet X ” - there to orbit and see if I could detect what the astronomers thought might be “ Planet Y ;” a significant shadow detected orbiting our Sun beyond Eris , but which had managed to evade any measure or other quantification . I was supposed to go back into cryo in a few hours and sleep until that orbit was established , but with unknown and undetectable objects apparently out there , I would have to put that off until I knew my trajectory was clear .
***
A “ thud !” followed by a strange squeal or screech – the sound of metal tearing under extreme stress , but with what distinctly sounded like a voice or breath behind it – is what I heard on the ship ’ s computer log after coming out of cryo in orbit around Eris . There had been no further incidences for ten hours after the last one , so the computer cleared me to return to the hibernation chamber . Based on the prior lack of detection of any material cause , and because it happened while the ship was entering and establishing orbit , the computer let me sleep through this last incident but alerted me as soon as I was awake . Again , nothing on the sensors , and no register of any physical contact with the hull . I ran a few extra scans and found a disturbing measurement ; the ship had gained almost a kilogram of weight after the last “ contact ”. But other than that measurement and the recorded sound , no other physical characteristics were detected . Had some stray Kuiper object with weight but no mass been absorbed by the ship ? That ’ s the only thing I could think of , and I thanked my lucky stars that it hadn ’ t screwed up the orbit . All instruments were displaying optimal readings .... Except for that gain of 808 grams . I repeated the scans , but the new weight could not be specifically localized .
Soon I would have to interface with the long range detectors ; the mission was specifically timed and I was coming around to the far side of Eris – the side away from the sun , and towards the “ shadow .” So , I started my relaxation exercises , closing my eyes and adapting my breathing to the rhythm of the engines . Their sound ebbed and flowed like a tide of electronic waves on a metallic beach . As I attained a consistent cycle attuned with the ship – establishing a certain rapport with the instruments – the sensor interface automatically emerged from the top of my chair and closed around my head like five very long fingers of a metal claw gripping the top of my skull . Soon my senses were no longer focused in my body sitting in the chair , but now extended from the ship itself out into the dark cold void of space .
At first I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the sheer immensity of nothing and the profound insignificance of myself in relation to it . All my training had not prepared me for the shock of the trans-Neptunian vacuum I was facing . I had to recover my breathing and restore it to the ship ’ s rhythms . Once I had done that , I looked around and started to see stars gradually fading into sight . Now I was overwhelmed by the simple beauty of it all .... And was suddenly struck by the profound significance of the fact that I was the only human to have the privilege of this experience . Tears of ecstasy formed in my eyes ; I had to fight not to return to my body .... I realized I was holding my breath , and again re-established the patterns of my breathing , attuned to the rhythms of the ship .
I looked around further , and suddenly realized that there was a large circle of my vision in which I could see no stars , but rather what seemed to be a giant pool of indigo ink blocking out my view of the space beyond . Planet “ Y .” It was enormous ! The planets out here were supposed to all be dwarf planets , but this must be much larger than Jupiter ! I stared into the “ ink pool ” for a few minutes , trying to see if I could detect any detail . After a little while , I believe I noticed a change in color ; the indigo gradually lightened into a dark purple . After several minutes more it had lightened to a dark mauve . I suddenly realized that it was reacting to my presence , as if the planet itself had some kind of .... Intelligence .
Upon that realization , I was immediately overcome by dread and foreboding . Palpitations of fear gripped my heart , making my chest ache . I wanted to return to the chair , but something about that intelligence reached intomy mind and grabbed hold of it . It wouldn ’ t let me go – I tried to pull away , and I distinctly got the impression that it was squeezing my consciousness with a sort of psychic claw ... I heard a voice inside my head , speaking in the voice of torn metal :
“ Yuggoth inh ’ rth ggrammhan ! Ggrammhan inh ’ rth Yuggoth !”
I think I fainted ... ***