text: The Captain slid into the seat behind the control panel. He glanced over at his partner/co-pilot/wife seated next to him. She was busy running scans on the planet below. They had found this planet worthy of a great deal of time, unlike most of the worlds they had explored on this voyage. Many of the systems they had traveled through on this journey were of little interest. Huge gas giant planets circling huge, extremely hot stars, no chance of life. The last system had been some small, frozen rocky planets orbiting a burned-out brown dwarf star. If life had ever graced this system, it had died out eons ago. Some worlds they encountered had very basic life forms, single-cell plants, and animals. Some worlds had more advanced creatures capable of communication, rudimentary forms of civilization, and mechanization. But this planet, this one was very different. Even before they had approached the planet they were receiving electromagnetic impulses radiating from it. The impulses were far stronger than anything that could have been occurring naturally. The Captain plotted a course to slip in behind a moon that was orbiting this planet. He was going to approach the planet very cautiously. His ship was of the most advanced series available when he and his partner left on their voyage of discovery. It had the ability to deflect energy around it, and thus be invisible to most scanning or tracking attempts. He engaged the machinery to ensure their presence was not noticed if by some unthinkable chance the planet was inhabited by an advanced species of beings. The Captain and his partner spent some time as they hid behind the planet’s moon analyzing the data they had collected as they approached the planet. The planet seemed to be an excellent habitat for carbon-based lifeforms. The planet enjoyed a very stable orbit around its star. The presence of the sizable moon they were hiding behind caused tidal forces on the planet’s surface to circulate the sizable collection of water present on the surface. Analysis of the surface and sub-surface data collected showed an abundant supply of minerals necessary for any advanced civilization. The Captain and his partner finished their work with all the data they had. The Captain decided it was time to swing into an orbit around the planet and continue their studies. As they settled into an orbit just above the planet’s atmosphere, they began to collect and analyze the enormous amount of electromagnetic radiation being generated on the planet’s surface. As the Captain looked through the analyses of the data, a strange thought began to form in his mind. “Is this their form of communication,” he wondered. He had read of ancient uses of electromagnetic communications, but that technology had died out long ago. As he studied the data he saw patterns emerging. Some of the EMC was scattered in all directions from single points. Apparently, the message was intended to be received by anyone with an appropriate device. Some EMC was directed from point to point, apparently in an attempt to control access to the message. His analysis led him to understand that the beings on this planet had multiple modes of communication. Decoding some of the signals his machinery intercepted enabled him to see that the transmission of images was a big part of their communications. The transmissions had images of the beings interacting with each other, some images of what appeared to be their written languages, and also some images of lesser creatures these beings appeared to enjoy interacting with. The Captain was troubled by one aspect of the analysis. After allocating some of the signal to the images, some of it to simply being the medium by which the message flowed, and allowing for other technical matters, there was one channel of data being transmitted he could not crack. He broadened his search and expanded the signals the machinery would intercept. He soon found not only streams with image channels and the mystery channel, but he also found points of transmission of nothing but the mystery material. These transmissions had no images, just the data stream he could not crack. Perplexed, he brought his partner into the work of understanding this mystery. With a fresh perspective on the matter, she asked herself if there was any correlation between the image data and the mystery data. She watched the images produced by the data streams. The beings took many forms, engaged in a huge variety of activities, and she began to notice patterns between their movements and the mystery data stream. Sometimes the mystery data signal would generate a reaction that caused great excitement. Sometimes the mystery data signal generated what appeared to be a state of peace in the beings. As she worked with the machinery interpreting the EMC received from the surface she pondered the conversions her machines were making. The very high frequency signals created the images. The ultra-high frequency signals created other styles of communications. Hidden in the mystery stream were very low frequency signals. Signal frequencies too low to be played on the imaging machines. She isolated the very low frequency signals and watched the reactions of the beings when exposed to the signals. Some seemed happy, some sad. She found some visual image streams where large numbers of the beings would gather, and soon the mystery data stream would show huge patterns of activity. She had to devise a way to convert the the mystery data signal to something she could experience. She and the Captain had watched huge amounts of images. The machinery was very adept at transforming the signals into a format their eyes could process. She needed to convert the mystery data signal into something she could feel. She ran the problem through the computer, and it presented an answer. She routed the mystery data signal through the power supply of a small vibrator used to process samples of soil and other solid material. The varying frequencies of the signal would cause the vibrator to change its vibratory pattern to match the signal. She could touch the machine and feel the patterns as the signals went through it. She turned the little machine on and put the signal through it. As she laid her hand on the machine, she felt a soothing pattern of vibrations. Falling and rising in intensity and strength, it seemed to communicate something. She had never felt something like this before. The vibrations seemed to touch her deeply. She began to understand how this phenomenon could have such an impact on the beings of this planet. As she sat there enjoying the vibrations, speculating what they could be communicating to the beings of the planet, she put two more of her hands on the vibrating machine. The Captain walked into the room, surprised to see the blissful look on her face. He walked over and touched the machine, surprised to feel the vibrations. He could understand why she seemed to be enjoying whatever she was experiencing. The vibrator was a poor loud speaker, but it was a very suitable device for the Captain and his partner to experience the phenomenon. As they stood there transfixed by this new strange phenomenon, the mystery signal filled the room, “O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant...........